<p>Is anyone familiar with and willing to tell me about- Greensboro, Charlotte, Asheville, Raleigh and Wilmington.</p>
<p>What kind of info. are you most interested in?</p>
<p>Well I dont know if your looking for colleges in these areas or looking to relocate but heres my summaries of the cities.</p>
<p>I used to live in Charlotte for about 4 years and I enjoyed it a lot. The people there are very friendly and downtown Charlotte has a lot of fun things happening all the time. NFL football reigns supreme there Sundays in the fall! Im assuming you must be looking at UNC Charlotte which has been gaining a great reputation as a good school. </p>
<p>Asheville is up in the mountains of N. Carolina and its a pretty quiet city…somewhat of a tourist spot in the summer; Applachian State is located nearby there in Boone and from what I’ve heard its a beautiful campus and not too difficult to get in as long as you meet the requirements. </p>
<p>I’ve been to Greensboro a couple of times because my dad has clients there…I dont know too much about it except that its a growing city and seems like a pretty nice place…not too much crime; Elon University is located there and many kids from my school end up going there after they graduate and they come back saying they LOVE it and couldnt imagine a better place. </p>
<p>Wilmington I’ve also been to a couple of times on vacation its located on N.C inner banks and has great beaches and is a great vacation spot…there’s also tons of history there dating back to the Civil War era; I know UNC Wilmington is located there but I dont know too much about it. </p>
<p>Now I’ve never been to Raleigh but I know its grown a lot and I alsoknow its part of triangle of cities with Durham and Chapel Hill all of which are great college towns I’ve heard and all are home to AMAZING colleges such as Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State. </p>
<p>Anyways hope that helped if you have any more questions feel free to message me.</p>
<p>tom1944: Most of the information you get will probably be subjective, but I live in Raleigh, pretty much downtown, and within walking distance to NCSU. It has several other colleges downtown: Meredith College (private, all female, about a mile from NCSU); Peace College (private, all female, also close to NCSU); and a couple of HBC’s (Shaw; St. Augustine’s) It’s the capitol city, so lots of State gov’t offices. It’s a city, and an ever-growing one. Let’s see . . . oh, yes, and home of Jesse Helms. Anything else?</p>
<p>Wilmington is pretty much at the beach. It’s a lovely old port city (one of NC’s 2 main ports). Not as big as Raleigh, but really very nice-- lots of old historic bldgs and houses downtown, on the water. UNC-Wilmington is not really downtown, but not all that far (would need a car); its location is a little more suburban. Also seems to be growing at a rapid pace, though not nearly as crowded as Raleigh.</p>
<p>Asheville is growing, too. Beautiful old city in the mountains. Lots to do; lots of arts and crafts. Home of UNC-Asheville and Warren Wilson College. Though Asheville is prospering, it actually suffered quite a bit in the depression; the city itself didn’t start recovering until the mid- 1970’s. So, for nearly 50 years, it was in a pretty depressed state. I think some businesses recognized it was a good area, and so gave it a jump-start by relocating there (the way I understand it). So it’s prospering now, but there’s this sense (at least when I visit), that it’s still a very mixed city in terms of prospering/growth/wealth vs continuing poverty. It’s a big tourist area these days, though, and home of the Biltmore Mansion. </p>
<p>Greensboro is also an old city with a downtown that’s been working it’s way back up, too-- getting revived-- with new businesses, restaurants, condos. It’s a smaller city than Raleigh, and (to my mind) still maintains something of a small town atmosphere, where everybody seems to know everybody. UNC-G is downtown, where there are lots of interesting shops, coffee houses, little restaurants, galleries. (Oh, and Greensboro is also the home of the Woolworth lunch counter incident in early 1960’s–now a Museum.)</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Charlotte, except it’s a banking center. </p>
<p>Weather is the same in all (mostly hot), except for Asheville, where it will be cooler in summer and harsher in winters-- but nothing compared to Northeastern winters.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone. I am helping my D put together a college list and the NC system has a college in each town- we justed wanted to get a feel for each city. My D is interested in looking at schools that have other things going on outside of the college itself. She is into music and a town with a music scene would be a big plus- she plays for fun but will not major in music at school. She likes concerts of various sizes- she goes to these quirky indy type shows of small bands as well as the name band big events.</p>
<p>Asheville has a diverse music community. Montreat College (~12 miles away near Black Mountain) has a well respected music department which does not require one to be a music major to participate in most of the groups. Also, close enough to travel to Brevard & Greenville, SC for their concerts & other activities.</p>
<p>I’ll weigh in with a personal view from another North Carolinian.</p>
<p>Raleigh–I haven’t spent much time there, but 22 year old d. just moved there the first of May and has really been enjoying it. She has discovered beautiful parks to go running, fun nightclubs, good shopping and has hit some small concerts and other shows. She says traffic isn’t too bad and she hasn’t felt unsafe at any time.</p>
<p>Wilmington–agree with what everyone else has said. Will add that every student I know who has attended UNCW has loved Wilmington. My son has friends there and enjoys spending breaks there. Beach is a big attraction.</p>
<p>Asheville–very artsy/crafty town. Great antique shopping. Seems to have an active local music scene. Beautiful scenery and lots of mountain activities to do close by such as hiking, climbing, rafting, kayaking.</p>
<p>Charlotte–probably have spent more time there than the other towns, but is my least favorite of them. Is more overbuilt and more traffic problems. I haven’t seen statistics, but would wager that crime rate is higher.</p>
<p>Here I go…</p>
<p>Charlotte…Have lived inCharlotte area for 25 years. It has a beautiful big city type downtown where the Panthers play football and there is a lot of activitiy on the streets. Downtown Charlotte is not really close to UNCC so I doubt many students spend a lot of time there unless they are old enough to hit the bar scene (and have cars drive themselves there). Charlotte is growing by leaps and bounds which makes traffic a headache every where you go. That prob. doesn’t bother college students as much as us old timers. I wouldn’t call Charlotte a college town but that doesn’t mean kids can’t be happy here. </p>
<p>UNCC on the northeast corner of Charlotte, used to be in the middle of the country when I attended many years ago. Now it is surrounded by busy roads, shopping centers, restaurants, apartments, etc. The campus is attractive and growing with several new buildings added recently and more on the slate. </p>
<p>Raleigh…Jack has already covered that better than I could. I would say that as a frequent traveler through Raleigh, the roads and traffic there are better than Charlotte.
