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First thing you may want to consider is where in RTP you are working? That may make a difference in where you decide to live. It is a larger area, so I'd suggest looking at that before finalizing where you decide to find an appartment. You don't want to settle in somewhere that leaves you w/an hour drive to work each day.
My husband works off TW Alexander & we live in N. Durham, so he has a 20 - 30 minute commute depending on school busses, weather & accidents. He is also able to avoid 40 which can be a real nightmare at times - traffic wise. I work right in downtown Durham & have about a 15 minute drive.
That said, personally we love Durham.
I work downtown & walk from my office to the farmers market and the gym after work & have never had problems. We often come downtown for baseball games, shows or to eat out and the biggest problem we have had is finding parking spots on occassion.
As w/any larger city, there are some neighborhoods that you should steer clear of. We had the same issues in Springfield, MA & Hartford, CT (big cities near where we lived before). So it doesn't phase me all that much. I can see where someone from a smaller, more suburban area w/less crime might find the city disconcerting.
I'm a 24 year old female moving to Raleigh next week. I got a job at Duke University Hospital as a Nurse. The Nurse Recruiter and HR lady warned me not to move to Durham. High crime rate, and generally not a good area to live in. I also have 2 friends in Raleigh who advised me to stay away from Durham.
This kind of attitude from a nurse recruiter and HR person at Duke is, at best, highly irresponsible. Trashing your own city to potential employees seems like a really dumb thing to do: "Sure you'll love working here, but be sure to live at least 20 miles away since this is a terrible place to live."
OP: There are also many private rentals (duplexes, apartments in houses, etc.) available in neighborhoods near downtown, as well. Search for neighborhoods like Trinity Park, Old North Durham, Duke Park, Old West Durham, and Forest Hills (that's not an exhaustive list by any means.) Good luck!
Well I heard it from several people who live here, and then heard it from Duke employees to stay away from Durham. I took their word for it. I've been living in Raleigh for a week and I love it.
@hkrn44-
I'm sorry to hear that folks in your department feel that way. Frankly, I'm surprised, as I'm a DUMC employee, and everyone in my department that lives in Durham loves it (and the ratio is above 90%).
Please keep an open mind, so that when you're tired of the commute in a year, you can re-evaluate Durham. It's a great place to live.
This is what I've heard firsthand about Durham from people who KNOW Durham:
From a criminal lawyer who grew up in Durham and does a lot of work in Durham but lives in Raleigh: "Durham is East L.A. with a world-class medical center stuck in the middle of it."
From a law enforcement officer who works in Durham: "I get to use all my skills."
Of course there are some nice neighborhoods in Durham. If you stay in the nice neighborhoods, you'll be fine.
@lovebrentwood-
You've just proved yourself to be very ignorant on this issue.
Yes, crime is higher, but Durham is still the fourth safest city in North Carolina. Durham has less crime than Charlotte, Wilmington, Winston-Salem, and Greensboro. So unless you want to give an even worse warning to someone who wants to live in one of those four cities, or the 60% of cities in the United States that have more crime than Durham, than please stop trashing my town.
I live in Durham. I know very many parts of Durham well. I love it. Yes, there is crime, but any large city has that. The crime is not bad at all in comparison to other southern cities I've lived in.
So, do you advise everyone you meet to stay away from Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Wilmington, and Charlotte as well? And I take it that you also warn people against Tallahassee FL, Birmingham AL, Little Rock AR, Chattanooga TN, Jackson MS, Beaumont TX, St PauL IN, and Salt Lake City UT, which are all examples of the many cities that have more crime than Durham? Or do you have some other prejudice against Durham?
Last edited by peperoberto; 10-10-2010 at 10:23 AM..
Reason: Clarified statistics
This is what I've heard firsthand about Durham from people who KNOW Durham:
From a criminal lawyer who grew up in Durham and does a lot of work in Durham but lives in Raleigh: "Durham is East L.A. with a world-class medical center stuck in the middle of it."
This is probably the stupidest quote I've read in a long time. It's catchy, but absolute nonsense. This person doesn't KNOW Durham at all, and is just using his "born in Durham" status to claim some bogus credibility based on outdated knowledge of the city. I'd wager that he's never set foot in East L.A., too. I have (repeatedly), and it's nothing at all like Durham.
I think the stats that Peperoberto posted pretty much say it all. In fact, the crime rate here in Durham in 2008 was the same as Raleigh's crime rate in 2000 (check out the numbers right here on City Data), and I don't remember anyone back then saying that Raleigh was a dangerous place that should be avoided. As I remember, since I was living in Raleigh at the time, it was quite the opposite - people were moving there in droves.
OP - come to Durham and check it out for yourself. It may end up not being your cup of tea, but it's better to make your decision based on a decent amount of first-hand experience instead of just taking someone else's word for it.
Wow, I seem to have touched off a fire storm To those that are wondering, I just got back from looking at both Raleigh and Durham. I have to say, the locations I saw in Raleigh looked a bit ho-hum to me, not much different from every other cookie cutter apartment community/track housing found everywhere else in the country. I think it would be difficult it meet people in those settings. I had to go with a place in Durham, seemed much more lively. Maybe it was just the college kids, I don't know, but even just grabbing a cup of coffee and people watching seemed much more enjoyable in Durham. I'll see how it goes, and if I don't like it I can always move.
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To those that are wondering, I just got back from looking at both Raleigh and Durham. I have to say, the locations I saw in Raleigh looked a bit ho-hum to me, not much different from every other cookie cutter apartment community/track housing found everywhere else in the country. I think it would be difficult it meet people in those settings. I had to go with a place in Durham, seemed much more lively. Maybe it was just the college kids, I don't know, but even just grabbing a cup of coffee and people watching seemed much more enjoyable in Durham. I'll see how it goes, and if I don't like it I can always move.
