How does Raleigh, NC your Capital Ranks in your heart and minds Carolina!

[RALBOI]

Hello folks, I would like your honest opinion on how Raleigh your Capital city ranks in your hearts and minds NC and please don't turn this into a pissing contest between cities just comments on Raleigh good or bad just be respectful if possible.

[Eastwestrob]

Hello folks, I would like your honest opinion on how Raleigh your Capital city ranks in your hearts and minds NC and please don't turn this into a pissing contest between cities just comments on Raleigh good or bad just be respectful if possible.

Although I no longer live in Raleigh...It will always be my favorite city in the world...Then would be san Francisco...Followed by Charlotte

Oh yes...Welcome to the forum

[NcSc74]

I have visited Raleigh hundreds of times and I always wanted a taller more prominent capital building. Compared to other capital cities I think it on par or better with a lot of the medium sized ciites. I think it is poised for great things and I will watch it grow with a lot of expectation. Know it there were only lights on the beltline then my admiration would be a lot greater.

[hauntedheadnc]

WNC feels ignored by Raleigh, so the only times you hear about it are when taxes go up, a road project that nobody wants is being forced on us, or a road project that everybody wants can't get a dollar of funding to save its life, or it gets pushed back so far that nobody alive today will ever get to see the first foot of pavement laid down. Aside from that, nobody ever thinks about Raleigh or cares much about it up here in the mountains.

Although, come to think of it, it will come up sometimes in Asheville when someone is arguing about suburban sprawl and/or big buildings downtown, and they've already shrieked through a mouthful of froth, "We don't want to be like Atlanta!!!!" and "We don't want to be like Charlotte!!!!" Next in line after those two standbys is "We don't want to be like Raleigh!!!!"

[sax184]

I have visited Raleigh hundreds of times and I always wanted a taller more prominent capital building. Compared to other capital cities I think it on par or better with a lot of the medium sized ciites. I think it is poised for great things and I will watch it grow with a lot of expectation. Know it there were only lights on the beltline then my admiration would be a lot greater.

Fantastic fine arts institutions, (Symphony, Theater, museums) mostly moribund streetlife, kneel-before-the-developers political culture. It still seems to be less than the sum of its parts.

[jaxpalmer]

I love raleigh, grew up in cary and im extremely proud to be from the triangle area. Raleigh has its own little vibe going on, and while a great city, it is a bit boring unfortunately.

[MR-2]

The nice thing about Raleigh is the area it's in. It's fairly hilly, close to the fall line, with a dense variety of vegetation. Spring and Autumn tend to be very pretty here. The temperature's good, the proximity to the Outer Banks is good.

The city itself needs some work, but the combined interesting stuff in Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill make up for the individual detriments of each one on its own.

[JDC]

One word response: Sprawleigh

[RALBOI]

WNC feels ignored by Raleigh, so the only times you hear about it are when taxes go up, a road project that nobody wants is being forced on us, or a road project that everybody wants can't get a dollar of funding to save its life, or it gets pushed back so far that nobody alive today will ever get to see the first foot of pavement laid down. Aside from that, nobody ever thinks about Raleigh or cares much about it up here in the mountains.

Although, come to think of it, it will come up sometimes in Asheville when someone is arguing about suburban sprawl and/or big buildings downtown, and they've already shrieked through a mouthful of froth, "We don't want to be like Atlanta!!!!" and "We don't want to be like Charlotte!!!!" Next in line after those two standbys is "We don't want to be like Raleigh!!!!"

We love Asheville here in Raleigh hauntedheadnc', the city goverment of Raleigh has nothing to do with how the state goverment mismanages our money in referances to roads,education and pork barrel spending they basically just meet me here in Raleigh and dish out their bad medicine for the rest of the state and the city of Raleigh catches hell for it, but it's all good Asheville is a class act in my book.

[monsoon]

Given this is a post about opinion, I will offer mine up.

Being from Charlotte, we hear or see very little about Raleigh. However during my visits to Raleigh I've noticed the following differences:

• Raleigh "feels" more like NC. Maybe the feeling is Eastern NC as it is quite different than here in Western NC. The state fair, the state buildings, etc, all add to this. Maybe part of it is that part of the Charlotte urban area is in SC.

• If the two cities were states, then Raleigh would be California vs Charlotte which would be Texas. I think there is a sophistication in Raleigh that Charlotte lacks.

• The Raleigh area IS the center of higher education in NC. While you can certainly get a very good degree all over NC, if you want one from a well known school then RDU is where you go.

