Do you know where in Raleigh you will be living? Working? I have lived in North Raleigh and now I live in Research Triangle Park and I don't find either to be terribly crowded. I work for a large company and almost never run into anyone from work outside of the office. Raleigh is spread out over a large area and there are a lot of people (not sure of exact population) but it doesn't have that NYC or LA crowded feel. Commutes to work can be long, previously I lived 10 miles from work and it took 30 mins to get there, now I live 6 miles away and it takes 15 minutes to get to work. I don't consider either of these too bad... I guess it just depends on what you think crowded is.