The Raleigh-Durham area, commonly known as the Research Triangle of North Carolina, is one of the best-regarded and fastest growing areas in the country. Two hours from the beaches of the Outer Banks and two and a half hours from the skiing and scenery of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Triangle boasts a combination of city life and outdoors accessibility.
Entertainment options range from traditional powerhouses in professional and collegiate sports to award-winning restaurants, nationally recognized museums, and a thriving music scene. Academically, the area is home to Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and NC State, as well as some of the finest public and magnet schools in the country. And if you just want to get outdoors, there's a widespread network of parks, trails, and lakes that are open to the public year-round.
In Forbes 10th annual ranking of the Best Places for Business and Careers, the Southeast is home to half of the top 10 for a third straight year. Topping the list for a second straight year is Raleigh, N.C.
Kiplinger.com rated Raleigh as the #2 Best City to Live, Work, and Play in their 2008 article. “Our approach this year to picking the ten best cities in which to live and work was simple: Look for places with strong economies and abundant jobs, then demand reasonable living costs and plenty of fun things to do.”
In 2006, Money magazine ranked Raleigh at #4 of 10 Best Big Cities and Cary, NC at #5 of the top 100 Best Places to Live.