Skip to content
73°F





Loading your recommendations…

Pictured:

Durham skate park skyline

73°F
Overcast clouds

Why "Raleigh-Durham isn't a city" is our favorite meme

Seriously, people. Get it right.

Why is this even a thing?

On May 1, 1943, a date which will live in infamy, what would become the Raleigh-Durham International opened. Its IATA code RDU doomed us from the start, and it doesn't help that the airport is between the two cities that co-own the airport. It also doesn't help that we're part of the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville local media market as well.

The Case Against "Raleigh-Durham"

First: the obvious.

Durham and Raleigh each have their own downtown, their own city government, their own mayor, and their own laws. You'd think that would be enough, but noooooo.

Second: the distance.

From downtown Durham to downtown Raleigh, the distance is 24.9 miles. A 30-minute drive with no traffic and an hour plus drive with traffic.

Compare that to:

Durham and Chapel Hill - 11.3 miles (this is the actual metropolitan area we're in btw). By that logic, wouldn't Durham-Chapel Hill be a city. What's that? It's not? Notice the lack of gasps.

New York City and Newark, NJ are 10.6 miles apart. Ever heard of NYC-Newark? Us neither.

"What about "Minneapolis-Saint Paul?" you might ask. The two cities are right next to each other. Stop it.

"What about Winston-Salem?" Winston-Salem is one city with one downtown, one mayor, etc. Just stop it.

Third: the Google.

Google "Raleigh-Durham" and see what the first result is. Thank you.

Why do we even care?

No. 1 - It's funny.

No. 2 - It's detrimental to our organization's mission to support the local economy via tourism to Durham. If we want to support our many locally-owned businesses with tourism dollars, we can't do it if publications, people on social media, etc. are claiming that said businesses are in a different city (this has happened more times than we can count).

No. 3 - Each city has its own vibe that deserves to be celebrated. Residents are very proud to be from either Durham or Raleigh, but no one, besides the wonderful people who work at the airport, is proud to identify as from Raleigh-Durham.

In Conclusion

Seriously. Stop it.