• I think regional cooperation in Raleigh and its neighboring cities is not as good. And there is the albatross of RTP that makes it difficult to build a true urban environment. The recent difficulties of the TTA's transit system vs the one on CLT really highlights the differences in the two areas on this.

Beyond that, I think Charlotte and Raleigh face very similar problems and it would benefit both cities to learn to work together instead working against each other or simply ignoring that the other exists. NC politics, which both cities are very reliant on for funding and laws, are still dominated by rural politics. i.e. the power is in the hands of he rural legislators. If the two cities learned to work together, they might get some favorable laws passed in the NC legislature, end the insane NC road and transit funding formulas, and cause better distribution of funding to the cities.

[kmurphy19662003]

I like the feel of the Triangle area in general. Everything seems nice and new with good sign ordinances in place. If you like new development Raleigh is the place to be, because it is sprouting up faster than anywhere else in the nation. The only negative I have is that downtown to me at this time is not aesthetically pleasing. I think the state goverment buildings are the cause. I hope the new developments planned and under construction will do a lot to overcome the poor architecture that exists now.

[DanRNC]

I think regional cooperation in Raleigh and its neighboring cities is not as good. And there is the albatross of RTP that makes it difficult to build a true urban environment. The recent difficulties of the TTA's transit system vs the one on CLT really highlights the differences in the two areas on this.

Very true. The Triangle is not as unified as everyone thinks. Chapel Hill hates Raleigh, Raleigh hates Durham, etc. I don't know if these differences will ever be resolved.

[JDC]

Very true. The Triangle is not as unified as everyone thinks. Chapel Hill hates Raleigh, Raleigh hates Durham, etc. I don't know if these differences will ever be resolved.

I feel like there's somewhat more of a connection between Durham and Chapel Hill than Raleigh will have with any of the Triangle communities. Maybe Cary, but really the two are one in the same (to me anyways). Although some people outside of the Carolinas refer to the Triangle as "Raleigh-Durham" (I would guess because of the airport designation), the two towns are quite separate in many ways.

[hauntedheadnc]

We love Asheville here in Raleigh hauntedheadnc', the city goverment of Raleigh has nothing to do with how the state goverment mismanages our money in referances to roads,education and pork barrel spending they basically just meet me here in Raleigh and dish out their bad medicine for the rest of the state and the city of Raleigh catches hell for it, but it's all good Asheville is a class act in my book.

I will admit that WNC has been thinking more about the state government than usual here over the past few years. It started when the state, and rightly so, forced one of the region's slimier developers to sell the land that later became Dupont State Forest. Lake James State Park has also seen some attention lately, and now there's a push to preserve the World's Edge and Hickory Nut Gorge in a new state park down in Henderson and Rutherford counties.

The liberals and moderates in the area are practically orgasming where they stand over the news ( ) , while the old guard fossil conservatives beotch and moan about North Carolina's liberal California-style Yankee, Floridiot government that will murder us all in the night and take our land and defile our womenfolk and what-have-you.

It makes for fantastic reading on the editorial page.

[DanRNC]

I dig Raleigh (inside the beltline that is). The music scene kicks.

[RALBOI]

I love raleigh, grew up in cary and im extremely proud to be from the triangle area. Raleigh has its own little vibe going on, and while a great city, it is a bit boring unfortunately.

Hey jaxpalmer that used to be true but go to glenwood south ,hargett st or city market thurs thru sat i promise, you will change your opinion Raleigh's nightlife has come a looooonnnnggg way and just wait until the new Fayettville street opens with all those bars and clubs an things of that nature also check out north hills fox and hound thats jumping off in are new midtown district here, it's going to be a totally diffrent city and vibe here in Raleighwood folks in just 3 years i promise you that.

[RALBOI]

Very true. The Triangle is not as unified as everyone thinks. Chapel Hill hates Raleigh, Raleigh hates Durham, etc. I don't know if these differences will ever be resolved.

Hey Dan you are on the money with your comments but i think as the cities grow together they will also start to think more on becoming a region that work together to solve growth matters and issues that pertain to are metro area.

[princessangry]

the only thing I dont like about the raleigh areas is the water issues! I ahve never heard of an area with water problems. Specially cary! a freind in oregon came down to visti for a week and he said his vegtable sprayer in his kitchen sink had better or equal pressure to my shower!!! and I have a good showerhead!

cary and morrisvilles houses are expensive but I saw some houses in morrisville for 400,000 and they are practally detached townhomes. no yards, no privacy and bad views!

