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Triangle in the national media


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The new MSA designations are based on commuting patterns. Durham County attracts enough commuters from neighboring counties to have its own MSA apparently.

That's almost what's most ridiculous about it - MOST of RTP is in Durham County. Have residents in Wake County stopped commuting to RTP?

I'd like to see an explanation from the Census Bureau about why they were separated. It's important, especially when marketers' decisions are based on population.

As an aside, I think I did read that in the next census (2010) - the Triangle would become a "CMSA".

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Actually the commute is 25 minutes,and 30 with traffic. It's ridiculous how they're split up though. Alot of people work in each others city.

Lucky for me I don't have to make that commute (which evidently has some bearing on my inaccurate estimate of the driving distances between CBDs).

Now for a little perspective from a native New Englander: The city of Brockton, MA is only a 25-30 minute drive from downtown Boston, and the two are in separate MSAs. And plenty of people from the towns in the Brockton MSA commute to Boston daily.

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Lucky for me I don't have to make that commute (which evidently has some bearing on my inaccurate estimate of the driving distances between CBDs).

Now for a little perspective from a native New Englander: The city of Brockton, MA is only a 25-30 minute drive from downtown Boston, and the two are in separate MSAs. And plenty of people from the towns in the Brockton MSA commute to Boston daily.

True about Brockton - but Boston's also a CMSA...which I think RDU will be next time around...

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Yeah, it is interesing, but if you look at it on a map, it sort of looks like Raleigh-Cary-Apex is one cluster and Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro is another.

Also, consider how DT Durham and DT Raleigh are so far from one another. Sure, their city limits meet up at one point, but there's a 45-minute gap between central business districts.

Maybe in government records they are now seperated but not media markets. RDU is still one media market and that is looked at quite often.

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Not sure if anyone noticed but during the first NHL playoff round, the web site raleigh4u.com was advertising on the boards. I thought is was a site to go see where to go party, but it is a site that helps people learn about Raleigh, especially people looking to relocate business. And it is not a Triangle website, it is Raleigh only

Since this first round playoff series was broadcast nationally in Canada and our arena is named after RBC, I think it was a great move toward pusing for more Canadian business. It is nice website that helps with understanding Raleigh. Now, this article comes out to add to this.

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Beginning in the 2000 census the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill MSA was changed to the Raleigh-Cary MSA and the Durham-Chapel Hill MSA, to better show commutes. But what is more important is that we are all listed first as the Raleigh-Durham-Cary CMSA. And then it breaks down to the individual MSA's. This way we are still part of the large group/Triangle but also each area has more of an identity. :D

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Yeah, it is interesing, but if you look at it on a map, it sort of looks like Raleigh-Cary-Apex is one cluster and Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro is another.

Also, consider how DT Durham and DT Raleigh are so far from one another. Sure, their city limits meet up at one point, but there's a 45-minute gap between central business districts.

Altlanta has 28 counties in its MSA, so what is it different up here in NC with it cities.

Chalotte has counties next to it not in its MSA.

Odd way the way MSA is selected.

Here in NC its been Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill for as long as I can remember.

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Most of the issue as to why so few counties are included is because we have three sizeable CMSAs in Charlotte, Triangle, and Triad. Those alone account for a good portion of our state population, and both have 1 million+ residents. Not to mention the other metros of Wilmington, Asheville, Fayetteville, and Hickory, that add another good portion. All of these cities are also so close together that those in between are torn on where to look for jobs and travel, thus in a few years some of these metros will overlap.

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Altlanta has 28 counties in its MSA, so what is it different up here in NC with it cities.

Georgia's average county size is smaller than those of the Carolinas. Also, Atlanta's economic influence is to the point where counties farther out commute to suburban counties right outside of Fulton/DeKalb counties for employment. Charlotte isn't yet at that level. As far as I know, the only county in which this occurs is Anson, where I believe the majority of people travel to Union, instead of Mecklenburg, for jobs. Also, as Rufus said, there is some overlap. For instance, in the Charlotte area, Iredell is just north of Mecklenburg but is not included in Charlotte's MSA, in part because of the presence of I-40 through the county, giving it access to Forsyth where a percentage of the population is employed. The new MSA designations seem to give a boost for some areas while "cheating" others.

