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Differences in Raleigh and Charlotte

urbanvb

By urbanvb
in North Carolina

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Subway Scoundrel Hamlet

Subway Scoundrel

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I don't think anyone should get too bent out of shape about a peeing contest here. If my statements ever seem harsh then the Raleigh forumers should know that I love ALL of NC and think that we are the best state in the South. I may be more inclined to say things about Raleigh here since it is an NC forum and there for I feel the argument is "amongst the family" as it were. I likewise can take criticism easier from Raleigh forumers.

By the way, I liked your first post ChiefJoJo.

1)As far as the music scene goes. You've got us there. But what is sad is that any NC band that wants to make it anywhere has to leave the state for NY, LA, or Nashville. Where is Ryan Adams now? Charlotte does occasionally throw out a band that garners recognition as well. Right now The Talk comes to mind. With new venues continuing to open up along with the NC Music Factory's hopeful opening Charlotte should be rectifying its short coming in that regard. Raleigh radio has a real advantage over Charlotte's though. We have no real independent radio station to play good rock. Fortunately I have found the wonders of satellite radio. However, Charlotte's lack of a good indie rock station does not go with out notice here. Hopefully something will happen sometime as there appears to be a large craving for one. One thing the Queen City does have though, is Manifest Discs and Tapes, that joint can't be argued with ;) . And let's face it, when it comes to independent arts, Asheville may soon wipe us both out. I also want to say that as much as I love music, there is much more to what makes a city great then its music scene. To someone who is all about music a great local music scene is a necessity, to most people however it is simply a perk, if it is even noticed at all.

As far as historic buildings are concerned. We are both the WRONG NC areas to be having this battle. Wilmington, Asheville and Winston-Salem have scored on us both here. But I would argue, why do some people deem old buildings a necessity to "character". Las Vegas sure as hell has "character", it has an image, it has its own brand of soul. And it has no historic buildings (at least by our standards). I think a city's character is less defined by its built environment as its built environment is defined by its character. In my opinion character is most strongly felt by a city's citizens, and in most cities, one must spend considerable time there to fully appreciate that character. However, I think Durhamite, gave a strong run at Charlotte

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DanRNC Burg

DanRNC

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I have Sirius. I love it, But I did run across a good radio station in Raleigh a few weeks ago. I guess it was a college station. The music was good, the DJs sucked. But really, its all about the music anyway.

It was probably WKNC (88.1), NCSU's student station. Their DJ's tend to blather and never backtrack the songs.

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ncwebguy Burg

ncwebguy

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I don't know what the "college radio" scene is in Charlotte (other than UNCC's WFAE, the NPR affiliate, comparable to WUNC in the Triangle). When I'm down there, I usually listen to WEND (106.5) I know it's clear channel hell, but I'm usually driving back sunday nights when they have a local music show. I don't know the frequency (99 something?) but the fox is the "flagship station" of John Boy and Billy, for what that's worth. Quite removed from "urban minded" tastes, but is a good example of Charlotte's blue collar meets big city vibe.

In the Triangle, we're lucky to have WUNC (npr plus locally created "the state of things" and "backporch music"), WXYC (UNC's music station, free form programming, but reception falls off to the east about the west edge of 440) WXDU (Duke station, close to WXYC, reception falls off to the east between Durham Freeway and RDU airport) WKNC (NC State, mostly alternative rock, with some weekend shows (international, a capella, etc) usually get good reception from DT raleigh through RTP) and WSHA (Shaw University, jazz with some npr programming in the morning, signal strength similar to WKNC's).

WBBB, 96 Rock, is owned by a media group, but it is Curtis Media, which I think is based in the Triangle. They have a few taped shows on the weekend, but most of the time there's a DJ playing "modern rock" with the occasional classic track. Once in a while i'll listen to 100.7 the river, clear channel's attempt at the "no dj, ipod shuffle-ish mix" of "modern/alternative easy listening" for lack of a better term.

I want to like Sirius, since they seem to be more artist driven, but I haven't seen an attractive portable receiver like XM's MyFi yet. When that happens, I might be tempted.

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MR-2 Hamlet

MR-2

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not that it matters, but i saw a post in the triangle forum that Wake County (Raleigh) population will pass Meckenburgs in the next seven years. to be fair, wake county is larger land-wise...

It's inevitable. There's more land to sprawl, and sprawl contributes the vast majority of the population in both counties.

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Unifour Whistle-Stop

Unifour

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It's inevitable. There's more land to sprawl, and sprawl contributes the vast majority of the population in both counties.

Not trying to be a smart aleck, but it's not exactly inevitable... Larger land area does not equate to a larger population. Density contributes just as much. For example, Oklahoma City covers over 600 square miles, and has a population of around 500,000. The city of Chicago covers 230 square miles, and has a population of almost 3,000,000. You can cram as many people as you need to into however much space you need. Eventually, for whatever reasons, population growth can slow down, but as long as they keep coming, they can build higher and higher and denser and denser for them. It is beginning to happen in Mecklenburg now.

