Raleigh Revisited

As you probably know by now, I lived in Raleigh for a year and a half, and lived in nearby Durham for 3 years, so I am pretty familiar with the area, although some on my knowledge is out of date. I liked my time in both cities, especially Raleigh. I won't go into all of the reasons I liked the area now though, and will limit this post to the people and the pretty.

Raleigh, Sir Walter.

First, the people in the area are super nice. I met several people in totally random ways while I lived there, like walking down the street or at the library. Men and women both. I knew everyone in my 12-unit building in Raleigh, and most in my 10-unit in Durham. When I was in Raleigh a few months ago, I talked to a man who I met at my old apartment building. He emailed me a few weeks later to see how my search was coming along, and offered to suggest places to live if I moved back to the area. Another man I met while leaving the Cafe wound up sitting and listening to my tales of travel and jobs for about 45 minutes. Total stranger, but genuinely interested in what I was up to.

When I returned to the Court of Appeals, my old pal John was delighted to see me, even though I got his attention by staring in his winder like a crazed stalker (hmm, maybe because I stared at him like a crazed stalker?). And Judge Wynn was of course as gracious and welcoming as always. My friend Deena is the most outgoing person I know, and has the biggest heart. While I only have a few real friends left in the area, I am certain I will make more.

My old home near downtown.

Raleigh is somewhere in the middle, well, maybe closer to the bottom, in terms of prettiness. There are very charming old neighborhoods. Much of downtown is pretty, with lots of green space. And the terrain isn't boring – the whole area is kind of gently rolling hills. But I think Raleigh (and the whole area) is suffering from growing so quickly. The new buildings going up downtown are too big for the space, and aren't anything special. Raleigh made its nice pedestrian mall into a road. What cities are turning pedestrian spaces into roads these days? /puzzled and disbelieving look/ And believe me, downtown Raleigh's traffic is not so heavy it needs another road.

The increased population has also resulted in tons of boring mass-produced homes springing up all over town, most of which aren't anything special. While leaving Raleigh, I saw some of the sprawl that's sprung up in the past decade. It used to be, once I passed the car lots heading north on Route 1, I wouldn't hit another traffic light for miles and miles. This past visit, I hit at least 10 traffic lights that didn't used to be there. Aside from being a sign of too many people moving to the area, it's resulted in a lot of hastily-erected buildings and the erosion of the area's natural beauty.

Now, Raleigh is not ugly the way that Charleston is ugly. And it's in a part of the country with plenty of rain, so the trees and grass and flowers are in good shape. But I wouldn't say Raleigh is among the best-looking of the cities I've seen.

Things I think I'd like about Raleigh:

• The people are super-nice (see above). Even with the large influx of non-North Carolinians in recent years, the people are still friendly to strangers and not in a big hurry or full of self-importance. At the same time, Raleigh is not full of uneducated yokels or some of the more unsavory stereotypes one can find in the south (i.e., racists).
• Despite its really fast growth rate, Raleigh still seems to be an “easy” place to live. Traffic isn't that bad (in most places). Restaurants aren't jam-packed. Things aren't too expensive. People and employers value a good work-home balance.
• Sweet tea! /closes eyes, daydreams about sweet tea/

The Legislative Building, surrounded by green space.

Things I think I'd dislike about Raleigh:

• I'm scared that Raleigh won't be the Raleigh I remember. While it's only been 11 years since I left, I saw a lot of changes, and I know the population has grown by about 40%. I liked that it was a somewhat sleepy smallish city. I doubt it's that sleepy any more, and I know it's not smallish. How many of the places I enjoyed back in 2000 are now gone or replaced? (This last bit is less of a fear: When I visited in 2011, a whole lot of my hangouts were still there!)
• Every once in a while, I'd encounter someone (usually male, usually pretty old, usually from some rural part of NC) who'd start talking to me, then casually mention how “Ni**ers were ruining the state for the rest of us” or something. The first time that happened, I was shocked into silence – Who still talks that way?! Especially to a stranger?! It only happened a couple of times, but it was a reminder that I was living in the South, and that sometimes meant I'd encounter brazen racists.
• Nothing else really, except that lingering suspicion that (to quote Asheville, NC native Thomas Wolfe) “you can't go home again” and that the reality of moving back to Raleigh won't live up to my high expectations.