[TriLUG] [offtopic] Considering a move to RDU area

[Randy Barlow]

On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:19:30 -0400, "Tim Jowers" <timjowers at gmail.com>
declared:
> You probably know from Charlotte but the now indigenous people of NC
> are very fair, kind, generally non-judgemental, and have a penchant
> for knowledge. The area is the majority non-indigenous but that's
> cool too. No matter where you are from then you can find others from
> there. Of course there are fewer first-generation neighborhoods (aka
> "China Town" or "Korea Town") but I think generally people just
> integrate. But if you like sushi for instance then your choices may
> be more limited than in some places. I think about the same as in
> CLT. But you can probably find some good German food like you can in
> CLT. ???

I guess I'll chime in because I grew up in Charlotte and now live in
Raleigh.  There are a lot of similarities, but I'll focus on the
differences I see.  Charlotte has an equally horrible education system
(I am a survivor of East Meck '00!) with all the same bussing and
such.  The climate between the two cities really seems about the same
to me.  I very much agree with Tim about the social atmosphere here
though.  People in Charlotte tend to be much less educated on the
average than this area.  It's actually because this area is one of the
most educated areas in the states (I think I once read that we have the
highest concentration of Masters and PhD degrees in the triangle) and
not that people in Charlotte are less educated than the national
average (probably more so).  Technology is big here, banking is big in
Charlotte.

I will make the argument that downtown Charlotte is much more fun than
downtown Raleigh.  I think the difference is that Charlotte is all
private sector, and they make lots of money by drawing people there.
Raleigh is a mix of private and public sectors, so there is really much
less of a "nightlife" here.  Overall, I've felt much more connected to
people here than I did in Charlotte, but that's a personality thing.
You've got to figure that one out for yourself!

-- 
Randy Barlow
http://electronsweatshop.com