The identity of the Triangle

[raleightransplant]

^^^^

Here's that article..

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/trave...ull02081998.htm

[bdp]

that article was very flattering, and pretty accurately describes the way I remember the area in the late 90's... It is crazy how much has changed though in the past 8 years since it was written...

[DanRNC]

In the same vein, there was an article a couple of years ago in the New York Times about Durham which mentioned a lot of the restaurants in the area including Fishmongers, etc.

[Jones_]

If one thing Raleigh/Triangle has going for it (trendsetting wise) its the music scene. The Triad has a decent scene although its more to the emo/screamo side of things. Merge Records and Bifocal Media are also labels based out of Raleigh/Durham. Praxis Studios does a lot of graphic art stuff for record labels and bands as well. Check out the Backyard BBQ on WXYC for local bands as well as WKNC's local music show.

Surprisingly, I was reading somewhere though that there are a lot of fashion designer types in the area as well.

I happen to know Bifocals owner, Charles Cardello...I play on the Bifocal Media Melee soccer team

[ncwebguy]

In some ways (barbecue, music, mixing old and new, rich and poor, etc.) Raleigh could be a trendsetting city, but maybe more importantly, the area is kind of a trend "filter". Martinis and tapas? yes. Trucker hats and swing dancing, not so much. Plus there is a lot of trend "spreaders" such as Cameron Village and Crabtree botiques, the rise of newish districts like the warehouse district, glenwood south, american tobacco, north hills, etc. Also, it's not a trend to be proud of, but areas like Wakefield, Triangle Town Center, Garner/Clayton, Southpoint, etc. all having new life in the last give years have shown how hypersprawl can be executed.

[Jones_]

In some ways (barbecue, music, mixing old and new, rich and poor, etc.) Raleigh could be a trendsetting city, but maybe more importantly, the area is kind of a trend "filter". Martinis and tapas? yes. Trucker hats and swing dancing, not so much. Plus there is a lot of trend "spreaders" such as Cameron Village and Crabtree botiques, the rise of newish districts like the warehouse district, glenwood south, american tobacco, north hills, etc. Also, it's not a trend to be proud of, but areas like Wakefield, Triangle Town Center, Garner/Clayton, Southpoint, etc. all having new life in the last give years have shown how hypersprawl can be executed.

The rockabilly crowd and indie kids both sport alot of trucker hats from what I have seen

[dmccall]

We need to come up with some kind of new food. Some mix or extreme version of some other existing food(s). Examples already out there are: chili on spaghetti, italian red sauce on a steak sandwich, pizza with a thick crust, not thin.

Any ideas out there??? A mix of Chinese a Mexican? Tamale LoMein anyone? How about chocolatey barbeque? with hollandaise sauce?? hmm!

[ncwebguy]

To me, the rockabilly and indie kids's meshback hats are a different trend than the Von Dutch/Kutcher/Paris Hilton/Justin Timberlake "Trucker Hat" pseudotrend from a year or so ago. Or that puts them in the "trendsetter" category that hasn't ended yet? But what's next -- berets and/or top hats? Ugh.

As far as food, I could see a modified soul food catching on, but not like "The Itis" on Boondocks. Such a place is planned at the Hargett/Wilmington intesection by this summer, if things go according to plan (without the beds).

I would like to see some mix ups to comfort food, like salsa mac & cheese, a new take on meat loaf, red beans and rice with chicken or ground beef, a lasagna with layers of refried beans, spiced meat, salsa, and non-italian cheeses etc.

[pack-man]

Raleigh is not a trendsetting city in any major way. In terms of municipal development, it is a joke. Raleigh seems to ride the coat-tails of Charlotte which is the farthest thing from a trendsetting city there might be.

This thread is about Raleigh being viewed as a viable city for corporations to exploit. They don't care if we have some cool people around here doing cool things. They are looking at economics. Of course a cool trend can bring an area some attention, to the corporations, that is free advertising.

Just my 2 cents?

[orulz]

I would say that Raleigh is, rather than being a trend setting city, is a good indication of what the latest trends are in chain retail and dining. Someone a long time ago posted in here that the Triangle is one of the highest-performing markets in the nation for chain stores, which makes sense because of all the relocatees in the area. Chain stores can measure their performance against each other and the effectiveness of their promotions better than they can just about anywhere else.

So, trend-setting? No. Closely watched by the retail business? Absolutely.

[RALBOI]

Is Raleigh turning into a city that caters more to rich or upscale people the latest trends reflect that's the route Raleigh is taking can i have your opinions on this topic folks.

