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DZH Does North Carolina - Raleigh

27K views 83 replies 20 participants last post by  OK2TX2NJ2NC 
#1 ·
This is also posted in Urban Showcase, but I figured it was going to die a quick death there since so many people regularly update their threads that the turnover is like a few hours!

Raleigh is a nice little city. Hope y'all enjoy, and sorry about the length.

Couple observations... The masts in the background of a couple pics are literally 2000' tall! (I have some unposted close-ups if anyone is interested) These were taken on a Saturday, late afternoon into the evening. The first pic was taken through the windshield of my car when they skyline kind of took me by surprise around a bend. Also, I thought of posting them in the next larger size (1280 wide instead of 1024) so feel free to leave me feedback regarding that.





















































































































































































































































 
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#7 ·
Weird. People who like Raleigh generally also like Greensboro where as people who like Charlotte seem to prefer Winston-Salem.

I don't know what vibe Raleigh has that you refer to. Are you talking about the downtown areas or the inner ring neighborhoods as well? I ask because you mentioned the queen city.

I'm curious as to why you think Raleigh has a better vibe? Is it the college town vibe? A la a smaller Austin tx?

Nice pictures by the way. :) it's good to see someone rep. Raleigh here.
 
#6 ·
Very nice. Raleigh has some nice ITB (inside the belt or I-440 neigbhorhoods) as well. Although not captured in these photos, the big change in downtown Raleigh is on Glenwood Ave., which has become the defacto music, bar, club scene in town.

This is what makes the Triangle an interesting place, Raleigh's capitol city stature, Durham's grit and Chapel Hill's college town environment. It's by no means an urban oasis but there's plenty of character in the Triangle.
 
#10 ·
I like cities full of tattooed kids and aspiring musicians. I do tend to like college towns but I don't necessarily like to have anything to do with the colleges in said towns.

I can't really put my finger on Greensboro, it just has a nice, safe (as in a den or crate kind of safe) feel, a real personal, human scale to things, and "artsy" little business's around downtown (I was last there pre-recession, not sure if that has changed).
I like cities with huge skyscrapers and important corporations too, but don't like it when the ratio of corporate to kitsch gets out of balance.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Oh yes...I live near both at the moment, and spend a good bit of time in both. Greensboro's downtown is basically one street (Elm) while Winston-Salem is several blocks and much more vibrant. There is honestly no comparison between the two as far as size/urbanity, but which one is better is obviously a matter of opinion. :)

Anyway, don't wanna derail this thread about Raleigh. :)
 
#21 ·
I love Greensboro too...I went to college there and lived there for several years, but downtown is a just a smidgen of Winston-Salem's. It's a nice but small downtown.

I have always like Raleigh as well, having spent some time there back in the 80s...but it has improved tremendously since then.
 
#28 ·
Lots of nice commentary here. Y'all should know that my next thread is going to be a combined Winston-Salem and Greensboro one (followed by a Charlotte one). I already have all the pics, just slowly cutting them down to a manageable amount. But anyways, just wanted to mention that the next thread will probably be the better spot for all the Winston-Salem vs Greensboro commentary :lol:
 
#29 ·
We'll be sure to comment about Raleigh in that one:)

Was your original post here edited? I recall you mentioning that you were surprised to like Raleigh better than the other big NC city? I first responded based on your observation. That being sponged from the record makes me look like a douche for having brought up Charlotte (the city has grown on me) at all. Maybe I was on peyote at the time and dreamed the whole thing up?
 
#30 ·
That comment was made in the "Your Favorite Southern Tallest" thread. I said BOA in Charlotte was, but then mentioned that I surprisingly liked Raleigh better than Charlotte (seems more urban). I thought Charlotte just had way too many parking garages surrounded by parking lots. Still had a great skyline though, but it seemed like the city started and ended there.
 
#41 ·
Outsider opinion: Charlotte is fantastic for its highrises, rail and big city amenities. At the same time, I can not think of a city which has so ravaged its historic stock as Charlotte has. Raleigh has it all over Charlotte in this regard ... and it has some big city items.
 
