There are a ton of great reasons to live in North Carolina. In some places, the weather is warm all year round, there is a coastline on part of the state, inland is beautiful and full of Appalachian forests and landscapes, and the prices are reasonable for costs of living. But what are the top North Carolina cities? Here are 3 of our favorites.

Raleigh

One of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, Raleigh is home to almost half a million people. Summers are hot and muggy and winters are usually cool and wet. Raleigh is also the capital and the government and government industries employ a large part of the town. These other industries include research, education, and tech. The ivy league private school Duke University is located in Durham. Duke is one of the country’s largest research schools with programs in engineering, political science, neuroscience, physics, and environmental engineering.

The landscapes of Raleigh are rolling hills with long open plans as the city is located in the northeastern part of central North Carolina. Raleigh is a fairly large city, so it’s better for those who enjoy that kind of living. Although it is a large city, the overall friendliness of this state is far greater than in some big cities. You can rely on Raleigh for that traditional “southern hospitality”.

There’s always plenty to do with major sports complexes, museums, and plenty of national parks and recreation. The Carolina Hurricanes are a National Ice Hockey team that is proud to call Raleigh their home. And in their parks, you will find a play to play Kubb. Kubb is a game that goes back to the time of the Vikings and is a lawn game where you use batons to knock over wooden blocks. Raleigh Club is the town’s official competitive and non-competitive Kubb club.

Charlotte

The only place that is a bigger city in North Carolina than Raleigh is Charlotte. With a population of about 850 thousand. In the mid-2000s, Charlotte started to grow at a rapid pace and became the fastest-growing city during the time. Charlotte is the home base for many large financial institutions such as Bank of America and the west coast branch of Wells Fargo. This made this area the second largest banking center after New York City. 

When you’re looking at Charlotte houses for sale you probably have noticed that the city is split up into multiple sections. There are 199 neighborhoods throughout Charlotte giving you plenty of options. The ease of access to these different areas is what helped the city to grow so quickly and become such a prominent east coast city. Just like in Raleigh, cities bring a lot of access to entertainment and other leisure activities for the whole family.

Charlotte is home to the Carolina Panthers football team and the Charlotte Hornets basketball team. There are over a dozen museums and theaters to visit and multiple areas dedicated to outdoor recreation. The public school system has been rated among some of the best in the nation but Charlotte also hosts many private and independent schools as well. And to wrap it all up nicely, there are multiple colleges and universities your kids can choose from. 

Asheville

We wanted to wrap this up with one of the most truly picturesque cities in North Carolina. Asheville is one of the most western cities in North Carolina with a population under 100,000. This area is a cozy town with some notable unique features. The Blue Ridge Mountain range in the city's backdrop is something that draws visitors in. In the fall, it’s covered in beautiful oranges and reds. The skilled architecture represented in the buildings downtown is that of art deco and neo-gothic. 

Arts, culture, and food are the area’s proud unique industries. There is a strong street musician scene in Asheville that has developed into annual festivals. Moog Music Inc. is headquartered in Asheville and is a leading synthesizer company. Moog created the first commercial synthesizer called the Moog Synthesizer. During the 1960s, psychedelic rock helped take these instruments to the next level.

This part of North Carolina sees 4 seasons, so don’t expect as much hot and muggy if you take a look at living here. Between these three cities, you get a variety of climates, economies, and overall vibes. From big cities to smaller towns, North Carolina is persistent in providing some of the best places to settle down.