I hear these statements literally all the time from people who used to live in Charlotte, “I couldn’t get out of there fast enough” and “I try to stay away from Charlotte as much as possible.”

What is the main cause of this?  Traffic and overall crowds. 

Traffic and Overcrowding

Charlotte traffic is known to be terrible.  Commuting from the suburbs is a nightmare as it’s currently the 35th worst city for traffic in the nation, and Forbes recently listed Charlotte’s drivers as the 15th worst in the nation when considering crashes, both fatal and non.

This is incredibly frustrating to have to deal with on a day to day basis, and couple with that with the fact that Charlotte already has a light rail, there really isn’t too much hope of major improvements.  

Attractions and events are also typically very crowded, with much of it’s major entertainment being downtown causing even more traffic congestion.  While Charlotte’s entertainment is better than Raleigh’s overall, much of these benefits are erased by the frustration of having to deal with crowds everywhere.  I’ve heard people describe it as feeling claustrophobic overall when going downtown to larger events due to both the crowds and traffic.

Raleigh, on the other hand, does not have this problem.  While traffic has been increasing over the years with an increase in population, Raleigh is much more spread out overall and only has a handful of areas that really get congested.  

And Raleigh’s events and attractions are completely the opposite.  While there are some experiences that can get crowded, overall, events and activities are typically just crowded enough to enjoy but not overly packed.  It’s really a great place for introverts honestly!

Another comparison is Charlotte’s famed Lake Norman, which is an absolutely beautiful lake with some even better houses surrounding it.  But especially on the weekends, it gets so crowded with boats that you really can’t enjoy it!  

Raleigh’s Falls and Jordan Lakes are the opposite, as homes are not allowed to be built around them, and can be enjoyed even on the most crowded of days.

So all of these factors have many times caused people to move from Charlotte to Raleigh to escape hustle and bustle of a larger city to the slower paced Raleigh.  And, to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say they just had to get out of Raleigh, unless it’s for the one exception we will discuss at the end.

Cost of Living

Now some of you may also be thinking, well wasn’t Charlotte just named the fifth best place to live in the country while Raleigh is the sixth?

And that is true, but much of that ranking is based on the Value category, where Charlotte came in at a lower cost of living than Raleigh.  However, that is deceiving, as if you read the study’s methodology, you’ll see that much of the data they are using for the Value category is from the 2020 census, which is very outdated now.

When you compare Charlotte and Raleigh’s housing markets, Redfin has Charlotte’s average home value at $428k for this past month, while Raleigh’s is at $442k.  And if you look into Charlotte’s suburbs, the rapidly rising costs and competitive housing market can really be felt.

Raleigh also has an equally hot housing market, but the two cities are very close overall when it comes to housing costs.  

For renters, Charlotte has the higher rental costs, as it’s between $1,458 and $1,899, while Raleigh is on average between $1,222 and $1,642 according to Rent.com.

And when it comes to other costs, a recent study also found Charlotte to be the second most expensive city in America for a night out, just getting edged out by San Diego, California.

So at a minimum, Charlotte and Raleigh are equal from a cost of living standpoint, with Charlotte likely surpassing Raleigh in the near future as its’ home prices continue to increase.

And couple that with Raleigh’s average salary at roughly $5k more per year according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, many will feel more financially comfortable in Raleigh.

Quality of Life

Another major factor in the best places to live methodology is quality of life, and Raleigh’s quality of life is pretty far ahead of Charlotte’s.  

Now we already talked about traffic and being overall crowded, but Raleigh ranks very highly in  the Quality of Life rankings, coming in this year at #5 in the country while Charlotte did not make the list.  

Now this isn’t to say that Charlotte isn’t a great place to live, because it absolutely is, but Raleigh really excels at providing a very high quality of life with happy, active residents.

Much of this is attributed to Raleigh’s park system, which is absolutely incredible in the number of quality parks and greenways that it provides, while Charlotte unfortunately has taken a beating in the rankings as having one of the worst park systems in the country.  

This is due to poor park and greenway safety ratings, limited number of parks per overall area, and them being low on amenities like sports courts, dog parks, etc..

Experiencing both park systems, although Charlotte does have some pretty cool parks, you will quickly notice the difference in offerings and quality once you step away from Charlotte’s main 2-3 parks.  

