Raleigh and the Triangle - A Visitor's and Local's Guide
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nyrmessier011
Registered User
I'm not in any row yet. Never had this much trouble getting a lower bowl ticket in the 3-4 yrs I've been traveling to Raleigh for games.
I figured it out though. Very confusing.
Very much need a pair in 105-107 or 116-118 and willing to pay decent coin, just not the $400/pair they're going for
AntonFromAppState
Hurricaniac
I think a lot of Tottenham fans go there from what I understand. Regardless that is the spot for soccer supporters to go in Raleigh.
DaleCooper
NEVER 4GET
From what I recall (and it has been a while) London Bridge was run by Liverpool supporters and had a big Liverpool contingent. The Arsenal supporters club more or less got thrown out of there.
The Midnight Burrito
True Fan
My wife and I are in Charlotte for a few days before heading over to Raleigh to scout for a potential move to north Carolina.
If you're interested, I'd love any insight folks here have on the differences between Charlotte and Raleigh, if any, in terms of economy, culture, ease of life generally. Are the politics all one way or the other? Is there any kind of negative reaction to mixed race couples? Advice for neighborhoods to avoid when scouting for housing?
Anything like that would be great. Thanks.
If you're interested, I'd love any insight folks here have on the differences between Charlotte and Raleigh, if any, in terms of economy, culture, ease of life generally. Are the politics all one way or the other? Is there any kind of negative reaction to mixed race couples? Advice for neighborhoods to avoid when scouting for housing?
Anything like that would be great. Thanks.
the halleJOKEL
strong as brickwall
i would steer clear of raleigh
it is world renowned for its high quality meth
that is why some places refer to good meth as "raleigh meth"
and here is everything you need to know about charlotte:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/horrified-man-suddenly-realizes-hes-putting-down-r,35102/
it is world renowned for its high quality meth
that is why some places refer to good meth as "raleigh meth"
and here is everything you need to know about charlotte:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/horrified-man-suddenly-realizes-hes-putting-down-r,35102/
garnetpalmetto
Jerkministrator
So I'll take on your last questions first. Politics in both areas are a little mixed. Both the Triangle and Metrolina tend to be Democratic strongholds as urban areas tend to be. Go out 30 minutes to an hour, though, and you hit more rural and more conservative areas. I'm biracial and I'm in an interracial marriage (by definition) - neither my wife nor I have had any sort of negative reaction to us when we're out in public. Neighborhoods to avoid in the Triangle is a little trickier. If you're talking Raleigh, the area to avoid is Southeast Raleigh. Portions of Raleigh off of Capital Boulevard are also not the greatest. The most desirable areas of Raleigh are what's termed "ITB" Raleigh - the portion of Raleigh that's inside the I-440 beltline - and North Raleigh. Durham is a little more patchy - the area around Southpoint Mall is nice as well as the general area around RTP. There's also some neighborhoods near Brier Creek that are quite nice - DaveG and I both live in one of those neighborhoods. Go 5 minutes west towards downtown though and you hit some not as nice areas. Chapel Hill and Cary in general are nice areas. I can't speak for some of the other Triangle component towns (Knightdale, Wake Forest, Apex, Fuquay-Varina, Clayton, Garner, Holly Springs, etc).
As for differences between Charlotte and Raleigh I'll try to put it out like this - both are excellent cities. Charlotte's economy is more built on banking (even after the recession) and being a HQ city for multinational corporations. The Triangle's economy is built on state government, education, information technology, and biotechnology. I think culture is more similar than different - both have planned neighborhoods filled with McMansions and chain stores/restaurants but also really unique funky neighborhoods and independently owned stores and restaurants. In terms of ease of life I think I'd give the edge to the Triangle. Cost of living is a little lower here, it seems a little more laid back, and traffic isn't as much of a problem (I-40 at rush hour aside).
DaleCooper
NEVER 4GET
I lived in Charlotte for the first 18 years of my life then in Raleigh for the next 7. My parents still live in the Charlotte area and in fact I'll be back there tomorrow. I have a lot of personal preferences and biases on this issue so things could be completely different for you. That said, I absolutely loved living in Raleigh and it is one of the few places in the south I would move to. I never liked Charlotte, and while it has improved, I don't think I would ever want to live there.
