Fourth and Main wrote:
I would say adding Wilkes County is a big stretch, but I've discovered there is an unusually large amount of commuting between Wilkes and Forsyth. Remember the stories with Wilkes County residents protesting vaccine requirements at Winston-Salem hospitals they work at or how a meat processing facility in Wilkes County led to a big rise in COVID-19 cases in Forsyth County last year. There is a lot more commuting between Wilkes and Forsyth than I thought. I think you only need 15% commuting, if I remember correctly? It can also be 15% commuting between Wilkes and Yadkin counties. Between Wilkes and Surry, if Surry County is added! That is how super-sized consolidated areas are created.
Believe me, living in Winston-Salem twice, and growing up in western Yadkin, plus knowing loads of people in eastern Wilkes and the Wilkesboros, I know that the Wilkes demographic is drawn more toward Winston-Salem for shopping, employment, healthcare, etc.....way more than to the Uni-Four, or Charlotte. So are residents in Grayson and Patrick Counties, VA.