Forbes has released its picks for America's Top 20 geekiest cities, and the Triangle cracked the top five.
Durham gets the headline, but Forbes cites the Triangle workforce, "15.5% of workforce 41,560 workers employed The Raleigh-Durham-Cary area, otherwise known as the Research Triangle, hosts Duke University and the third-highest percentage of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree."
No mention of the other influential universities?
San Jose topped the list. Check out the top 20 here.
Matthew Fortner has been at The News & Observer since 2002. He has a passion for gadgets, cutting-edge technology and all things geek.
Comments
NOT PEAK
Wed, 05/23/2012 - 23:27 — FlowerpowerPlease, b_actor77, if you are going to comment upon others' writing, spell your word choices correctly; instead of PEAK your interest, you should say PIQUE your interest. Here is the definition/example: Pique--To provoke; arouse: The portrait piqued her curiosity.
Geeks abound in Durham
Wed, 05/23/2012 - 22:55 — paleogeekJust did a quick count - over 80% of the adults involved in our Cub Scout pack (sponsored by a church inside the Durham city limits) have either a PhD or MD. I feel unneredjumakated with just an MS. Glad I moved here from Austin, TX, Durham is a much nicer place.
oh raleigh, N&O commentors
Wed, 05/23/2012 - 15:27 — cb2003Last time I drove through Southeast Raleigh I sure didn't see too many geeks, either.
Meanwhile the Forbes sentence isn't even a complete sentence and surely doesn't make any sense without more context. Here I go doing more of the N&O's work for it:
The Census Bereau puts the entire Triangle area in a "Combined Metropolitan Statistical Area" which consists of a "Durham/Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area" a "Raleigh/Cary Metropolitan Area" and a "Dunn Micropolitan Statistical Area". If I had to guess, the NSF study that Forbes is using just takes the Durham/Chapel Hill MSA. Many (most?) RTP jobs are in Durham county anyway. Plus the Duke/UNC campuses and related hospitals.
All the Forbes article reports is the percentage of workers involved in Science Technology, Engineering, and Math related fields. But leave it to the N&O reporters to not make anything clear and to the N&O commentors to find any reason to take a pot-shot at Durham.
Comment above-reply
Wed, 05/23/2012 - 18:29 — b_actor77Well said. Bad enough articles are incomplete, now sentences are. Just another article which peaks your interest, but have to go elsewhere for the whole story.
Durham vs Raleigh...
Wed, 05/23/2012 - 18:23 — AgentPierceI have chosen to live in this SMSA for 25 years. I could just as easily live elsewhere. My business takes me in/out of Durham all the time. Durham is an "interesting" gaggle of cultures.
I also know a little something about the myriad of "magazine rankings" that Chambers of Commerces "die for". They "lobby" for high rankings just like lobbyists lobby for anything in their best interests.
I enjoy this area quite a bit. I have lived in numerous other SMSAs for comparison.
Good for Durham --
Wed, 05/23/2012 - 14:48 — faboSounds like a little envy from some Raleigh folks. Good for Durham - this type of ranking is usually indicative of a bright future and a renaissance. I live in Raleigh and enjoy it here but I say kudo's to Durham and I hope they keep moving in the right direction. A little sour grapes from the Raleigh folks... suck it up, Raleigh is still great but this is great for the whole triangle.
Durham is still a dump
Wed, 05/23/2012 - 14:57 — RaleighDNo one is envious or jealous of Durham.
Durham is a happenin' place
Wed, 05/23/2012 - 23:34 — FlowerpowerI guess you have not been to Durham for a long time. There is preservation and use of our historic buildings downtown, a glittery new performing arts center, a state-of-the-art Amtrak station, many start-up businesses, an atmosphere that fosters entrepreneurship, much encouragement for the arts, and, of course, our own Duke University. There is a building boom now that you don't find in many other cities of this size--roads, day care center expansions (Greystone), new banks and grocery stores, new housing and renovated housing. The lawns are green, the trees are tall , and every child is above average. Durham bustles.
Durham has it going on...
Wed, 05/23/2012 - 11:28 — uBniceIt is the home of the freaks and geeks. It is the Berkeley of the Triangle Area. :-)
Southeast Derm ??
Wed, 05/23/2012 - 11:15 — AgentPierceLast time I drove thru Southeast Derm I sure didn't see too many "geeks".
Seriously... geeky?
Wed, 05/23/2012 - 10:13 — geek49203Yeah, cause as I rode my bike on the ATT trail thru Durham, I couldn't help but think how geeky everyone looked... (/sarcasm).
That Durham gets the credit for the Research Triangle crown is a bit like saying I am beautiful and sexy 'cause I was in the same room with a supermodel for 10 minutes.