Moving to North Carolina to work at Duke Medical Center (Durham: apartment complexes, rental)

[nmncbound]

Hi everyone!

Hope you can help me. My husband, I, and our 6 month old are moving to North Carolina this spring from Manhattan. We'll be working at Duke Medical Center, so we want to be within a 15-20 minute drive.

We're really hoping to get either a nice townhouse (3 or 4 bedrooms) or rent a 3 bedroom apartment in a nice community with:
-lots of young families
-close to shopping, restaurants, etc
-modern/contemporary style - construction within the last ten years would be nice
-lots of amenities (or at least a playground and places for the kid to run around)

We are not tied to a price range, although an area with good resale value if we buy is preferred.

We are torn about where to live, and don't know where to start. Specifically, if you know of any particular communities/apartment complexes which have these features, as opposed to general areas, it'd be really helpful.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

[Janecj]

Originally Posted by nmncbound

Hi everyone!

Hope you can help me. My husband, I, and our 6 month old are moving to North Carolina this spring from Manhattan. We'll be working at Duke Medical Center, so we want to be within a 15-20 minute drive.

We're really hoping to get either a nice townhouse (3 or 4 bedrooms) or rent a 3 bedroom apartment in a nice community with:
-lots of young families
-close to shopping, restaurants, etc
-modern/contemporary style - construction within the last ten years would be nice
-lots of amenities (or at least a playground and places for the kid to run around)

We are not tied to a price range, although an area with good resale value if we buy is preferred.

We are torn about where to live, and don't know where to start. Specifically, if you know of any particular communities/apartment complexes which have these features, as opposed to general areas, it'd be really helpful.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

I think an excellent location for you to commute from would be at a community named "Stonewater". If buying, they have wonderful 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath townhomes with a one car garage for about 200K that are just being built. They also have rental apartments, patio homes and single family homes in different price ranges. They have a nice community pool. There will also be a park (which I don't think is built as yet, and shopping nearby is all in the plan) It is at the edge of Durham County & Wake County. The community is still in its beginning stages but will offer so much when completed. So close to I540, Hwy 55 and the new toll road they are building.

[dcgrl]

Lots of Duke doctors live in the area called Watts Hillandale or Trinity Park in Durham. These neighborhoods are really popular with families and are 5 minutes from the hospital. These are urban neighborhoods, but in a small southern city--most of the housing stock, rental or owner-occupied, is going to be single family homes with small yards. there are nice playgrounds, sidewalks, lots of other kids in these neighborhoods--really consider checking them out.

There are some newer construction apartment/loft communities across from DMC but they top out at 2 bedrooms, and are more geared to people without kids I think. (google Lofts at Lakeview, Pavillion East, and Trinity Commons for info).

Heading east toward downtown Durham, still within a short drive--10 minutes maybe?--are new loft and townhouse developments such as Trinity Lofts and Mangum 506--although these top out at 2 bedroom as well.

I hesitate to send you down toward the Southpoint area, but there are newer apartment communities with 3 bedrooms down that way. It's still within 20 minutes to DMC, and it's close to shopping, but it's mall shopping and chain restaurants, not boutiques and foodie spots like you get downtown.

[bullcityculture]

Hello OP, welcome to Durham and the Triangle region as a whole. I must say you are moving to Durham at an exciting time. Alot going on as far as growth, specifically downtown. As the poster above said there are many places you could stay in Durham. Just about anywhere in Durham would meet your min. and max. commute times. Duke is centrally located in Durham so it shouldn't be a difficult commute if you decide on Durham. There is Northern Durham which is older/newer developments more on the suburban single family houses side. It doesn't have the shopping and retail that is prevalent in other parts of the city but it is very nice and quiet and most places are a 15 min commute (from most parts) from Duke. Downtown/Central Durham is where Duke is located so the commute would be the shortest here. Neighborhoods to check out would be Watts-Hillandale, Trinity Park, Old North Durham and many more. Southern Durham is the "newer" part of the city with many different options. As for apartments this side of the city would probably have the most stock. I hope this helps out a little bit. Good luck!

[peperoberto]

Originally Posted by nmncbound

Hi everyone!

Hope you can help me. My husband, I, and our 6 month old are moving to North Carolina this spring from Manhattan. We'll be working at Duke Medical Center, so we want to be within a 15-20 minute drive.

We're really hoping to get either a nice townhouse (3 or 4 bedrooms) or rent a 3 bedroom apartment in a nice community with:
-lots of young families
-close to shopping, restaurants, etc
-modern/contemporary style - construction within the last ten years would be nice
-lots of amenities (or at least a playground and places for the kid to run around)

We are not tied to a price range, although an area with good resale value if we buy is preferred.

We are torn about where to live, and don't know where to start. Specifically, if you know of any particular communities/apartment complexes which have these features, as opposed to general areas, it'd be really helpful.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

There's a lot of beautiful, historic homes in the neighborhoods mentioned above. Don't fret, though, a lot have been completely remodeled in the past decade.

I'd definitely recommend renting for a year. West Village has a 3BR, 1230 sf model available. They typically have a wait list, though, so check them out now. West Village would be the epitome of living close to shopping and retail-- it's right in between Brightleaf Square and Downtown.

Watts-Hillandale, Trinity Park, and Burch Avenue all have lots of young families in them, and they are all walking distance to DUMC bus lines that can take you to the Med Ctr. They also all have their own city parks in them (Oval Drive Park, Trinity Park, and Burch Ave Park, respectively). Burch Avenue Park was just re-built 18 months ago, and they neighborhood has had quite the "baby boom" lately. It may be fun renting there for a year, if you can find a house, and then see if there's anything nearby you like.

One problem, though, is that the rental stock is not always as new as the potential buying stock (or, when you buy, you can always remodel yourselves). Some companies known for renting out homes more recently renovated include Bull City Restoration and Trinity Design/Build. They both focus on some of the neighborhoods listed above. If you want new, you're going to have to be a bit farther away from Duke, but there are tons of places within a 15 minute drive that are new construction, especially in North Durham.

[boardjnky4]

It helps to mention at least a loose price range or starting point. I think you'll find this advice more helpful in that case.

[escapenc]

Originally Posted by boardjnky4

It helps to mention at least a loose price range or starting point. I think you'll find this advice more helpful in that case.

Agreed. Since they are relocating from Manhattan is the budget $300k or $3,000,000?