I'm a city guy (if that's not clear based on where I live now) so my perspective is coming purely from someone who wants to live in a fairly urban area with some walkability in places. That pretty much limits to you to the downtown area in both of these cities. In Charlotte, the downtown is bigger. It's new, it's fancy, there are bigger buildings. There's light rail, and downtown sports venues. Definite wins for Charlotte over Raleigh. Yet, it's completely soulless. Downtown Charlotte has never offered anything for me. It's a place for the banking crowd, the frat brothers, the conservative businessman. All of the cool restaurants, bars, and neighborhoods that fit my style are spread out in the rest of the city, disconnected from each other.
Not so in Raleigh. Everything for me is in the downtown area. The downtown is small but one of the most lively I've seen in one of its size. Awesome local restaurants, bars, cafes, art galleries, etc., all at a much more human scale than Charlotte's Atlanta-imitation. No bands I liked ever came to Charlotte. They were always in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. I also always felt like the Raleigh area did a better job of blending a city feel with laid back southern hospitality.
Ultimately, this is all a matter of opinion that is greatly dependent on personal preferences. I think for me it just came down to the fact that the prominent industries in Raleigh (higher education, technology, healthcare) were populated with people that were more of a match for me than Charlotte (finance, energy).
I'm a city guy (if that's not clear based on where I live now) so my perspective is coming purely from someone who wants to live in a fairly urban area with some walkability in places. That pretty much limits to you to the downtown area in both of these cities. In Charlotte, the downtown is bigger. It's new, it's fancy, there are bigger buildings. There's light rail, and downtown sports venues. Definite wins for Charlotte over Raleigh. Yet, it's completely soulless. Downtown Charlotte has never offered anything for me. It's a place for the banking crowd, the frat brothers, the conservative businessman. All of the cool restaurants, bars, and neighborhoods that fit my style are spread out in the rest of the city, disconnected from each other.
Not so in Raleigh. Everything for me is in the downtown area. The downtown is small but one of the most lively I've seen in one of its size. Awesome local restaurants, bars, cafes, art galleries, etc., all at a much more human scale than Charlotte's Atlanta-imitation. No bands I liked ever came to Charlotte. They were always in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. I also always felt like the Raleigh area did a better job of blending a city feel with laid back southern hospitality.
Ultimately, this is all a matter of opinion that is greatly dependent on personal preferences. I think for me it just came down to the fact that the prominent industries in Raleigh (higher education, technology, healthcare) were populated with people that were more of a match for me than Charlotte (finance, energy).
The Midnight Burrito
True Fan
I'm sitting at Church and Levine in Charlotte right now. I have to say it's one of the more walkable and drivable downtowns I've been in in a major metro. Omaha's very easy, but then, it's hardly a metro. I booked a place in Kannapolis for the week, and apparently that was dumb. There's a big race I guess, and it'll supposedly be hell getting out of there later in the week. Oh, well, I came here to learn.
Do you think, then, that the Triangle as I understand it would be a better bet for lawyers? Also, I'm still trying to quantify "southern hospitality." There was a thing I noticed beginning in Tennessee, where a lot of that midwestern aloofness dropped away and people are just much more at ease. This is true even when they're not being polite. It's interesting. I've been called sweety and babe more times in the last three days than probably the rest of my life up until now.
Thank you both for your input.
garnetpalmetto
Jerkministrator
Yeah that would be another reason that Charlotte would be no bueno for me. Twice a year there's an entire sector of town that's a no-go due to NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Finnish Jerk Train
lol stupid mickey mouse organization
Both of you nailed it. I grew up in Raleigh, spent 4 years in Charlotte after college, then moved back to Raleigh about a year and a half ago. I found Charlotte to have a busier, more bustling pace about it than Raleigh, even though the areas are basically the same size. Charlotte's economy is focused more on banking and big business than Raleigh's; opportunities in law are probably similar in both cities, but if there's a particular area of law you deal in, one might be better than the other.
