Attractions & Recreations
Despite having over eight million people, North Carolina's population being spread out over three major metropolitan areas precluded attracting any major profesional sports league teams until the late 1980s. On June 16, 2006, the Carolina Hurricanes, a National Hockey League franchise based in Raleigh, won the Stanley Cup. The Hurricanes are the first professional sports team from North Carolina to win their sport's highest championship.
The National Football League (NFL) is represented by the Carolina Panthers, who play home games in the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The NBA is represented by the Charolette Bobcats; home games are played in the Charlotte Bobcats in Charlotte.
North Carolina provides a large range of recreational activities from swimming at the beach to skiing in the mountains. North Carolina offers freshwater and saltwater fishing, hunting, birdwatching, agritourism, ATV trails, ballooning, rock climbing, biking, hiking, skiing, boating and sailing, camping, canoeing and many others. North Carolina also has theme parks, aquariums, zoos, museums, historic sites, fine dining and plenty of other recreation activities.
Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina located in Wake County. Its central location in North Carolina providing Raleigh residents with easy accessibility to all kinds of natural amenities with mountain ranges to the east and west and sandy beaches to the south. It offers a variety of housing options ranging from center city condos, penthouses, warehouses, and neighborhood bungalows. Whatever your taste or style Raleigh offers a wise selection of comfortable settlings. Many of the housing facilities are located in the densely populated neighborhoods, the comfortable and quiet suburban atmosphere, or in the rolling terrain of the exurban area. Housing is affordable in Raleigh with the median home sale price averaging around $230,000. Raleigh offers the broadest municipal services at the lowest tax rate of any major North Carolina city, and excellent public and private schools. The downtown area has trendy restaurants, shops, and new entertainment venues. It also provides its residents and visitors with performing art centers and museums. Raleigh is home to many colleges and universities such as Peace College and Meredith College.
Raleigh is continually ranked as one of the best places to live in America. Not just because the attractions Raleigh has but for the business oppertunities Raleigh has to offer as well. According to the US Census Bureau, 47.9 percent of Raleigh's population over 25 has at least a bachelor's degree. Raleigh is ranked among the top 5 most-educated cities in the Country.
