I’ve lived in a lot of different cities and urban environments, from NYC to the ultra-suburban Orange County, CA. I’ve visited most of the major cities in the U.S. as well. That said, when I moved to Raleigh I didn’t know what to expect, but it feels to me like a very close-knit small town that had some skyscrapers integrated into it. Maybe not the level of hustle and/or bustle (Homestar Runner joke…anyone?) of a major city, but definitely enough to know that this place has stuff going on.
A lot of this has already been mentioned, but:
We have a ton of local businesses downtown. There’s only one Starbucks and it’s in a hotel lobby. There’s only a few national fast-food chains (even less now that Chick-Fil-A is gone). The only chain store I can think of CVS. Yet, the majority of storefronts are filled.
When I talk about my favorite restaurants, people have heard of them. Definitely not the case in every major city. Yet, every palate is accommodated in some way downtown.
The museums: we need to lean into the Smithsonian of the South big time. The Natural Science museum, State History museum, and Marbles are all world-class (so is NCMA for that matter).
The tree canopy is amazing.
The connectivity to the residential neighborhoods and neighborhood retail corridors is great, no doubt aided by the lack of freeways in the immediate vicinity (another plus).
Hopscotch and live music in general. Even Red Hat, for what it lacks in acoustics and protection from the elements, is made up for in spades with location and backdrop.
That’s just what I can think of off the top of my head.