Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes, if you go to Raleigh to your friends house in the suburbs and just sit at the house and don't leave to go somewhere, you will find in fact that your only experience in Raleigh is boring.
However, if you take advantage of the super smooth and traffic free 440 loop (compared to Richmond), within minutes, you can be in the center of even 6 very unique, bustling and active microcosms of urbanity. These microcosms include Crabtree (ton of traffic though), North Hills area or 'Mid Town Raleigh', Cameron Village, Downtown, Brier Creek and the Triangle Town Center area in Northeast Raleigh.
Yes, between all of these different microcosms lie sprawling suburbs, but fortunately, it doesn't take much time to get to the center of these microcosms of activity and urbanity from the suburbs. Raleigh is terrific because it provides several options to its diverse inhabitants; one can choose between several styles of suburban housing close to a highway that will take you to work or live in apartments close to the microcosms previously named that have terrific highway access as well, or even live in apartments, or high-rise condos in the city. No matter which of the places you choose to live, you are still in fact in Raleigh, and have access to all of the amenities that gained Raleigh all of the 1st place accolades that is has earned.
You can't get bored with Raleigh, because if you become a regular to the amenities and locations in one microcosm, and things begin to become normal for you, then you just stay on the highway for an extra 5-10 minutes and adventure into one of the other microcosms that you don't normally go to. You get to have a destination type feeling whilst living and traveling within one single city. The beauty of it is that each one of these microcosms are experiencing massive growth in business and residential development, so whenever you ignore one part of the city for too long (6 months) when you come back, often time you will discover something new that attracts you to that specific area.
I'm not going to list all of the amenities and attractions that are present in each microcosm, that will take too much time, but just know that each area basically offers everything that the next microcosm offers. If you live in the Triangle Town Center area, you will rarely NEED to travel to North Hills out of necessity and not want. Thus is the same for any comparison of the microcosms. They are literally cities within the city.
On an ideal day out on the town with my girlfriend;
We will drive to North Hills on a sunny day and enjoy outdoor shopping along with some sight seeing (the towering development fascinates me), have some exquisite fast food for lunch (5 Guys) then go to the Art Museum and be fancy for an hour or so and discover things we've never seen. Then we'll take a lovely ride now that its sunset on 440 with the sunroof down, towards downtown Raleigh. There, we will have some fancy food at one of the 33 or so fancy restaurants and maybe even catch an iMax movie after if we aren't in the mood to go out dancing.
I love Raleigh but man Richmond is a gem......its urbanity and city feel is very very impressive why there aren't a bigger player when it comes to major southern cities still puzzles me.....
I love Raleigh but man Richmond is a gem......its urbanity and city feel is very very impressive why there aren't a bigger player when it comes to major southern cities still puzzles me.....
The answer to that puzzle for Richmond is it has an Identity Crisis of sorts. It's a place with significant history in civil war time period especially and then also in the industrial boom and also big Tobacco eras. So that great history remains but in 2015 what is going on in Richmond that the Country needs to know about. The city has got to find a way to as it has gotten a bit lost the last few decades. When you say Richmond a question mark comes up in the minds of many. Charlotte=Banking/ Nascar, Atlanta=CNN/airport/Media, Austin=Music/Live entertainment/Technology/College. Raleigh/Durham=Hi-Tech/RTP/College/Medical. That's my best guess. Raleigh was there for the longest but seems to have gained a sense of self the last 15 years.
The answer to that puzzle for Richmond is it has an Identity Crisis of sorts. It's a place with significant history in civil war time period especially and then also in the industrial boom and also big Tobacco eras. So that great history remains but in 2015 what is going on in Richmond that the Country needs to know about. The city has got to find a way to as it has gotten a bit lost the last few decades. When you say Richmond a question mark comes up in the minds of many. Charlotte=Banking/ Nascar, Atlanta=CNN/airport/Media, Austin=Music/Live entertainment/Technology/College. Raleigh/Durham=Hi-Tech/RTP/College/Medical. That's my best guess. Raleigh was there for the longest but seems to have gained a sense of self the last 15 years.
