Durham neighborhoods with short commute to universities (Chapel Hill: rental homes, HOA)

[islander03]

Not familiar with Durham and would like some neighborhood recommendations in southwest section.

Housing criteria:
1. 1300-1800 sf for under $200k
2. 15-20 mins driving distance to UNC (or Duke)
3. 3 bedrooms / 2 baths
4. safe neighborhood

Looking to buy and rent out until kids are off to college in a few years and they can live in this house that's within reasonable short drive to UNC or Duke. That way, they don't have to live in dorms or rent from other people.

Thanks!

[jill7930]

If you're thinking about sending the kids to Duke, students are required to live in University Housing for their first 3 yrs, so you might rethink that part of the plan. And I'm sure your children are very bright, but Duke admitted only 2,897 students this year out of 31,000+ top notch students, so I wish them luck in the admissions process!

[xylemphloem]

Woodcroft, Woodlake or Audobon Park immediately come to mind as nice neighborhoods in that area with homes in that size/price range. I know plenty of UNC and Duke folks in these neighborhoods. I am not sure about HOA rules on rentals in those neighborhoods, though.

I assume you mean single-family homes, not townhouses?

[MsT89]

I agree with the suggestion of Woodcroft and Woodlake. Those neighborhoods are about 15 minutes from Duke and about 10 from UNC. Rentals are allowed (at least by the Woodcroft HOA). There are some single-family rental homes there, although not all that many - definitely more rentals among the townhouses.

Jill7930 makes a good point about Duke housing, though. At UNC, students are required to live on campus for their freshman year. So, you might want to hold off on a house purchase until much closer to the time when you will need it.

[poppydog]

A UNC student would not want to live in Durham. For a grad student that would be fine, but for an undergrad being in Chapel Hill, preferably w/in walking or biking distance of campus is what you really want to get the whole college town experience.

[Bull City Rising]

Plus, how do you know your kids will want to attend Duke or UNC let alone be accepted?

[ncmickey]

The problem with living in Durham and attending UNC is parking. That 10 minute commute quoted above is optimistic. You will have to park somewhere and bus in. More like 30 minutes when you include that. There is a TTA bus that runs through Woodcroft that would work, but again, not 10 minutes. You are better off finding out which school your kids want to attend and buying with that in mind.
Duke isnt much better with the parking. They have a bunch of off site parking and shuttle buses also.
Good suggestions above though for housing....

[islander03]

Thanks all for your insights on university housing requirements and potential neighborhoods. This is helpful to start.

I optimistically believe that my kids are bright enough to get accepted at least to a UNC campus

Sure, it may or may not be Chapel Hill depending on what each campus' academic strengths / emphasis are, and what my kids "want to be when they grow up". But as parents, we want to have a plan and steer the kids in certain directions to guide them.

[brocco]

yea duke requires students to live on campus for 3 years and unc requires students to live on campus for the first year so you might want to consider that. honestly the whole plan sounds like a really poor financial decision anyway unless you're trying to get in-state tuition at unc. living with other students and on campus in general is an important part of the college experience IMO, especially at universities with such smart and diverse student populations.