Best place to live, start a business in Triangle? Durham, says Fortune Small Business
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Durham, often the overlooked stepchild when it comes to publicity about the Triangle area, emerges ahead of its rivals in a new survey out from Fortune Small Business.
In its ranking of the 100 “Best Places To Live and Launch,” the magazine ranks Durham 12th.
Raleigh, meanwhile, stands 20th. Chapel Hill didn’t even make the list. No mention of Cary, either.
Best place in the state, however, is Charlotte. The Queen City ranks eighth.
Noting accurately in its profile that Durham is “perceived as the underdog of the Triangle region,” the magazine describes the “pros” of the Bull City thusly: “Thriving biotech and pharmaceutical industries, lots of local arts festivals and college sports.”
As would be expected, Fortune Small Business is full of praise for Research Triangle Park, most of which is in Durham County. However, it also cites as a plus a project that’s owned by Capitol Broadcasting (the parent of WRAL.com and WRAL Local Tech Wire):
“The creative class in the Triangle area (Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh) has begun to set up shop in the unconventional workspaces that are available in downtown Durham's ‘American Tobacco Historical District’ and in recently renovated office towers.”
Other kudos for Durham include the Nasher Museum of Art and a “lower cost of living,” but it’s marked down for crime. “[T]he city also records higher crime rates, which has dinged its reputation in the region.”
Ironically, Bellevue, Wash., topped the list. That happens to be where Durham-based Motricity is moving its headquarters.
As one would guess, Raleigh is praised for its high-tech growth. The capital is also knocked for infrastructure – their reporter must have tried to drive on I-40 and the Beltline:
“Pros: Thriving tech industry, central location amid major research and business centers
“Con: Raleigh's infrastructure is struggling to keeping up with its population growth”
The Fortune Small Business survey focused on 296 metro areas for business friendliness, lifestyle offerings and reporting of its staff.
Other regional cities on the list: Buford, Ga., 3; Asheville, 41; Greensboro, 50; Winston-Salem, 56; Charleston, S.C., 81, and Savannah, Ga., 99.
The Skinny
WRAL Local Tech Wire Publisher and Editor Rick Smith dishes out tidbits from the local technology sector. Read more articles…
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Cary's police department is solely there to harass the people and increase revenue by pulling people over for no reason other than to harass and write a ticket.
Guess Rd is not bad - the Harris Teeter plaza is very nice and I frequent it a lot. Also, my daughter's school is off of Guess Rd and there are no issues there (at least none that I know of). In fact, it is probably the nicest PUBLIC elementary school around this area. Also, Roxboro Rd is not all that bad. I work off of Ben Franklin Blvd and travel to the Walmart you speak of a couple times a week. Never had an incident. Lucky? maybe, but the place is pretty crowded, so I assume some people shop there. Likewise, I live in North Durham and have not had any problems. It has been five years and I am a very happy in my neighborhood. It is a great place to live!
There's typically a lot of business going on near Holloway and Alston. And back in the day, Few Gardens was a real business hotspot.
:)
Yeah, and Fortune Small Business at least is highlighting some good parts of Durham. Moving a business to downtown Durham or any downtown may not be wise decision.
There are alot of places in Durham that would give good buisness
And iron fist - if you had 3 years invested with a company, and they moved from RTP to Downtown Durham, how quickly would you leave? Its not as easy as you think when you've got a somewhat established career, a mortgage, a family, etc.
Look, I'm not saying you guys shouldn't like Durham - I'm just saying that I don't. And everything I've posted here is fact. Like it or not. The main reason I moved out of the Triangle's cities and into Granville County was to get away from this. Unfortunately, most of the tech companies don't have offices in Wilton or Pocomoke.
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