#54 ·
Those are great pictures and was in downtown Raleigh for the 4th. The place was hoppin'.

As for historic stock, etc. I always get a kick out of forumers that chest bump about old buildings..while nice and make for great pictures.... but if not properly maintained these buildings are nonfunctional and cost prohibitive to fully upgrade to support today's technology.

I worked for a company that had rehabbed an old factory building in N. Andover Mass. A beaut on the exterior but traversing the place via stairs and elevator was a maze. I once pondered, maybe the should've bulldozed this bad boy and started anew. They made it work but engineering those old buildings for function is costly and patch work. The HVAC system couldn't properly handle all the modifications so it be too hot in one area and too cold in another....a nice building but not the most functional.

At this time in history, Charlotte (uptown) has an opportunity to urbanize with the future in mind which it is seems to be doing....clearly an advantage from my perspective. They have the stunning height and finally got the pieces in place to create walkable, livable, state-of-the-art urban pockets.
 
#55 ·
Atlanta is my favorite city, personally, to visit
I live in Atlanta and honestly, it has its qualities, but I don't see how it would rank so high, maybe it's because having been here so long, I don't know.

I think Charlotte has a great skyline and a lot of potential.

Raleigh seems to have a really nice amount of older buildings as well as some newer ones and seems to look nice at street level. I don't know enough about that city, but its downtown seems walkable and certainly that area has a lot going for it.
 
#56 ·
I live in Atlanta and honestly, it has its qualities, but I don't see how it would rank so high, maybe it's because having been here so long, I don't know.

I think Charlotte has a great skyline and a lot of potential.

Raleigh seems to have a really nice amount of older buildings as well as some newer ones and seems to look nice at street level. I don't know enough about that city, but its downtown seems walkable and certainly that area has a lot going for it.
It's because you live in ATL. I like ATL for the tourist attractions. CNN, Coke, Stone Mountain, Centennial Park, Cyclomania, Zoo Atlanta, Underground ATL, Georgia Aquarium, etc. I've been 3 times. First was for a Trade Show Convention and I was very very impressed and I decided to go on vacation the following year.

I haven't been to Raleigh in quite a while. I usually go out towards Garner & Cary yearly when I do go to RDU. I'll take Amtrak up there some time soon and check it out throughly.
 
#59 ·
Glenwood South may be a few streets over from the CBD, but the two districts are well-connected with the R-Line (free bus). Glenwood South isn't even that big anyway, and in my opinion, the bars on and around Fayetteville Street are much better.

I think the lack of a major freeway running through or around downtown Raleigh is probably what causes our skyline to be so surprising to visitors. You can see glimpses of it from I-40 and the beltline, but most of the time it is blocked by trees and topography. I'm very thankful that we don't have a mess of a road like the Durham Freeway that effectively divided a neighborhood and caused great social discourse. That road has actually become a national case-study for transportation engineers.
 
#60 ·
Glenwood South may be a few streets over from the CBD, but the two districts are well-connected with the R-Line (free bus). Glenwood South isn't even that big anyway, and in my opinion, the bars on and around Fayetteville Street are much better.
Uptown is connected to Southend via Bridges, Light Rail, easy signs, and bike Lanes. It's not rare to see people walking the bridges (That are nice) from Uptown to SOuthend. They're very connected... As soon as you cross the bridge its high density, low rise development for miles.








Dilworth Borders that to the Right.


Then Midtown/Elizabeth Charlotte is easily connected to Uptown. I277 goes over Stonewall and all the other streets connected the 2.

On top of that a Street car (with Tracks mostly laid) will connect the 2. Developments are already starting right by 277 to make the transition seemless. Elizabeth/Midtown has really built up over the years and there are huge lowrise (retail on floor level) projects coming online. A popular Greenway also connect the 2.

I'm just still baffled at this idea that Charlotte is 2/3 streets of urbanity....

I'm ready to see the DNZ does North Carolina - Charlotte thread. :cheers:
 
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