Can you live in Durham without a car? (apartments, for rent)

[maryp3177]

Hi, my husband and I are planning to start graduate school next fall and NC Central U is one of our options. We're doing our relocation research early; we'd be moving from Albuquerque, NM.

Currently we live about 2 miles from the University of New Mexico, where we both work. I walk most places or take the bus and my husband is really into bike commuting. We have lived in Albuquerque for 11 years without owning a car (and Albuquerque's public transit is pretty bad - busses very 30-35 min, usually late) and would like to know if we can do the same in Durham?

Are there decent (clean) apartments for rent around the university? Is the closest grocery store accessible by bike or walking? How about general "things to do" (shopping, theater, movies) - do you need to have a car to do them?

Any help you can offer is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[SeattlitefromNC]

I think that, as a rule, the Southeast United States (east of the Mississippi, south of DC) is oriented in such a way that cars rule the proverbial roost. Even the presence of sidewalks can be an issue (this is particularly true in the suburbs, where it assumed that everyone has a car).

Durham is pretty typical of the SE US; on a scale of 1-10, it scores a 4-5 at best as far as the carless lifestyle is concerned. The downtown and older areas have more sidewalks and are a bit more bike-friendly.

Another question, and please do not think me as less than delicate, but are you black? I ask because the area immediately surrounding NCCU is a black neighborhood and not necessarily the best one. The university is nice, though. But culturally speaking, you may feel out of the loop if you are not black. But, to each their own ...

[coltank]

You can get around Durham without a car fine. The public transportation system may not be the best, but there is a very nice little downtown area with everything you are looking for. Also, the buses will take you most any places you would want to visit within town.

And, I wouldn't listen too much to what the other poster said at the bottom of their post.

[MrsSteel]

Mary, if you're looking for some insight from someone who has been there, I think I know where you can find it.

There's a man who resides in Durham - BullCityRising is his handle - who used to post on these forums quite regularly & who also has a blog that is all about Durham. A while back he decided to take Durham's public transport for a week just to see how easy/hard it was. Here are some links to his blog entries.
Bull City Rising: Bull City Riding: Day #1 (http://www.bullcityrising.com/2007/07/bull-city-ridin.html - broken link)
Bull City Rising: Bull City Riding: Day #2 (http://www.bullcityrising.com/2007/07/bull-city-rid-1.html - broken link)
Bull City Rising: Bull City Riding: Day #3 (http://www.bullcityrising.com/2007/07/bull-city-rid-2.html - broken link)
Bull City Rising: Bull City Riding: The wrap-up (http://www.bullcityrising.com/2007/07/bull-city-rid-3.html - broken link)

As for housing, I suggest you contact the graduate school and see if they have any recommendations. I hear that Duke's graduate program does a regular survey of apartments in the area in order to help new students find the best place for them. Hopefully NCCU has a similar program.

Good luck!