My H is an NCSU grad. and my S is currently attending NCSU. They both had/are having a great time in Raleigh and cannot imagine being anywhere else. NCSU is bordered by busy Raleigh streets but they don’t not run through the campus. . I know many have gone w/out a car and gotten along just fine. Don’t have an real info. on music scene but I know there are clubs with live music that under 21’s are admitted to. With so many college kids in Raleigh, I don’t think there is a shortage of entertainment. </p>
<p>Wilmington…Have only been there as a tourist while on a vacation at the beach. Pretty old historic district on the water, more small town feel.
Have never been to UNCW but as MKM said, S has many friends from high sch. who attend and love it there. S visits from Raleigh often (just went this past weekend,lol). Can’t beat college at the beach,lol.</p>
<p>Asheville…also only visited as a tourist but thought the dowtown area was really cool, lots of restaurants, quirky shops, galleries and not far from UNCA. I am feel sure the quirky music scene is alive and well there. </p>
<p>Greensboro…really don’t know anything about, only passed through on the interstate. A friend of S’s (girl) attends UNCG and is happy there.</p>
<p>keep the info coming!</p>
<p>Lots of great info here. I just wanted to add that Asheville is probably the most liberal-feeling of these communities. If you’re a quirky or artsy or musical, this is a great place. It’s also very environmentally conscious.<br>
It definitely has a “feel” all its own.</p>
<p>curiouser: Good point about Asheville. Definitely more politically liberal than all the rest of those cities, though once you get right outside of Asheville, it can get real conservative-- in a hurry. But you’re right about the laid-back and “artsy” atmosphere, and certainly moreso in comparison to the other cities mentioned here.</p>
<p>mkm56 makes a good point about Raleigh’s parks, too. I’d forgotten that, compared to some other cities, it really does have a strong concentration of parks and greenways, both great for biking, hiking, running. Close proximity to Durham and Chapel Hill, too, though you’d need a car.</p>
<p>I live in NC too, so…
Greensboro: A nice small suburban city. It’s really very green. There are a lot of parks and natural areas. It’s pretty family-oriented…people are friendly, there’s not much crime except for the bad parts of town. Someone said before that everyone seems to know everyone else, and it’s true, even though there are 200,000+ people. There’s a pretty big grassroots music scene downtown that’s popular with high school and college students. Speaking of students, there are a lot of college students because there are 5 colleges, not counting the CC, that are actually in the city, and more on the outskirts. There are a couple of clubs downtown that are pretty popular and a lot of great restaurants. Politically, the city usually votes democratic, but it’s close. Most of the surrounding suburban areas are much more conservative.
Charlotte: Definitely the most “big city” feel in NC. Uptown (downtown) is packed on the weekends until the early hours of the morning. There are a lot of restaurants, clubs, bars, sports events, cultural events, etc. There’s a definite business/banking orientation among the people who work there. Uptown is a pretty safe area, although there are some sketchier areas nearby. A huge amount of people in Charlotte are not from the area, but rather from NY/NJ. Politically, it can be somewhat conversative because of all of the business interests, but it’s much more socially liberal than most of the state.
Asheville: Asheville is very artsy. There’s a big music/culture/arts scene. It’s definitely the most liberal place in NC. It’s not uncommon to smell marijuana when walking through parts of downtown. Hah. There are also lots of opportunities for hiking, rafting, biking, general outdoorsy stuff in the area.</p>
<p>We just returned from our road trip. We loved Charlotte. We stayed near the Southpark mall. My daughter and I did some shopping of course. We visited Queens University which is in the Myers Park area. I can’t imagine a more beautiful location for a college. And we absolutely loved the school. We also stayed in Greesboro, but did not see much of the town. We visited Elon from there. Elon is like a postcard. They have the most beautiful grass! We don’t have grass like that in Florida. Then we went to High Point and I didn’t think it was a safe area to go to college. So we have crossed it off her list.</p>
<p>Tom1944, I hope your daughter has made her college choice by now. :)</p>
<p>This thread is SIX years old…I would think the OP’s kiddo has graduated from college by now.</p>
<p>she has and has even landed a job</p>
<p>Funny! They removed the spam that brought the topic back up to the top but other replies have kept it up… oh well, We moved to NC 5 years ago… about a year after this thread was started… and have been very happy here!</p>
<p>You know, sometimes methinks there’s a cabal of posters lurking on CC looking to revive ancient threads only to see how many of us they can hook until someone realizes it’s an ancient thread. LOL.</p>
<p>Timely though, as I have a close relative about to move to Greensboro as a young professional. Would love to share more information about the city. I know they are tearing their out figuring the ins and outs of car registration/highway tax/ etc. If anyone cares to jump in with 2013 details that would be great. Thanks!</p>