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RALEIGH
City of Oaks Attracts National Attention By Brett Cornwright
The city of Raleigh, with a
population that recently eclipsed
405,000, is the 43rd largest in the
United States. The venerable yet
progressive city continues to receive
national recognition for its quality of
life, relatively stable housing market,
business atmosphere, highly rated
healthcare and plentiful educational
opportunities.
Our areas quality of life is second
to none, said Raleigh Mayor Charles
Meeker. Whether you are in search
of acquiring a world-class education,
starting a career, launching a
business, raising a family, retiring, or
anything in between, Raleigh is the
place you want to be.
According to the Raleigh Chamber
oI Commerce und uIhrmIng LIe
mayors statement, a recent survey
showed that 96 percent of newcomers
with children said they would move
to the area again if they had to do it
over.
Raleigh is a great city, said Kerry
Springer, who recently relocated here
from Chicago. It has everything in
the way of entertainment, sports,
shopping, and restaurants. The
weuLIer Is wurm und LIe LruIhc Is noL
too bad. The parks, museums, and
greenways that are all around the city
ure LerrIhc Ior IumIIv LIme.
With a revitalized downtown area
and plentiful broadband access, the
capital city of North Carolina racks up
national rankings for its offerings and
industry. And if you are in the market
for a new home, you will be thrilled
to know that the City of Oaks, along
with the neighboring city of Cary, was
named as the healthiest of the top 100
large housing markets in the United
States by Builder magazine.
Other recent kudos include Raleighs
No. 1 Most Wired City billing by
Wired magazine, the No. 1 Best Place
for Business and Careers by Forbes.
com, the No. 3 Best Place to Launch
a Small Business list by CNNMoney.
com, and the Daily Beasts Smartest
City in America.
Raleighs consistent placement on all
of Americas best of lists clearly speaks
to the citys superior and enviable
quality of life, said Meeker, who is
now servIng IIs hILI consecuLIve Lerm
as Raleighs mayor. Even though the
economy is experiencing uncertainty
globally, Raleigh has consistently
maintained an unemployment rate well
below the state and national rates.
In a testament to how the citys
economy is fairing in the down
economy, Raleigh was also ranked
seventh in the United States for
smuII-busIness vILuIILv, reecLIng un
opportunity for those interested in
starting a new business, according to
Forbes magazine.
Raleighs major employers include
the State of North Carolina, the
Wake County Public School System,
WakeMed Health and Hospitals,
Rex Healthcare, Progress Energy,
Wake County Government, the City
of Raleigh, First Citizens Bank, Misys
Healthcare Systems, the Raleigh News
& Observer, Longistics, and Waste
Industries.
Helping fuel Raleighs diverse
economy is the Research Triangle
Park, one of the oldest and largest high
technology parks in North America.
It is located between Raleigh and
Durham and is home to 170 companies
employing 42,000 people.
Downtown Living
Raleighs downtown area is also
thriving. Comprised of 110 city
bIocks und hve dIsLIncL dIsLrIcLs, LIe
downtown area has actually gained
new businesses despite the economic
situation.
There are so many amenities in
the downtown area that many are
choosing to put down permanent roots
here. According to the Downtown
Alliance, there are approximately
5,000 downtown residents enjoying
the convenience and excitement of
an urban lifestyle. With residential
options spanning from apartments to
condominiums to townhomes to single
family homesthere is something for
everyone. >
Raleigh Population: 405,791 | Median Income: $51,969 | Median Age: 31 | Source: City-Data.com (2009)
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TIere ure hve muIn dIsLrIcLs In
LIe downLown ureu, IncIudIng
uveLLevIIIe SLreeL, Moore Squure,
GIenwood SouLI, LIe WureIouse
DIsLrIcL, und LIe CupILuI DIsLrIcL.
EucI oI LIese oIIers dIsLIncL IeuLures,
urcIILecLure und oIIerIngs, perIecL Ior
spendIng LIe duv (or nIgIL) LourIng
eucI one.
