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[Steven Champeon <schampeo AT hesketh.com>]

on Thu, Jul 30, 2009 at 04:13:28PM -0400, Greg Cox wrote:
> On Thu, 30 Jul 2009, Mark Turner wrote:
> 
> > Raleigh's got plenty: the N.C. Symphony, N.C. Museum of Art (granted,
> > both state entities). a strong parks department, a greenway system
> > second to none, a lively downtown, relatively low crime, and great
> > schools. What's not to like?
> 
> I'll summarize with the catchphrase I like to explain it:
> No Stroll District.
> 
> Charleston, Savannah, San Antonio, Portland, New Orleans, NYC, SF,
> they all have places that would qualify.  I can't say the miles-apart
> trifecta of Fayetteville/9th/Franklin even come close.

So Raleigh is a rail town, rather than a river town or port city. It
grew up around the spokes and outlying neighborhoods, instead of along a
river or waterfront like Wilmington. I remember being surprised when I
moved down here that there was no river (the Neuse doesn't really count,
it's just nearby, not the reason for the city being where it is), until
I realized this. Sure, the River Walk in San Antonio is nice, but so's
Glenwood South, Fayetteville St/Hargett, the Warehouse District, our
downtown parks, etc. When I lived over behind Cup-A-Joe, I had a pretty
good time wandering around Hillsborough St, though I'm getting old
enough now to be annoyed by the students. My only real gripe with the
place is the lack of a downtown grocery; it sucks having to drive to
Six Forks and Wake Forest or Cameron Village for groceries.

> RDU is a perfectly fine place to live, but, aside from jobs, school,
> or a basketball game, when's the last time you've heard someone say,
> "OH, YEAH, (Raleigh|Durham|Chapel Hill|favorite outlying burb)! I
> really want to go visit there!"  I mean, let's face it, there's not a
> swarm of Lonely Planet authors waiting to cover the nuances of RTP
> for all the anxious tourists.

I hear it quite often, actually, from friends who are considering a move
into the area. It's actually nice to be able to mention a few dozen
great restaurants, stuff like Locopops and Goodberry's, walk around
Oakwood or down to Moore Square and City Market, or take the R Line a
bit further afield. I think Raleigh's come a long way in the past
fifteen years (I remember when you had a choice between Angus Barn and
42nd St Oyster Bar and that was about it, if you didn't want cheap
Mexican or chain food or BBQ), even if it's still trying to deal with
how to make downtown more livable. It certainly beats the hell out of
Cary; ever try to cross the street on foot at Dillard and Walnut? I
always have to talk these folks away from Cary, it seems to be where
they all assume they're going to live for some reason. 

I've been to Austin and SF more than any other cities in the US, and on
a regular basis, for years. And I like it here better, though it'd be
nice to have better public transportation and a world class hotel here,
Raleigh has better weather than either place, less grinding poverty, and
you can walk its hills without giving yourself shin splints. :-)

> We lack an identity and a culture. I'm tired beyond belief at people
> trotting out DPAC and American Tobacco Campus and the Carrboro
> Farmer's Market as if those make RDU one baby step away from being the
> next big thing. We're a sprawly mess whose best feature is that we're
> not too far a drive away from things that people would actually want
> to visit.

I respectfully disagree, at least with respect to downtown Raleigh.
After all, Raleigh is the city with a Party Hat!

Steve

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