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The identity of the Triangle


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Is the Triangle square? No. I refuse to accept that an area with what we have here is square. If we were square, we wouldn't have a decent music scene, film and dance festivals, etc. With that said, we need to really get active with making the place more urban and interesting. The naysayers have had their way far too long in this area. These people who complain about everything that's ever proposed (public art, mass transit, etc.)will be the same people you'll hear on some news report five years from now, complaining that their once quiet town has been enveloped by suburban sprawl. Pick a side, or live with the consequences.

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'not all progressives are liberal', isn't true. Not all people who identify as progressive actually are. Some are really just populists or moderates of some sort. That doesn't change the meaning of the word, or the truth that compared to the rest of the state and the south in general, there are a lot of true-to-the-core progressives in the Triangle.

In other news, we need an amusement park, and a mass transit system. That would solve a lot of problems.

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The triangle's hipness will, for the forseeable future, be tempered by the fact that it's in the bible belt. to me, 'hipness' implies, to a degree, a lack of restraint that is at odds with the checks imposed by the traditionally social conservative character of the area.

and another thing, god bless you all who have kids and what not, but this area caters WAY too much to the traditional, white bread, nuclear family concept, in my opinion. cary embodies this, and hip is not the first adjective that comes to mind when pondering cary. maybe the last.

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I put in the "not all progressives are liberal" idea as a comment on:

- the Republican co-speaker who wanted to move the state forward, but was defeated by the Art Pope propaganda machine in this year's primary.

- non-liberal companies like Progress Energy, Capital Bank, etc. being downtown expanders/pioneers to spur revitalization efforts in the CBD.

- Jim Goodnight, whose WRAL once had Jesse Helms on staff, donating $2.5 million for public art on Fayetville Stret.

A symptom of the spread out hipness among Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill/Carborro is that they often view the opposite end of I-40 as being inferior or unnecessary, not brothers/sisters in arms. Ask 80+% of the hipsterati in Chapel Hill or Durham about Raleigh, and when/if they stop rolling their eyes, they will tell you there is nothing. Whereas that same 80+% from Raleigh would just shrug shoulders and ask why bother going over there for what is already in town. While walking through Carr Mill mall after hours a few months ago, there seemed to be a strong anti-Raleigh sentiment in the storefronts and various posters. Does this stem from association with each home town's major university, or is there something deeper? Has no one has stepped up to unite Triangle hipness because a) they don't know how or b) just don't want to bother? Why does everything have to be us vs. them, all or nothing?

Even inside vs. oustide the beltline in Raleigh has this adversarial relationship. Does having kids automatically make someone not cool? Parents complain that there is "nothing to do downtown for their kids." Singles complain there is nothing to do oustide 440. It is true there is no Chuck E Cheese or Putt Putts inside the beltline, and there are no North Raleigh or Cary equivalents of Glenwood South, Five Points, etc. -- can this be fixed or is there no need to fix that which is not broken? What can be done to bridge this glaring gap? Or do both sides like the worlds they have created?

The ring of uncool around the downtowns leave them in isolation, never reaching the critical mass you see in Austin, Portland, Seattle, etc. When I gradauted from State in 1996, most of the interesting people went somewhere else because there was nothing interesting here. For years this was a perpetual cycle that forced the matter all the more. With a mix of good luck, now is the best chance for hip to gain a permanent foothold in the area. Time will tell if this happens, or if Ma and Pa get-off-my-lawn are just biding their time to squash fun once again.

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Jim Goodnight, whose WRAL once had Jesse Helms on staff, donating $2.5 million for public art on Fayetville Stret.

That would be the Goodmon Jim variety not Goodnight (of SAS fame).

I think overall the Triangle is pretty cool but there is no unifying force behind this which isn't necessarily a bad thing-its kind of spread out. Durham has its pockets, Chapel Hill/Carrboro has its thing going on, and Raleigh has its pockets of cool. I know people from Portland that have moved here and tell me that its actually quite boring there (maybe its the grass is greener phenomenon).

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There are plenty of cool people doing excellent, artistic, fun thoughtful things in Raleigh. And Raleigh's leaders are for the most part, completely terrified of these people. You can't completely repress life in the US, it's just not possible. That said, Raleigh does its best to clamp the lid on anything any other subgroup doesn't like, and the city has produced a broadly corporate non-culture that is truly lowest common denominator, exemplified by mall-focused consumerism.

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You have to admit that if the political leaders (i.e. Terry Sanford) who created RTP in the 50's/60's had not been forward thinking and seen that education and new industry was the future none of us would have jobs.

Governor Luther Hodges was one of the main forces behind RTP. Talk about a guy ahead of his time and he was a bit odd as well.

