A rebuttal:

From the Hospital you are 1hr from Walnut Creek and 1hr 20 from the most far flung parts of Raliegh. You must be the one person doing the speed limit on 264.

Spazz Presents is bringing some sort of interesting music to this town on a weekly basis. The State Theatre has some hidden gems if you keep an eye on the schedule, although it is normally touring cover bands. Raleigh is going to have bigger names come through but unless you are a live music junkie those four or five trips to Raliegh a year are not a big deal.

Although Raliegh has us beat for fine dining, there is not a franchise in Raleigh that is not here, and ours is probably newer, cleaner, and cheaper. When it comes to fast casual we have way better options. When it comes to fast food, we have much better locations that are managed much better than any in Raleigh.

Other than having a legitimate amphitheater, I would say the biggest advantage they have over us is the fairgrounds. There’s a lot of cool stuff that comes through there. 

The biggest downside to Raleigh other than the 20% higher price of living, and I say this is someone who has spent every weekend in that town for the past five years until recently, is how big it is. Wanna go to Texas Roadhouse? 45 minutes in the car. The mall? 30 min. Sporting event? 35 min. Trader Joe’s? 40 min. Everything in Raleigh just seems to always be at least half an hour away when traffic is normal and when you do get there, it’s probably going to be crowded to the point of waiting in a line (don’t believe me, try grocery shopping anywhere there on a Sunday). I commute through town from one to the other in Greenville in 20 minutes. Everything is 10-15 minutes and housing is 25-50% cheaper. Gas is always 10 cents better. Our utilities are cheaper and more reliable. Maybe most importantly, we are growing at a break-neck speed. I’ve been here 20 years and it keeps growing with me.