I agree with the sentiment about downtown Charlotte having no soul - there is stuff to do, but it's mostly either bars/restaurants or the kind of thing only you do once (Discovery Place, NASCAR HOF, etc.). It's completely dead on a Sunday unless the Panthers are playing. They knocked down everything that had character to make way for bigger and better things; Latta Arcade, the Dunhill Hotel, an old firehouse, and a few churches are basically the last interesting relics of another era still standing. You also have the ruins of Carolina Theater, but it's so dilapidated that you would never know of its significance if you didn't do any research. Granted, downtown Charlotte badly needed revitalization 20-30 years ago, but they went scorched earth rather than renovating and repurposing (partly because the banks started one-upping each other to see who could build the biggest building). In short, it's walkable, but you'll probably only find yourself walking between work, restaurants, bars, and the arena. It's exciting at first, but once I had walked by it all for the 100th time, I started to need a reason to go there. I couldn't just hang out there anymore.
The inner-lying former streetcar suburbs have much more soul and are where you'll find most of the good cultural stuff and hole-in-the-wall places. Neighborhoods like South End, Elizabeth, Plaza Midwood, NoDa (North Davidson), and Dilworth have plenty of great places to while away an afternoon or evening. Charlotte may have a little more of that than Raleigh, but it's easy enough to find it here if you know where to look - as GP said, there's a lot of it inside the beltline.
Raleigh doesn't have as busy of a downtown area, but it's much better-preserved and has a better variety of things to do (art galleries, music and performing arts venues, etc.). Downtown Charlotte is a reflection of its status as a medium city that's trying to be a big city; Raleigh is content to let growth come naturally and is in no rush to knock anything over just because it's old. Business growth also seems to be spread around town rather than concentrated in the central business district, unlike Charlotte (not that one way is better than the other; there are advantages to both). I do wish we had public transit to shuttle us downtown, but it's easy enough to get around by car.
As for other neighborhoods, Charlotte is a patchwork of good and bad that can change in about 30 seconds' drive, but Raleigh is easier to paint with a broad brush as GP described. Generally speaking, though, in Charlotte you might as well avoid most of the area that's inside of I-485 and west of Tryon, at least until you get up past about Sunset Road or WT Harris. On the north side of town, the university area has more bad neighborhoods than good until you pass 485. There are some less-than-nice pockets in east and south Charlotte as well, especially along Independence and near Eastland Mall, but if you're looking for a decent neighborhood, go there, outside 485, or up 77 around Northlake and on up. Rush hour on 77 north of town is awful, though.
HisIceness
This is Hurricanes Hockey
Politically, both cities are moderate but left leaning. Charlotte though has a more conservative vibe. I think a lot of people would think Charlotte is more "southern" than Raleigh.
I see mixed couples often and no one seems to mind, ditto Raleigh. That's not to say everyone in both cities approves though but for the most part, no one bats an eye.
I agree with Gotta Catch em about the music scene, it's better in the Triangle.
I like both cities, but I've always been more partial to Raleigh, probably because of my Hurricanes/Wolfpack fan hood. I also think NC State and to a lesser extent, UNC and Duke give Raleigh a more younger vibe than Charlotte, which is usually tagged as a family city.
Oh yeah, the drivers here in Charlotte totally suck.
I see mixed couples often and no one seems to mind, ditto Raleigh. That's not to say everyone in both cities approves though but for the most part, no one bats an eye.
I agree with Gotta Catch em about the music scene, it's better in the Triangle.
I like both cities, but I've always been more partial to Raleigh, probably because of my Hurricanes/Wolfpack fan hood. I also think NC State and to a lesser extent, UNC and Duke give Raleigh a more younger vibe than Charlotte, which is usually tagged as a family city.
Oh yeah, the drivers here in Charlotte totally suck.
Finnish Jerk Train
lol stupid mickey mouse organization
Can confirm. Source: never had road rage before moving to Charlotte, am now almost fully recovered 18 months later.
The Midnight Burrito
True Fan
Thanks for that. I've noticed that the drivers are weirdly aggressive and/or willing to stop in the middle of the road for no reason, so it's funny to hear you say that.
You have a very relevant avatar, then.
