Raleigh-Durham is the second best place to live? Nope. Nothing to see here. Move on.

Oh, no. U.S. News & World Report has ranked Raleigh-Durham as the second best place to live in the United States

Normally, we’d be disappointed that Raleigh-Durham – the mythical city announced by airline stewards as visitors arrive at the airport – isn’t No. 1. But at this point, we’re terrified that that may be next.

Look, Raleigh-Durham and – come on in, Chapel Hill – the whole Triangle is a welcoming place. And we’re proud that so many people see the virtues of living here. It’s affordable, has a mild climate, is relatively safe, has plenty of green space, is a foodie capital and has great college basketball and fine universities and hospitals.

Those attributes have long put the Triangle high on Best Places to Live lists. In the U.S.News rankings, it’s second only to Boulder, Col. But now we’d rather be more like Charlotte, sitting pretty at No. 20. It’s an appealing rank, but not likely to touch off a stampede. At No. 2, Raleigh-Durham can already hear the hoofbeats.

People talk about quiet, pleasant places as undiscovered gems. You don’t hear much about discovered gems. That’s because places – unlike diamonds and rubies – often lose their sparkle once “discovered.”

Devon Thorsby, real estate editor at U.S. News, glossed over this consequence when she told The News and Observer why Raleigh-Durham moved up the list from No. 11 last year. She said the area is attractive because it’s less congested than major urban areas. “I think that played in the area’s favor, because a lot of people like the idea of having all the amenities of the city, but also having enough space,” she said.

Thorsby is likely right, but so was Yogi Berra when he (or Groucho Marx or somebody else) said, “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

Obviously, the Triangle is long past going unnoticed. Corporate giants Apple and Google are expanding here, and newcomers keep pouring in. But now there may be another surge.

The pandemic expanded the percentage of workers who work remotely. And the interruption in the patterns of life has prompted many to reconsider the type of work they do and where. All that builds the case for coming to the leafy Triangle from congested cities or faded rust-belt regions. Thanks to the internet, you can live in the Raleigh-Durham area and work anywhere.

You would think that some of North Carolina’s political aspects – passing House Bill 2, twice voting for Donald Trump and being the home of Rep. Madison Cawthorn – would cool interest in moving to North Carolina. But newcomers seem to look past that, or they see the much bluer tone of the Triangle.

Some Triangle residents, worried about a crush of newcomers, hope that recent quirky news about dangerous wild animals prowling the area would give potential new residents second thoughts. Raleigh native Joe Overby tweeted: “Yes, we were just ranked No. 2 best place to live in. But before you move here, be aware we’ve had a loose zebra cobra, wolves and now a bear — in the past two weeks.”

Thanks, Joe, but that won’t scare people off any more than having the Republican-led General Assembly on the loose for a decade.

The word is out to a COVID-weary nation that Raleigh-Durham is the second best place to live. More people are coming. All area residents can do is tell their out-of-state friends and relatives that Raleigh-Durham isn’t so great and hope, somehow, that Charlotte can make a run up the rankings.

U.S. News may rank Raleigh-Durham No. 2, but – despite the rivalry of years past – people in the Triangle now want the nation to know that Charlotte is the Best Place To Live. It really is.

This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 12:00 AM.