OI course, LIe ureu Is popuIur Ior
cusuuI und eIegunL dInIng uL LIe more
LIun 16= resLuurunLs und burs. TIere
Is uIso pIenLv oI sIoppIng In LIe wuv
oI cIoLIIng, IurnILure or unLIques.
or urL Iovers, LIere ure more LIun
u dozen urL guIIerIes LIuL sponsor
perIodIc cruwIs Ior ILs puLrons.
n uddILIon Lo Iood, cuILure, und
nIgILIIIe, DownLown RuIeIgI Is uIso
wILIIn u sIorL dIsLunce Lo u number
oI recreuLIonuI umenILIes. TIese
IncIude Moore und NusI Squures,
Lwo oI RuIeIgI`s mosL Lreusured
purks, und PuIIen Purk und CIuvIs
Purk, wIIcI ure wILIIn u mIIe oI LIe
downLown ureu.
Higher Ed / Healthcare
TIose wIo ure IookIng Lo begIn
LIeIr IIgIer educuLIon cureers,
pursue u dIIIerenL cureer puLI, or wouId
IIke Lo Luke u cIuss or Lwo Lo Ieurn u new
skIII cun Luke udvunLuge oI LIe munv
scIooIs In RuIeIgI. And cIunces ure
vou cun hnd wIuLever currIcuIum or
skIII LIuL InLeresLs vou.
HuvIng munv IIgIer educuLIon
opporLunILIes In cIose proxImILv uIso
meuns LIuL resIdenLs cun conLInue
LIeIr educuLIon on u IuII-LIme or purL-
LIme busIs. TIIs resuILs In empIovers
IuvIng u Iurge pooI oI IIgIIv educuLed
empIovees Irom wIIcI Lo seIecL.
An uncIIIurv benehL Ior boLI Is LIe
opporLunILv Ior sLudenLs Lo InLern In
LIeIr heId oI sLudv.
or RuIeIgI`s kIndergurLen
LIrougI 1z-grude sLudenLs, LIe
IocuLIon oI so munv Lop-noLcI
coIIeges und unIversILIes oIIers
umuzIng possIbIIILIes. AII oI LIe cILv`s
unIversILIes Iuve IubuIous progrums,
sucI us LIe musIc cumps, uLIIeLIc
cumps oI uII vurIeLIes, scIence cumps,
und progrums desIgned Lo encouruge
und brouden LIe IorIzons oI ILs mosL
LuIenLed voung peopIe.
TIe Wuke CounLv PubIIc ScIooI
SvsLem serves RuIeIgI Ior pubIIc
educuLIons und resIdenLs ure uIso
served bv munv hne prIvuLe prep
scIooIs LIuL runge Irom currIcuIum Lo
reIIgIous bused.
As Iur us IIgIer educuLIon, RuIeIgI
Is Iome Lo MeredILI CoIIege, NorLI
CuroIInu SLuLe UnIversILv, Peuce
CoIIege, SIuw UnIversILv, SuInL
AugusLIne`s CoIIege, LIe ScIooI oI
CommunIcuLIon ArLs, und Wuke
TecInIcuI CommunILv CoIIege, uIong
wILI CumpbeII UnIversILv`s Normun
WIggIns ScIooI oI uw, wIIcI Is
IocuLed downLown.
RuIeIgI Is Iome Lo LIree oI LIe hnesL
und uwurd wInnIng IospILuI svsLems.
WukeMed RuIeIgI Cumpus, Rex
HeuILIcure, und Duke RuIeIgI HospILuI
serve LIe cILIzens wILI uIIordubIe,
cuLLIng-edge IeuILIcure. TIe cILv, und
LIe TrIungIe regIon In generuI, Ius
Iong been renown Ior LIe quuIILv oI
IeuILIcure LIuL Is eusIIv uvuIIubIe und
uIIordubIe.