[MR-2]

I think the notion that the Triangle cities hate each other is a bit of a generalization of a trend for local news sources to 'talk smack' about the neighbors. Most of us are glad there are other interesting cities around.

Most UNC students would rather go to UNC than NCSU. Most NCSU students would rather go to NCSU than UNC. But both would still rather go to the other than Wake Forest or ECU. There's some regional solidarity, even if some people are a bit fixated on the minor flaws.

[princessangry]

so what people from different areas don't like eachother. thats normal. people from marietta ohio hated parkersburg people, and so on. and the belpre people would hate on the beverly people, etc.

not to mention they hated people from the south and the south hated the north. hell people in caldwell ohio acted like it was the 1960's it was stupid!

and leads to another pet peeve of mine.... people who live the in past. like people there still hate me just becuase I was roiwdy back in the day! still am but not as much as back then. I hate those kida people.

[Jones_]

Raleigh is a case study in split personalities. North Raleigh is so so so different from ITB that you can find people who live in one and essentially never visit the other. And not just for location of services...it is that North Raleighers find downtown confusing, think it is unsafe and has nothing to do becasue there is a lack of Blockbuster's and Applebees. In contrast ITBers prefer the older houses, unique restaurants, walkability and grit that exists there. I-440 is a physical barrier between the two even....I can think of only three non-thoroughfare streets that cross the beltline (Lasiter Mill, Yadkin and Glen Eden) to North Raleigh. Because of this split personality I like Raleigh seems to do the trick for me.....

[RiverwoodCLT]

What Raleigh and all the Triangle cities need to come together as one voice with the Triad, Charlotte, Wilmington, Asheville, and put press on the law makers in Raleigh to help these cities with bad road problems.

The large cities in NC have been short on funds to fix their traffic problems. This can have a negative effect on job growth and new business coming to this state. It is time for all the medium and large cities in NC to unite for their fair share of funding for roads.

Raleigh has as big problem with traffic as Charlotte.

Wimington traffic is bad also.

I do not know how the Triad and Asheville are doing on their traffic problems.

When people are complainting about roads, education and etc. they say Raleigh meaning the State Legislature in Raleigh.

[CarolinaDaydreamin]

Given this is a post about opinion, I will offer mine up.

[*]Raleigh "feels" more like NC. Maybe the feeling is Eastern NC as it is quite different than here in Western NC. The state fair, the state buildings, etc, all add to this. Maybe part of it is that part of the Charlotte urban area is in SC.

[*]If the two cities were states, then Raleigh would be California vs Charlotte which would be Texas. I think there is a sophistication in Raleigh that Charlotte lacks.

[*]The Raleigh area IS the center of higher education in NC. While you can certainly get a very good degree all over NC, if you want one from a well known school then RDU is where you go.

Raleigh does feel more like NC. I think Charlotte Kinda feels like its own state. I tend to Identify as much with SC as NC. I guess its because I live 3 miles from the border.

Raliegh would be Maryland, and Charlotte Florida. Both have Southern remnants while the Raleigh area seems more intellectual while Charlotte seems like it tends to be more Conservative yet politically very split.

[intcvlcphlga]

I think the notion that the Triangle cities hate each other is a bit of a generalization of a trend for local news sources to 'talk smack' about the neighbors. Most of us are glad there are other interesting cities around.

Most UNC students would rather go to UNC than NCSU. Most NCSU students would rather go to NCSU than UNC. But both would still rather go to the other than Wake Forest or ECU. There's some regional solidarity, even if some people are a bit fixated on the minor flaws.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that UNC and NCSU students would rather go to their rival Triangle school than to Wake Forest. As liberal arts universities, UNC and Wake are more allied in their curricula whereas NCSU is more focussed on technical disciplines (engineering, agriculture, textiles, etc) than its liberal arts programs - so, someone who would want to go to NCSU because they want to be a civil engineer couldn't go to UNC or Wake b/c neither school offers that degree program, and presumably, someone who wants to major in one of the humanities, would gravitate to a school where that was more of focus.

[intcvlcphlga]

I've always been a little underwhelmed by Raleigh, when compared to comparable southern capital cities like Richmond, Nashville, Austin, etc. It's a nice enough city - a little too much sprawl for my taste, but that can practically be said about every US city short of New York and San Francisco. But, Richmond seems a lot grander and more interesting of a city - granted, Richmond has a river, a much larger downtown, a much longer, richer history, a capitol designed by Thomas Jefferson, etc. Personally, I think Raleigh's greatest strength is the Triangle - specifically Chapel Hill and RTP, and, to a lesser extent, Durham.