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  • 5 months later...

We [Meeker & the author] talked about the changes happening downtown, about the new restaurants and nightlife. He hopes an inviting downtown will draw in people from all over the city, where they can interact and get to know one another.

Creating a destination DT along with maintaining Raleigh's historic character, are the two biggest issues that the city can actually do that will create a soulful Raleigh. Raleigh Wide Open was an amazing success, and while you can't exactly describe the event as soulful, it is the kind of thing that brings people together, and that's how cities develop their identities.

from the article:

Durham: A gritty, yet up-and-coming city, Durham has a bit of an image problem when it comes to crime-related issues. But from the Durham Bulls to its arts scene to Duke University, it has an identity, and the people who live there have an emotional attachment to the city.

Chapel Hill: This town revolves around the university. A classic college town, it invokes a liberal, feel-good vibe that (like it or not) forms the basis for its soul. Chapel Hill people tend to love Chapel Hill, forming an extraordinary attachment to their community.

I kind of disagree somewhat about Chapel Hill. I think Carrboro has stolen the more grassroots-level liberal bastion title from Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill, at least to me, has evolved into a bit more of an elitist and wealthy stronghold of late. Other than the transient student community, who can really afford to live there other than the upper-middle class or wealthy? In Carrboro, you are much more likely to see birkenstocks or folks playing guitar out on the Weaver Street lawn. Maybe the two are forever linked due to their proximity, but I see them as slightly different.

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Meeker regarding Raleigh-- "It's also a town where it's residents are focused on individual achievement. People work hard in Raleigh." Well nothing sounds more "soulful" than that, eh? Austin is a fun loving town. People put lifestyle as a real priority there. If there's one thing Raleigh (and really the whole Triangle) could get better with--it's a feeling of community and just having a good time. I love the Triangle and while you can have fun here, the area's a little bit uptight (in a worker bee kind of way)...not sure if I'm in the minority on that view. People always say it's laid back here, and to an extent that's true.

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Meeker regarding Raleigh-- "It's also a town where it's residents are focused on individual achievement. People work hard in Raleigh." Well nothing sounds more "soulful" than that, eh? Austin is a fun loving town. People put lifestyle as a real priority there. If there's one thing Raleigh (and really the whole Triangle) could get better with--it's a feeling of community and just having a good time. I love the Triangle and while you can have fun here, the area's a little bit uptight (in a worker bee kind of way)...not sure if I'm in the minority on that view. People always say it's laid back here, and to an extent that's true.
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Only someone with [deleted]-tinted glasses would look at a city that has the state museum of art, the NC opera company, the home base for NC Symphony, the Progress Energy Performing Arts Center, Artspace and more art galaries than any other city in the area and say it isn't as good a place for culture compared to other cities in the region.

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Only someone with [deleted]-tinted glasses would look at a city that has the state museum of art, the NC opera company, the home base for NC Symphony, the Progress Energy Performing Arts Center, Artspace and more art galaries than any other city in the area and say it isn't as good a place for culture compared to other cities in the region.
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I think overall the Triangle is pretty cool but there is no unifying force behind this which isn't necessarily a bad thing-its kind of spread out. Durham has its pockets, Chapel Hill/Carrboro has its thing going on, and Raleigh has its pockets of cool. I know people from Portland that have moved here and tell me that its actually quite boring there (maybe its the grass is greener phenomenon).
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I kind of disagree somewhat about Chapel Hill. I think Carrboro has stolen the more grassroots-level liberal bastion title from Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill, at least to me, has evolved into a bit more of an elitist and wealthy stronghold of late. Other than the transient student community, who can really afford to live there other than the upper-middle class or wealthy? In Carrboro, you are much more likely to see birkenstocks or folks playing guitar out on the Weaver Street lawn. Maybe the two are forever linked due to their proximity, but I see them as slightly different.
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Only someone with [deleted]-tinted glasses would look at a city that has the state museum of art, the NC opera company, the home base for NC Symphony, the Progress Energy Performing Arts Center, Artspace and more art galaries than any other city in the area and say it isn't as good a place for culture compared to other cities in the region.
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In Durham and Carrboro arts and culture are a focus. In Raleigh family raising and State government are the focus's (foci??). In all fairness on first friday in Raleigh I cannot ever get to every gallery that is open. Some only open once a year (Ant Farm comes to mind). My last trip to Durham's there was maybe 3 or 4 places on the walk. I get the feel that Durham, Chapel Hill/Carrboro has more in the way of film festivals, stuff going on at Central Park, Eno River festival etc. etc. So yes, Raleigh is a great place for culture, much more than the PE Center, its just not what comes to mind when you think Raleigh.

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