Interesting it does need to find its way but there is to much there to just be not stagnant but not reaching its potential all due respect to Charlotte,Nashville,Oklahoma City and others but Richmond should be on that level.
The answer to that puzzle for Richmond is it has an Identity Crisis of sorts. It's a place with significant history in civil war time period especially and then also in the industrial boom and also big Tobacco eras. So that great history remains but in 2015 what is going on in Richmond that the Country needs to know about. The city has got to find a way to as it has gotten a bit lost the last few decades. When you say Richmond a question mark comes up in the minds of many. Charlotte=Banking/ Nascar, Atlanta=CNN/airport/Media, Austin=Music/Live entertainment/Technology/College. Raleigh/Durham=Hi-Tech/RTP/College/Medical. That's my best guess. Raleigh was there for the longest but seems to have gained a sense of self the last 15 years.
Richmond seems to be known more for its past. Tobacco, Capital of the Confederacy, Hometown of Edgar Allan Poe, etc. In some ways, it's in the same neighborhood as Charleston and Savannah. You won't really find something along the lines of Monument Avenue (or the amount of history in Richmond) in "New South" cities like Raleigh/Durham, Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, etc. Richmond does have VCU and Virginia Biotechnology Park, though. It's kind of like the Triad in NC, an area that had its glory days in the past (Tobacco, Textiles, Furniture). Today, both the Triad and Richmond seem to be flying under the radar compared to Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Hampton Roads, and Northern Virginia.
Richmond seems to be known more for its past. Tobacco, Capital of the Confederacy, Hometown of Edgar Allan Poe, etc. In some ways, it's in the same neighborhood as Charleston and Savannah. You won't really find something along the lines of Monument Avenue (or the amount of history in Richmond) in "New South" cities like Raleigh/Durham, Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, etc. Richmond does have VCU and Virginia Biotechnology Park, though. It's kind of like the Triad in NC, an area that had its glory days in the past (Tobacco, Textiles, Furniture). Today, both the Triad and Richmond seem to be flying under the radar compared to Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Hampton Roads, and Northern Virginia.
Baltimore is the hometown of Edgar Allan Poe.
Richmond is something like a hybrid between Savannah and Charlotte. Savannah = history, architecture, artsy vibe. Charlotte = economy/corporate profile (though smaller), NASCAR presence, more of a "New South" population with a decidedly Southern foundation, Piedmont location
Richmond is something like a hybrid between Savannah and Charlotte. Savannah = history, architecture, artsy vibe. Charlotte = economy/corporate profile (though smaller), NASCAR presence, more of a "New South" population with a decidedly Southern foundation
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, but was adopted by a Richmond family and grew up in Richmond. This is why he attended UVA, and why the Edgar Allan Poe Museum is located in Richmond. However, I believe he moved to Baltimore later in his life.
I agree, and you could also throw in Winston-Salem and Raleigh/Durham.
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, but was adopted by a Richmond family and grew up in Richmond. This is why he attended UVA, and why the Edgar Allan Poe Museum is located in Richmond. However, I believe he moved to Baltimore later in his life.
I agree, and you could also throw in Winston-Salem and Raleigh/Durham.
Didn't know about Poe's Richmond connection but I've always associated him with Baltimore; I mean they named a team after one of his most famous works and everything.
Didn't know about Poe's Richmond connection but I've always associated him with Baltimore; I mean they named a team after one of his most famous works and everything.
Yep! I thought he was from Baltimore, as well. However, I saw the museum in Richmond and turns out he's from Richmond! I guess he was just based in Baltimore when we published "The Raven." He's buried in Baltimore, too.
Yep! I thought he was from Baltimore, as well. However, I saw the museum in Richmond and turns out he's from Richmond! I guess he was just based in Baltimore when we published "The Raven." He's buried in Baltimore, too.
Yep. And someone mysteriously leaves a black rose on Poe's grave on his Birthday every year, and is never seen.
Strange factoid of the evening.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
