We have always done our own thing down here in Mecklenburg County LOL. May 20 1775 we declared our independence from Britain with our Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Today was the 250th anniversary and yes this date is on the NC flag. Here is the celebration in uptown Charlotte. Huzzah!
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As we talk about DTR’s struggle to get something tall built, this is a story of woe that illustrates some of the struggles out there in other towns - Portland’s Ritz-Carlton building is in default and underwater…
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Well we’re helping as best we can. Have several nights booked there in July. It’s the most expensive hotel in the city, so naturally we’re staying there.
Honestly, we’d be lucky to have something this nice in our downtown.
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At this point, can we just get something other than yet another 5over1?
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I’m rooting for more townhome and smaller multi-family developments to pop up around downtown, if nothing else.
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Give me a city full of mostly 6-20 unit condo/apt buildings with corner retail spaces
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Yes, and those can go in the downtown transtiion areas on the OUTSIDE of Raleigh’s downtown boundary.
I disagree, those buildings are good smaller scale replacements to SFH homes and parking lots within the downtown boundary.
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Didn’t know the Avengers European headquarters was Lyon.
Loving this sprawling, human oriented city.
Love turning down an alley and arriving here.
One thing this visit has impressed on me is how variety is not necessarily the life of a city. Every Bouchon in Lyon is going to serve Salad Lyonnaise and Quenelle. But each of them serves a different little pocket of the city. So yeah, bring on 50 coffee shops and barbecue joints and bars with the same drinks!
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Lyon is great
It was part of our honeymoon trip, and the Airbnb was insanely cool - small apartment inside a 500 year old structural stone building.
Amazing food
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Our accommodations are amazing, too. An old parish house with three spiral stone staircases, frescoes, and a piano! I don’t do Airbnb in the states anymore but European spots are still really neat and hospitable.
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Get a reservation at Mere Brazier if you can! Went to Lyon last spring and that was definitely a highlight
A lot of the SFH’s near the core have been purposefullly carved out of the downtown boundary, leaving us with the NIMBYs who want to control what happens within it. Mordecai is carved out. Oakwood is carved out. Glenwood-Brooklyn is carved out. Forest Park is carved out. Boylan Heights is carved out. East of East St. is carved out. N. Person east of Person St. is carved out. By comparison, there are very few SFHs within the actual DT boundary, and a lot of those that remain have been turned into small business, or in the case of my immediate neighborhood, a shit-show outdoor bar.
There’s more opportunity in these edge neighborhoods than in downtown proper.
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Oof, this was our last night. But also we’re traveling with a toddler so a fine dining establishment is kinda wasted on us. Been happy with trying all the local classics. Quenelle in particular are 
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im not sure…is Raleigh different than many 500k sized cities? some state and i guess all city govt is downtown, large hospitals are not, NC state isnt really downtown, all the biotech stuff is in RTP, some in Zebulon i guess.. i think a lot of county employees are on poole road or near wake med. is Raleigh an odd urbanist or commuting pardigm??
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Yeah, that never happens in downtown Raleigh. 
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I made a very quick trip to Madison, WI this weekend. I was BLOWN AWAY!!! The sheer number of folks downtown on Saturday afternoon was insane. There were little shops and cafes all over the greater downtown area. I ran a half marathon Sunday morning, and ran several miles along lakes (plural!!). Their greenway system was incredible and most of the race course was well shaded (much appreciated by the runners 
). Madison is 100% on my list of cities to revisit and spend more time in at some point in the future. The only downside I could see about Madison was that their winters can be pretty harsh. The announcer at the finish line asked me if I preferred Madison or Raleigh for running, specifically about the humidity. Madison was the clear winner 
As a bonus… as my plane took off from Milwaukee, I could see the Chicago skyline in the distance. I had no idea the two cities were so close. Then we flew just east of DT Chicago over Lake Michigan. Pretty cool!!!
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I’ve heard a number of good things about Madison over the last few years. Definitely would consider visiting if I ever make it to Chicago (besides the airport).
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