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The Research Triangle Park and Its Effects

There are many different places in America that would be well suited for raising a family. Out of all the different places that my parents, Mike and Gretchen, could have chosen to raise a family, they chose Durham, North Carolina. Durham is part of a wider collection of cities that includes Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel-Hill, and collectively these cities make up an area known as Research Triangle Park. The Research Triangle region holds an important place in my family's heritage because of the many jobs that it offers, the quality of life that is available, and the excellent universities that it includes.

In the late 1984, my mother Gretchen moved to Durham North Carolina as a fresh graduate of Auburn Veterinary School. She bought her own veterinary practice in 1988, one year after my father Mike moved to North Carolina to start his job as a chemist at Glaxo Smithkline. At that time, the Research Triangle region was booming with business and my parents were not the only people moving to the Triangle. In fact, according to From Seed to Harvest: The Growth of Research Triangle Park by Albert Link, the number of employees in the Research Triangle region has been growing continuously since its conception in 1959 (Link, 30). The creation of Research Triangle Park (RTP) was first announced by Governor Luther Hodges in 1956 as a way to boost the state’s economy and bring more businesses into the area (Link, 1). Since then, RTP has become one of the largest and most successful science-tech parks in the world (Link, 59). The Research Triangle region has brought in an incredible number of jobs to the state, partly because it is home to many of the most prominent public and private-sector research companies in the world including IBM, Cisco Systems, The E.P.A., and Glaxo Smithkline (Link, 116). My parents had never met before they moved here in the late 1980’s but it was the wide array of job opportunities that brought them to the same region. In fact, my parents met for the first time when my father brought his dog in to my mother’s veterinary practice in 1990. So essentially, it was the diverse number of jobs that RTP has to offer that brought my parents together. Although the excellent job opportunities of the RTP region did play a huge role in my family lineage, it is not the only reason why the Triangle stood out to my parents as a good place to live. Research Triangle Park also offers an excellent quality of living, consistently voted one of the best places to live in the country.

The primary motivators for both of my parents moving to the Research Triangle Region were the job opportunities that the region has to offer. However that is not the only factor that was important in my parent’s decisions. Another benefit of living in RTP is the excellent quality of life that is available. The Research Triangle region contains some of the best hospitals in the world, including Duke, UNC, and WakeMed, as well as excellent public and private schools, and these factors are important to consider when moving anywhere. Another reason why the quality of life in the Research Triangle region is so high compared to much of the rest of the state is because the per capita income for people living in the Triangle is very high. In fact according to Albert Link, there is a distinct and positive correlation between the number of people employed in the Research Triangle region and the average per capita income of the state (Link, 38). RTP did not only bring jobs and business into the state, but it also brought money and opportunities to the region, benefiting the whole area. The fact that the quality of life in the Triangle is so good played a large part in my family’s heritage. If my parents had been dissatisfied with the quality of life in RTP then they might not have ever met, which would have obviously meant that I would never have been born. The jobs and quality of life that Research Triangle Park has to offer are excellent but the basis for creation and the main engines keeping RTP continuously running are the three world class universities that surround the park.

Research Triangle Park is one of the oldest research parks in the nation; typically research parks do not survive much longer than 10 years (Link, 59). The secrets to success for RTP lie on the outer edges of the park. The universities of NC State, Duke, and UNC Chapel Hill make up the three points by which the triangle is connected. The universities are the driving forces behind the park’s continued development and success, due to their research and funding (Link, 2). Not only do the “big three” universities help the RTP region with continued development, but they also provide excellent opportunities for the people living in and around the region. In fact, had it not been for the amazing education that is available in the region, my parents would have moved when I was in elementary school to Colorado because that is where they had always wanted to live. But, because my parents were considering many different things in their decision, they decided to stay in RTP because they knew that once I got older I would have many more educational opportunities. The big three universities are the beating heart and the reason behind much of Research Triangle Park’s development but they are also the reason that my family lives where we do today. I am fortunate enough to attend UNC, and I am very happy that my parents decided to stay in the region to give me this opportunity.

Since its conception in 1959, Research Triangle Park has boosted North Carolina’s economy, produced thousands of jobs, and consistently ranked among the best places to live in the nation. The region has also played a significant part in my family’s heritage, having been the reason that my parents met and why I attend UNC. The reason’s why the region has played such a significant part in my family’s heritage are due to the jobs that are available, the quality of life that the region offers, and the excellent universities that it includes.

-Chris Martin

Works Cited

Link, Albert N. From Seed to Harvest: The Growth of The Research Triangle Park.

Research Triangle Park, NC : Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina, 2002. Print.