I do agree that probably Wake will surpass Mecklenburg eventually, but no one knows what population will do. You can project and estimate all you want, but no one knows. Census figures are notoriously lower than what the actual number is. Raleigh could slow or Charlotte could slow, who knows. Whatever happens, they both will still expand thier metros and add counties, as the population grows. They will both be similarly sized metros. I don't see much that will stop either one of them.

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Unifour Whistle-Stop

Unifour

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For the record, Charlotte has not destroyed a ton of historic buildings downtown (they never had ANY!..maybe a handfull that needed to be imploded). It's primarily a new city in comparison to US & NC cities (in terms of urban development). They never had a historic Elm street like Greensboro, or Fayetteville street in Raleigh or or the old crusted historic areas in downtown Durham (or Wilmington's Front street or Winston-Salem or New Berns history, etc.). Charlotte has historic areas but not a signature historic street or urban district in uptown (Yes, I saw the pictures of Old Brooklyn.....old shacks and not rowhouses that could not have withstood the test of time.....it was a disservice to destroy those homes without allocating funding for sturdy replacement living quarters).

Well, according to Charlotte Preservationists, they HAVE destroyed a lot of historic structures, much like Atlanta did. Trade and Tryon used to be filled with historic mansions and buildings razed in urban renewal, growth, etc. I think it's sad.

^When there are no buildings left from the time, a street is just a street. I think the poster was referring to a lack of preservation of historic structures in center city charlotte, along those streets. Charlotte has a lot of history, but as you mentioned, there's not much left of it.

That's exactly the problem, they had it, but they didn't save it. ChiefJoJo seemed to be making the argument that they never had it. They did have lots of historic buildings fall to the bulldozer and now they are gone forever.

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MR-2 Hamlet

MR-2

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Charlotte's skyline is certainly more dense. Raleigh itself could actually be more dense within city limits, but not in a way that affects the skyline.

Anyway, the two aren't comparable where skylines are concerned. Come back in 5 years when Raleigh has some new tall buildings, and maybe there will be some competition, but for now Charlotte is far more aesthetically inclined.

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peaceloveunderstanding Town

peaceloveunderstanding

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Charlotte

The Western Hotel is missing, Odell Building on N. Tryon and Courtside would make the sky line larger.

The Raleigh's sky line was taken fron a longer distance than Charlotte's sky line.

A few Wachovia buildings are missing as well, one of which (3 Wachovia) would be the tallest in Raleigh...

Raleigh is just not a skyscraper town (Charlotte isn't really one either), it's more like San Jose with its sprawling office parks. Charlotte would have a pretty small skyline itself if not for the banks.

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As for the thread at hand, one thing Raleigh has is a much better highway system. In my experience the roads in the city are better as well.

Some of the other differences include:

Raleigh also has less crime than Charlotte does. This is likely a factor of city size but it could be something else.

Raleigh looks like it has a better public school system while Charlotte has better private schools.

Charlotte has three rather large lakes which are quite developed (Norman is most developed), Raleigh has two big lakes around it but they are not nearly as developed as the Charlotte lakes.

In terms of the age of the population, Raleigh's peaks at around 20 while Charlotte peaks around 28. If one likes to be around young people Raleigh is a great choice.

Household incomes are about the same, as are unemployment rates. There are many well paying jobs to go around in both places. Housing is supposedly a little cheaper in Charlotte, but it's certainly not cheaper in the most desirable areas.

Charlotte certainly 'wins' in terms of pro sports. The Panthers, NASCAR, and NBA Bobcats give residents several options for sporting events. Raleigh has the Hurricanes as well as many college teams which makes for several great rivalries throughout the year.

Charlotte seems to be more ambitious, undertaking a few huge projects every year. While the Triangle region couldn't get a plan together, construction is already underway on Charlotte's rail based transit system. Over $300 million of development is occuring along the first leg of the system.

When all is said and done, both cities have prosperous futures ahead of them and they will both help to make North Carolina a very dynamic state well into the future.

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stateman99 Whistle-Stop

stateman99

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From those pics it looks like they both have about the same number of buildings downtown. If anything, Raleigh looks a little more dense.

You would actually need to come visit downtown Charlotte to see. That is the worst photo of downtown I have ever seen. There are several buildings missing and it is taken at an angle that doesn't show the true density of downtown. I have lived in both cities, and as far as downtown goes, Raleigh doesn't come close to Charlotte. Maybe in the future, but not even 5 years. More like in 20 years. We'll see.

I am happy that both cities are growing and both will be considered big time cities in about 20 years.

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