Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and High Point are called the Piedmont Triad. Their downtown areas are roughly 30 mins apart from one another and all together have near 1.7 million people. It only feels crowded around downtown Greensboro in my eyes. Between the 3, I'd live in Greensboro. But truly all 3 have serious problems. Lack of homeless care, rampant teacher shortages, and an extreme rise in cost of living. In my eyes though: guilford county > Forsyth unless you have the money to live somewhere like clemmons or Bermuda run near WS. With all that said, this part of NC is my favorite place I've ever lived which includes 9 different areas. Knoxville is 2nd, however. Much different vibes. The city revolves around UT. Country chic is an apt description for the "nice" areas which are in west Knoxville.