Sure, it's easy to split hairs over whether Cary is a "town" or a "city," but it and many other North Carolina places grew exponentially in population because of a law few other states had.
As an Apex native, I am loathe to come to Cary’s defense. But here I am. Cary functions much more like a town - leaning on Raleigh’s cultural amenities and business center. It is not the hub of its metro area. Its downtown area, such as it is, is also much more like a small town’s than a city’s. Both of those set Cary apart from both cities of Charleston, Wilmington, etc. So town is pretty apt, in my opinion.
Didn’t get into it here, but Cary had also been pretty deliberate about development and planning, so it doesn’t feel quite as haphazard as, say, the Town of Indian Trail. So yeah, it still feels like a town, but it’s a big ass town.
Someday I'll work in the All Your Base Are Belong To Us Onion story too (which already has an NC angle, someone hacked into News 14 Carolina 20 years ago and put that message on to a ticker)
While a college student in 1970, my dear wife's family moved from the megalopolis of Laurel Hill to Cary. It was culture shock then; now, on the very rare return visits we make, it's like being in a different world.
Of course, that can be said for most places after 54 years.
If you go to Cary it feels much more like Huntersville, or Matthews than it does, say, Gastonia, or High Point. It's a town for sure, a big one, but a town nonetheless. It's a Raleigh 'burb, not a cultural node. That's not dumping on it, bedroom communities are fine, but they're not cities.
J- as a new Wake/Cary resident but NC resident who has needed to keep track of these things, take a look at Wake in general... https://www.northcarolina-demographics.com/cities_by_population I know there is a newer listing that shows that 10 of the 50 largest municipalities in the entire state are in Wake... hell KNIGHTDALE is bigger than Lumberton? In contrast to the merged Char-Meck where Cornelius (1893) BARELY beats out Morrisville (1947, yes its technically older)?
As an Apex native, I am loathe to come to Cary’s defense. But here I am. Cary functions much more like a town - leaning on Raleigh’s cultural amenities and business center. It is not the hub of its metro area. Its downtown area, such as it is, is also much more like a small town’s than a city’s. Both of those set Cary apart from both cities of Charleston, Wilmington, etc. So town is pretty apt, in my opinion.
Didn’t get into it here, but Cary had also been pretty deliberate about development and planning, so it doesn’t feel quite as haphazard as, say, the Town of Indian Trail. So yeah, it still feels like a town, but it’s a big ass town.
Calling Indian Trail a town is very generous, though shockingly it's been around since 1907.
I remember covering Indian Trail Town Council stories back in my Charlotte days and most of them were some version of "Boy that escalated QUICKLY"
Let the Cary memes flow!
The biggest question this raises for me is whether the phrase should be "hot damn mess" or "damn hot mess."
Honestly I feel like its a miss that you couldn't find anything for linking to the phrase "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees".
Love the content though!
Always love to see the legendary William Safire at Burger King Onion article referenced. It's a staple in our household. Well done, sir.
Someday I'll work in the All Your Base Are Belong To Us Onion story too (which already has an NC angle, someone hacked into News 14 Carolina 20 years ago and put that message on to a ticker)
While a college student in 1970, my dear wife's family moved from the megalopolis of Laurel Hill to Cary. It was culture shock then; now, on the very rare return visits we make, it's like being in a different world.
Of course, that can be said for most places after 54 years.
If you go to Cary it feels much more like Huntersville, or Matthews than it does, say, Gastonia, or High Point. It's a town for sure, a big one, but a town nonetheless. It's a Raleigh 'burb, not a cultural node. That's not dumping on it, bedroom communities are fine, but they're not cities.
True. SAS being there makes it much different than a regular suburb though.
J- as a new Wake/Cary resident but NC resident who has needed to keep track of these things, take a look at Wake in general... https://www.northcarolina-demographics.com/cities_by_population I know there is a newer listing that shows that 10 of the 50 largest municipalities in the entire state are in Wake... hell KNIGHTDALE is bigger than Lumberton? In contrast to the merged Char-Meck where Cornelius (1893) BARELY beats out Morrisville (1947, yes its technically older)?