Safety

Speaking of safety, this also plays into the quality of life ranking, where Raleigh currently ranks #8 in the country safety wise according to WalletHub.  There were spikes of crime last summer in certain areas of downtown, but Raleigh quickly responded with more security in those areas to bring the crime back down.

Charlotte has one of the highest crime rates in the country, which is enough to scare many away right off the bat.  Now I will say, much of those crimes occur in particular rough areas of the city, and much of the city is generally known to be fairly safe, you just need to watch where you go downtown.  

Schools

The Raleigh area also an excellent public school system, as does Charlotte, but where Raleigh separates in schools are the community colleges and certainly universities.  Raleigh has NC State, Duke and UNC all within 45 minutes of each other, which are some of the top universities in the country, while Charlotte only has a smaller school of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  So if you want to be close to the best colleges, or enjoy college sports, Raleigh is the clear choice here.

Proximity to Beach and Mountains

One last quality of life category to consider is that Raleigh has a much better balance of location between the beach and the mountains, as you can get to the beach in just 2 hours, and the mountains in just over 3, while Charlotte is 3.5 to 4 hours to the closest beach, and closer to 1.5 hours to the mountains.  

Raleigh being this close to the beach definitely makes day trips pretty feasible, and with it being right along I-40 and I-95, you can get up and down the east coast very quickly in comparison to Charlotte.  

So when looking at all of these factors, hopefully it becomes more clear why you hear so many people fleeing from Charlotte to Raleigh.

Entertainment

But, there is one category where Charlotte definitely beats out Raleigh by a wide margin, and that’s entertainment and nightlife. 

Charlotte has a pretty good downtown nightlife overall and hands down has the bigger city feel, even though the populations are actually pretty similar when comparing Charlotte’s MSA of roughly 2.8M to Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill’s population of approximately 2.4M.

If you need an endless variety of nightclubs and certainly professional sports, Charlotte is the clear winner, and is why many in their twenties who like to party prefer Charlotte over Raleigh.

Charlotte’s downtown area, which is actually called Uptown, is by far the busier of the two and is a much better environment for extroverts who enjoy staying out late every weekend.

And, Charlotte has the sports with the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Hornets, NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600, and the recently added Charlotte FC; however, attendance and fan support of these franchises is definitely not as passionate as other fan bases, so it’s not known to have exciting atmosphere’s overall.

Raleigh, on the other hand, has a quality nightlife of its’ own, but it’s on a MUCH smaller scale overall.  While there are nightclubs, you’ll find fewer overall, as the nightlife in Raleigh is highlighted more by bars, lounges, and breweries.  

There has been a rapid increase in the construction of apartments in and around downtown Raleigh, as well as Raleigh’s North Hills district, which has brought about a noticeable resurgence in young professionals to the area as of late.  

Raleigh also has the Carolina Hurricanes from a professional sports standpoint, and the stadium has been dubbed as the loudest house in the NHL as Raleigh’s love for both it’s Hurricanes and tailgating meet to create a very exciting atmosphere.  

And as previously mentioned, Raleigh’s best attribute sports wise is it’s college sports scene, which is arguably the best in the entire country.

But overall, Raleigh’s entertainment is still compared closer to a having a small town meets big city feel, and definitely caters heavily to families, which is what typically draws families to the area.

So, for those looking to move to North Carolina with the option to move to either Raleigh or Charlotte, I would highly encourage you to do your own research on these topics, as it’s hard for me to understand someone willingly choosing to deal with the congestion, safety, and quality of life challenges that Charlotte residents have to deal with.

Now for those who do live in Charlotte, it’s no doubt a great place to live overall as there is a reason it is rated the fifth best place to live in the country, but there really is no comparison to what you get in Raleigh.

Check out our blogs on the pros and cons of Raleigh NC and a guide for the best suburbs of Raleigh NC.

For those moving to the Raleigh area and need help finding the perfect home for you, please don’t hesitate to reach out as we’ve already helped so many from these blogs.  Our team specializes in relocation and would love to help you!

Please reach out via our contact information below:

Phone:  919-504-5265

Email:  alison@thewgroupraleigh.com

Website:  www.thewgroupraleigh.com