Central North Carolina
The #1 economic engine of the Carolinas encompasses the center of North Carolina and includes the metropolitan areas of Raleigh/Durham, Winston Salem/Greensboro and Charlotte. Second tier communities include High Point – the furniture capital of the states; Fayetteville – home to Fort Bragg, one of Americas top Army installations and Pinehurst – home to some of the finest golf known to man.
Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill – Respectively in order are these institutions of higher learning: North Carolina State University, Duke University and the University of North Carolina @ Chapel Hill. As equally important to the heartbeat of this region is The Research Triangle, which is a high tech corridor that has successfully lured major companies to set up shop in the Carolinas. A sampling of this list would include IBM, Glaxo Wellcome, Cisco, Red Hat, GE, Pfizer, Eaton, SAS and Verizon. And one cannot forget about Duke University Hospital as it is one of the finest medical centers on the east coast and the Stanley Cup Champions The Carolina Hurricanes.
Winston-Salem/Greensboro – Back at the turn of the 19th century, the towns of Winston and Salem were united and by the 1940s, this town had gone on to become well known for their tobacco products (RJ Reynolds), textiles and furniture. Wake Forest University, Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo), Texas Pete, Piedmont Airlines, Hanes and Krispy Kreme are a few local icons that have helped shape this town into one of North Carolinas leading cities.
Greensboro – in 1890, the Cone brothers of Baltimore helped shape the future of Greensboro by producing denim, flannel and overalls. Today Greensboro is home to companies such as Mack Trucks, Volvo trucks, Honda Aircraft, and The Fresh Market. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the headquarters for the Atlantic Coast Conference also call Greensboro home.
Charlotte – named the Queen City for Queen Charlotte of England, this once sleeping giant has now risen to be the largest city in the Carolinas. Bank of America’s east coast operations headquarters, The Carolina Panther NFL team, the Charlotte Bobcats NBA team and the NASCAR Hall of Fame are just a few of the highlights of this sparkling new city. And, outside New York City, Charlotte is the #2 banking center of the United States.
Throughout Central North Carolina are endless communities for folks of all budgets. Scattered through these areas you will also find upscale gated golf plantations, so if you are looking to live in or near a large southern city, then you will have a field day checking out this area.