No Fun Shogun
34-38-61-10-13-15
Had another solid, extended weekend down there to coincide with the Hawks visiting. Definitely going to be an annual occurrence when the Hawks are in town.
garnetpalmetto
Jerkministrator
But but but...you're not allowed to have fun! Seriously though, glad you enjoyed your trip to our fair cities!
My company is HQd in CLT. CLT has a big city feel to it and it's also very crowded and has bad traffic. Raleigh is also a mid-sized city that is pretty big but the surrounding areas are more rural thus making it less crowded and not have as much traffic.
As far as I can tell, Raleigh is nicer in every shape and form when compared to CLT. The only thing CLT has going for it are the proximity to a large number of lakes along with more pro sports.
The bad thing about CLT is it goes from nice area to ghetto in a split second and that seems to be the norm with most areas of CLT. More jobs are in Raleigh but the banks are in CLT. SO if you're in finance go with CLT. If IT or Medical go with Raleigh. All in all I would say that Raleigh is the better place to move. But both places are pretty nice. I am not kidding when I say that traffic is no joking matter in CLT though. I would never move there. My company wanted me to move there and I told them no. I am not sure how old you are but I have a few suggestions for places to live in Raleigh/Durham.
Brier Creek - This is where I live and it's pretty nice. Everything is new and there is a good selection of nice town homes, nice houses, as well as nice apartments all in the area. Plus pretty much everything is in this area. Living here makes driving 10 miles away for dinner seem like a long ways away.
Apex / Holly Springs - My sister and brother in law live out here. You get a lot of land and the houses are pretty nice. Each neigbhorhood usually has a pool along with a neighborhood swim team. Check out Brighton Forest if interested.
Durham - Durham has some really nice spots. Northern Durham is more rural but the bigger houses will be out that way along with more land. Nice neighborhoods in Durham include: Black Horse Run, Hard Scrabble Plantation, and Treyburn Country club. Living by south pointe mall is also nice. You have woodcroft and hope valley over that way and both are nice communities. I have heard good things about living in down town Durham as well. It once had a bad rap but since they rennovated all of the Tobacco whare houses it has turned into quite the place! I would definitely checked out a Durham Bulls game from Tobacco road or even go to bright live square one evening. Downtown Durham has a lot of soul when compared to Raleigh. Plus housing is cheaper and most businesses are closer to you. Public schooling is not the greatest in Durham.
Chapel Hill - if you have $$$$ check out southern village. You will be very impressed with the community, schooling, and the neighborhood. It's all very nice and very unique.
I guess it just depends on what you want. Don't buy into the whole living inside the belt line nonsense. It's complete crap. By the way, nobody compares about mixed couples here. I don't think twice about it. I would say that the area overall is pretty accepting of diversity. While this is the south racism is mainly encountered in the more rural areas such as the small towns to and along the coast line or the smaller towns out west. Manteo, Black Mountain, Salisbury, Shelby, Hickory come to mind.
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Carolinas Identity*
I'm a bad troll...
Just make sure, that if you do move there, you stay away from the local Farmer's Market from 6-10 on Sundays. That's when the local Bloods shop for fresh produce. TankClerval can give you more details if you need.
The Midnight Burrito
True Fan
Thanks for that. And thanks to everyone who responded and PMed about my trip.
Had a great time in both areas, saw a crapton of houses, no idea what to choose.
Navin R Slavin
Fifth line center
if you've got soul and don't mind the funk, durham is your town.
durham:raleigh :: oakland:sf
durham:raleigh :: oakland:sf
The Midnight Burrito
True Fan
I'm very familiar with Oakland and San Francisco. So all you're telling me with that comparison is that I should never bring my family into Durham.
garnetpalmetto
Jerkministrator
Not at all. Durham is awesome - the food truck rodeos in Durham Central Park, concerts at the American Tobacco Campus, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, DPAC, Fullsteam Brewing, Bull City Cider Works, HoneyGirl Meadery, Rose's Meat & Sweet Shop - Durham is the happening place to be.
DaveG
Noted Jerk
Yeah Durham is a VERY cool place IMHO, just do your research before you buy. Only problem I have with Durham is the schools but that's also comparing it to Wake County which may have the best schools in the state.
gocanes88
Registered User
And technically Southpoint but I mean, who really considers Southpoint to be part of Durham?
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