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

Is Raleigh turning into a city that caters more to rich or upscale people the latest trends reflect that's the route Raleigh is taking can i have your opinions on this topic folks.

Rich as in for NC, maybe. Rich as in Boston, San Fran, DC, Nooo way!

[Raleighsfinest]

I see, i'm not the only one noticing it. Raleigh is moving toward the no character boundary. We better watch out.

[jaxpalmer]

lets hope not! i havnt been to raleigh in awhile, im loving reading up on all these projects going on, sounds exciting!

[Raleighsfinest]

Well depending on how long you've been gone, the character of Raleigh and Cary are definately merging.

[Damien]

This subject is becoming a bit redundant. It all depends on what area of the city you are in. If you dont like snobby rich people, then stay out of the rich areas. It's just that simple.

[avery]

I don't think so. Cary likes homogony and consistency throughout the city. I don't think Raleigh actively seeks this out in the same way. As for the attraction of "rich people"? Who cares. Can you blame Raleigh for trying to attract people with higher incomes? Remember that the cost of living up north is higher than down here. People moving down here can sell a relatively modest home up north and buy a much larger home down here.

[ChiefJoJo]

I think Raleigh is large enough and old enough to have a lot of distinct areas (although not enough IMO). I prefer DT Raleigh and surrounding areas. The McMansionite's prefer their Briar Creeks, the Prestonwoods, the Wakefields, etc. They can choose those places, and I can choose mine. Cary has such a small CBD, that it's really dominated by the large stripmall and perfectly manicured lawns along Cary Pkwy.

[Transplant]

Calling Cary a 'City' is a joke. Cary is just South West Raleigh. And like North Raleigh, and East Raleigh, South West Raleigh is very suburban.

Until the masses require compact development, there will be very little.

[MR-2]

Well depending on how long you've been gone, the character of Raleigh and Cary are definately merging.

It's a big suburb that merges seamlessely with Raleigh. Sprawl is sprawl, so it might as well just be more of Raleigh, since it has nothing distinguishing. Raleigh, in general, actually has character though. Cary is completely fake.

[mattm]

I disagree. You have to know where to look, but there's definitely places with character. First, there's the "really" old neighborhoods right around downtown that date to prewar (although there's not much of them). There's a fair bit of '50s-'60s ugly, but especially south of the downtown area there's some nice residential places. Most of the development up until the last 10 years was residential or in support of it, with all of the big commercial concentrated in the Crossroads disaster.

However, there's some small commercial areas that are starting to acquire some uniqueness here and there. Also, the disastrous growth of the '90s made for a big backlash that's helping things get better now. Hey, there's even crosswalks on Harrison Ave now (although that didn't keep me from almost being run down yesterday)!

There's lots of great places in Raleigh, especially inside the beltline, but North Raleigh has big swaths that aren't any different from what you see in the overpriced parts of Cary. So, in the end I guess I have to agree, but don't run down Cary quite that much please!

[NCMike1981]

I wish that all of the people that moved to Cary, causing it's population to balloon over 100,000 people had moved to Raleigh instead, they are essentially in Raleigh anyway...

[Eastwestrob]

Welcome to the forum RALBOI

[Jones_]

I disagree. You have to know where to look, but there's definitely places with character. First, there's the "really" old neighborhoods right around downtown that date to prewar (although there's not much of them).

The oldest house left near downtown is the nancy Jones house on Chapel Hill Road c. 1820. Bradfords Ordinary from c. 1750 was demolished in the 1960's. There is almost nothing I am aware of prewar as the original pseudo-grid was laid out in the 1870's. The Page-Walker Hotel is c.1864 according to the plaque on it. There are 3 or 4 houses c.1900 near the school and a white gothic house (c. 1875 imo) on Chatham and two more colonial revivals on chatham heading west both c. 1900 and the two chunks of commercial buildings appear to be c. 1890. The Academy/Harrison/Chatham area is pretty cool and quaint and has not changed all that much from 60 or 70 years ago...cary built outward with new stuff instead of demolishing and rebuilding near downtown. Good for downtown at least even if the outer rings of Cary are bland and boring.

[pack-man]

Cary was like a business, they would push out the old to bring in the new when they saw the interest in their community. Its now that they are realizing that they should've preserved their history a little better because they are losing their own identity. It will be funny to see them try and revitalize their historical identity when there really isn't anything left. Cary at that point will consider just merging with Raleigh.