No. 2: Raleigh, N.C.

Deb
06/04 11:52 AM

These lists are just the media feeding the masses the kind of hype that they want to hear. It seems like there is a different one every week, not really telling us anything past the statistics they are manipulating to pique people’s interest.

?ten-minute walk to work?and a two-minute commute if I drive.?

What a misconception of Raleigh. I would venture to say that a good majority of the people who actually work downtown cannot afford to live that close to their workplaces. Yet Kiplinger presents Mr. Currey’s quote in such a way as to portray how great it is to be a typical Raleighite. Bollocks!

John
06/04 11:55 AM

I don’t get it. Why the negative attitude towards this bit of press?

?Three years ago, this was a ghost town,?

It’s the truth, especially re: Hargett Street. About the “cultural epicenter” remark—a writer who isn’t from the area made a bit of a dramatic statement. What’s the big deal? There are certainly worse or more inaccurate things that could have been said.

Why not embrace good PR of our surging downtown?

Ken Metzger
06/04 01:34 PM

I think the description is pretty accurate of the area.  In actuality it is very affordable to live very close to downtown around Lion’s Park and “Oakhood”.  (Hell you can buy a house next to downtown for only $45,000)

A lot of these lists do just use statistics to find the best city, but I don’t think you can rate good cities based on numbers.  (This coming from a statistical analyst) This list is more a list of cities that have gown a lot, have good paying jobs, and aren’t too expensive to live in.  This does not really capture much of life in the city.  We really would be better off with slower growth, and lists like this do not help.  People keep moving to cities like the ones on the list just so they can buy land and a house because it is not affordable where they are.

I am not sure that I would want to be ranked high in a list that has Houston as #1.  “It’s the city of big plans and no rules, beat-the-heat tunnels and loop-the-loop highways, world-class museums and wiry cowboys, humidity that demands an ice-cold martini and the biggest damn liquor store on the planet. How could you not love Houston?”  That is there opening description for the best city of the land?  I’ll take world class museums, but everything else sounds awful!

Betsy
06/04 07:52 PM

“lists like this do not help.  People keep moving to cities like the ones on the list”

That’s true!  Instead of being a corporate nomad, shuffling off to the featured quality-of-life place of the moment jour (Asheville, Annapolis, Beaufort or wherever)—how about if we work on the city we live in to make it the very best place it can be. 

If enough people did this the nation would be full of great places to live, and no one would need to refer to this year’s Short List of the Few Truly Livable Spots, As Measured By People Who Write Investment Periodicals.

CFB
07/20 03:21 PM

I’ve lived in Raleigh for a little over six years.  On the plus side: nice greenery; abundance of birds; a good rock n’ roll radio station; decent library system; and good used furniture store.  That’s about it. 

Negatives: public transportation is terribly inadequate and probably will remain so as Raleigh/Triangle has some of the worse sprawl in the nation.  With the exception of the areas around downtown, there aren’t any real or distinctive neighborhoods or districts.  Given the ubiqitousness of cul-de-sac living, walking is near impossible and any sense of community vibrancy is totally lacking.  You can’t live in Raleigh without a car—which as of summer 2008 is putting a lot of people around here in a bad situation.  Given the mild climate, it’s a shame there aren’t more biking lanes for those who wish to commute in that manner.  What’s more troubling is the lack of water: since I’ve lived here Raleigh has experienced several droughts.  Worse, there are few natural lakes and rivers that make city life enjoyable. 

To anyone thinking of relocating—anywhere, I’d recommend reading Jane Jacobs, James Howard Kunstler, and google New Urbanism. Look at the city you’re currently living and make a detailed list of what attributes would make you prosperous and happy.  Just working a job, even a good one, isn’t enough reason to move to another place. 

Raleigh does not have a sustainable future.  I will be leaving soon, heading back to Minneapolis which has a fairly decent bus system; a light rail line which will be expanding, lots of sidewalks, cafes, restaurants, plentiful cultural attractions, numerous lakes, and the Mississippi River.  It’s also more ethnically and economically diversified. 

One final comment.  Southerners often ask how I could stand the cold climate of Minnesota.  Yes, it does get cold in Minnesota.  But it’s awfully hot and miserable in Raleigh from mid- June to mid-September, making venturing outdoors unpleasant.  For most people in these parts being warm and comfy for most of the year substitutes for any real sense of city life, culture, and community. Raleigh might be flying high now but its poor design—sprawl (and few centralized work/neighborhood hubs - besides downtown and RTP) resulting in serious public transportation challenges plus continuing drought conditions and overall lack of water sources in the city, make it a risky place to live in the future. 

Just a bit more.  Raleigh is behind the times, but getting better in their recycling efforts.  They also need to get going ASAP on community gardening/farming.  Raleigh, its leaders, and its citizens need some real help in envisioning what a city is really all about. 

Good luck.