We have to stop feeding the narrative that Raleigh is on a different/lower tier than cities like Austin. […] Yes, its MSA is larger than Raleigh’s. However, these comparisons ignore the multi-centralized nature of the Triangle and the oddity of the dual-MSA designations in the Triangle as a comparison.
Two things:
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I completely agree in that, if we want to join their ranks, we should do what we can to not say we’re a less “significant” MSA than Austin (or elsewhere). But I think there’s still some truth to the “diminishing narratives” you’re talking about, and suppressing our shortcomings is not a smart or mature solution in the long run. …or, at least, there’s still a lot of ways the Triangle can create narratives to look more attractive.
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I noticed the dual-MSA (metro statistical areas) thing popping up here regularly… can we do something to change this so that the Census properly recognizes the Triangle for what it is? The Census is coming up in a year and a half, so I’d imagine now would be a good time to do something about this (plus it may be a good way to solve what you’re talking about, John).