Entertainment and Sports
or sporLs Iovers, vou ure dehnILeIv In
LIe rIgIL pIuce, especIuIIv II vou enjov
coIIege buskeLbuII und Iockev. TIe N.C.
SLuLe Men`s BuskeLbuII Teum, nuLIonuI
cIumpIonsIIp wInners In 1;q und >
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1982, does battle in the highly
competitive Atlantic Coast Conference
(ACC). College basketball rivalries
are strong in the Triangle, with the
Wolfpack, the nearby UNC Tar Heels,
and the Duke Blue Devils each vying for
the ACC and national championships.
For hockey lovers, you probably
already know that the Carolina
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Cup in 2006. The team was originally
the Hartford Whalers before moving to
Raleigh in 1997. Hockey has become a
craze around here, and Raleighs RBC
Center is usually rocking when the
Canes are playing. Most recently, the
RBC Center played host to the 2011
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the local economy to the tune of more
than $11 million for the weekend in
spending.
Both of these teams, the Wolfpack
and the Hurricanes, share the RBC
Center, which holds more than 18,000
fans for hockey and more than 19,000
for basketball. The RBC Center is also
home to many shows and concerts,
NCAA Basketball Tournaments, Disney
on Ice, Ringling Bros. and Barnum
& Bailey Circus, Advance Auto Parts
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Monster Jam, and major comedians,
just to name a few.
Located on the other side of town,
the Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion
at Walnut Creek is also home to many
exciting concerts and events. It is an
outdoor amphitheater that holds more
than 20,000 people. Catching a great
concert while lying on the lawn is a
great way to spend a summer evening
in Raleigh!
For the more active folks, there are
many ways to break a sweat in town,
including many YMCAs, private gyms,
parks and recreation sports leagues,
etc.
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live, said Andy Williams, a Raleigh
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to do here and everything is within
an easy drive. Plus you have all of the
sporting events, concerts at the RBC
Center and Time Warner Pavilion, the
cool restaurants and bars at Glenwood
South and Downtown, as well as three
major shopping malls.
For cultural opportunities, Raleigh is
home to many performing arts centers,
including the newly opened Raleigh
Amphitheater and the Progress Energy
Center for the Performing Arts,
which houses the Raleigh Memorial
Auditorium, the Fletcher Opera
Theater, the Kennedy Theater, and
the Meymandi Concert Hall. You can
also catch many theater performances
at Raleigh Little Theatre, Long View
Center, Theatre in The Park, and
Stewart Theater at NCSU.
In addition, Raleigh plays host to the
North Carolina Symphony, the Opera
Company of North Carolina, Burning
Coal Theatre Co., the North Carolina
Theatre, Broadway Series South,
and the Carolina Ballet. The North
Carolina Museum of Art, located
on Blue Ride Road near the North
Carolina State Fairgrounds, is also an
interesting way to spend the day.
Each year in October, the North
Carolina State Fair comes to town.
Located at the State Fairgrounds just
down Hillsborough Street from the
center of NCSUs campus, the fair
brings out its best each year to the
delight of more than 1 million revelers
over the week long event.
Raleigh has many public parks,
like Pullen Park, Optimist Park and
Millbrook Exchange Park, which offer
swimming, picnicking, dog walking,
basketball, and tennis. Most of these
offer youth programs in soccer,
football, basketball and t-ball, along
with preschool and toddler programs.
Raleigh leaders have always been
good about preserving and utilizing
the citys natural resources. In fact,
the greenway system in Raleigh, which
runs throughout, is one of its most
prized possessions.
The greenway is a network of public
parks and recreational trails that
provide the perfect backdrop for
activities like walking, jogging, bird
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biking. The project, dubbed the Capital
Area Greenway in 1974, has developed
into a 68-mile, 3,700-acre system that
continues to expand. The greenway
even links up to other areas in the
Triangle depending in which direction
you traverse.
No matter what you are looking for
in terms of housing, entertainment,
education, healthcare, and career
options, look no further than the
dynamic city of Raleigh. You will be
glad you did!

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