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  • 1 month later...

I found out about this from a thread in the Charlotte forum. Check out this article on www.bizjournals.com. Raleign ranks #6 and Durham ranks #9 for medium-sized cities in brainpower. Cary ranks #7 for small cities.

Medium Sized Cities:

http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/pages/8.html

Small Cities:

http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/pages/9.html

Charlotte ranked #6 in the Big Cities category, too...

http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/slideshow/11.html

NC is representing itself well...

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

We finish near the top of the list year after year. Raleigh was ranked #4 in the "big cities" category.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bp.../PL3755000.html

Cary also finished near the top spot. Cary finished at #5 on the list that didn't include large cities.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bp.../PL3710740.html

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We finish near the top of the list year after year. Raleigh was ranked #4 in the "big cities" category.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bp.../PL3755000.html

Cary also finished near the top spot. Cary finished at #5 on the list that didn't include large cities.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bp.../PL3710740.html

"Best" is in the eye of the beholder. I struggle to fathom a sum of money one would need to pay me to get me to live in Cary. But that's me. I know other people love how "neat and clean" everything looks there.

It's interesting to note that most of the places on the Cary list are suburbs feeding off the employment base and cultural amenities of the larger nearby cities such as Raleigh, Chicago, Washington, Dallas, Minneapolis, etc. While all these well-to-do suburbs that exclude lower-income residents indirectly through zoning and development practices surely have low crime rates and good schools, it's important to remember that these places are riding the coattails of their bigger neighbors in multiple ways.

The cities adjacent to these suburbs provide a lot of trappings of big city life- excellent universities, major sports teams, first-rate symphonies, art museums, and opera companies, broad dining options, etc., that the suburban communities get to "ride free" on while avoiding some of the complications and problems of big cities. (higher crime, greater traffic, etc)

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"Best" is in the eye of the beholder.

I take these lists with a big freakin' grain of salt. I've seen so many different places top the many lists I've read. The main issue is this: best places for whom to live? Empty-nesters? Children? Dogs? Lesbians? Asian-Americans?

Here's my idea: Make your own lists of best places to live. Don't let Sperling's or Money Magazine or The Travel Channel decide which places are best for you.

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I take these lists with a big freakin' grain of salt. I've seen so many different places top the many lists I've read. The main issue is this: best places for whom to live? Empty-nesters? Children? Dogs? Lesbians? Asian-Americans?

I'm still looking for the rankings of best cities for lesbian chow-chows whose puppies (in vitro, of course) have left the fold. :lol:

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Well we can argue the merit of these lists from here to next week, but what it boils down to is good publicity for the area. I see no need to poo poo it.

There are people who do read the article and then decide to move to these cities. I met some when Cary was ranked # 1 best place to live in the East. I totally agree on the publicity thing. Why do you thing so many people are moving to the Triangle. Because it is a great place to live. I think the article just solidifies what many already know. When companies take notice, that is when large numbers of people move here and we have seen that lately with so many corporate relocations or new HQ being created.

Edited by Cary NC
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What I like about it is when I saw the Money magazine lady (ooh la la) on the Today Show and they went through the Top 5 and Cary came up, they not only mentioned how pretty it was (nothing like mowed down trees with a Staples and a parking lot !!), they mention opportunity and the Research Triangle Park. The others, all they mention was "it is a nice place to live."

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What I like about it is when I saw the Money magazine lady (ooh la la) on the Today Show and they went through the Top 5 and Cary came up, they not only mentioned how pretty it was (nothing like mowed down trees with a Staples and a parking lot !!), they mention opportunity and the Research Triangle Park. The others, all they mention was "it is a nice place to live."

What the lady was probably talking about is the manicured lawns and medians and all the grennery that is provided by the town and HOAs. Living in Denver, it is ugly. No one but the ultra rich (meaning living in $3M homes) take care of the lawns and neighborhoods. The medians are weed infested and filled with rotting trees. The sidewalks are all broken and weeds are literally knee high and there are tons of old wooden, broken, termite infested fences along the road, where as Cary and other towns in the Triangle use stone/brick most of the time for the fences. Compared to what I look at everyday, Cary is pretty.

Edited by Cary NC
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