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We are thinking of moving from Jacksonville, Florida to Durham NC. What are the safe areas in Durham? We have a baby and 3 year old and looking into schools as well. I hear that Cary has good schools. My question is how much does a 3 bed condo/town-home cost to rent/buy? Is Chapel Hill a good area to commute from to downtown Durham?
As this is a contract job in the IT field, l I may have to get healthcare through the govt and it costs around $750 - $900 for a decent PPO plan. I am just trying to see what will be a good/decent compensation to live in Durham, NC. The state tax for NC is 8%, is that correct?
The South/Southeast central parts of Durham are what to AVOID, but you would see that instantly in doing the driving around that you presumably will be doing. North Durham is older suburbs, some very nice and desirable (Trinity Park, e.g. near the middle of town) and some more middle-class and starting to show their age (north of I-85, e.g.). There are a lot of converted warehouses that give parts of Durham a "SoHo" sort of feel, but if you have kids, I'm guessing that's not the vibe you want.
The area near Duke U is, not surprisingly, generally good except you need to watch out for being near student apartments. Southwest Durham is the "fancy new suburbs" area, towards Southpoint Mall.
PS--Chapel Hill is close in miles to Durham, but the commute is ugly due to traffic. And, Chapel Hill is probably the highest cost of living in NC.
Thanks for the info. So it looks like Durham by itself is not that great compared to Cary or good to stay closer to Cary,RTP or Morrisville?
Yeah... like the PP said, "not good" vs. "good" is really not reasonable.
There are many family-friendly urban and suburban neighborhoods in Durham. You will find lower prices, and access to fewer chain stores/restaurants, many more local stores/restaurants including some very good ones. Sorry, there's really not an area in Jacksonville that compares to Durham... it's closer to a (much) larger Gainesville or Athens, Ga. than to anything in North Florida.
If your preferences run more to chain shopping and dining, bang-for-the-buck, and you put value on being in a place where things are "new and shiny" (new strip malls, wide roads, brand new housing/apartments) and prefer not being in cities, you'll be happier in a suburban part of Durham (like south Durham) or in a place like Cary or Morrisville.
It's really all what you're looking for. The one Jacksonville person I know is a UNF grad who came here, fell in love with Durham, and opened Monuts Donuts (you can Google it) with his wife -- it's been a huge hit and they are a big part of a very DIY/entrepreneurial/foodie part of Durham. Maybe that's what you and your family want, or maybe it isn't?
We are thinking of moving from Jacksonville, Florida to Durham NC. What are the safe areas in Durham? We have a baby and 3 year old and looking into schools as well. I hear that Cary has good schools. My question is how much does a 3 bed condo/town-home cost to rent/buy? Is Chapel Hill a good area to commute from to downtown Durham?
As this is a contract job in the IT field, l I may have to get healthcare through the govt and it costs around $750 - $900 for a decent PPO plan. I am just trying to see what will be a good/decent compensation to live in Durham, NC. The state tax for NC is 8%, is that correct?
Thanks for the info. So it looks like Durham by itself is not that great compared to Cary or good to stay closer to Cary,RTP or Morrisville?
No, that's not what I said--what I essentially said was "it depends on what part of Durham" (which is basically what you asked in the first place, I quote, "What are the safe areas?"). It's a diverse city with lots of different areas, like any city (even Cary, though that is technically a "town" of over 100K).
Doesn't anybody use the "city data" part of City-Data? DURHAM, NC
You can look up lots of statistics by census group, I think, and crime rates for the city for the past few years.
Sales tax varies by county, but it is between 6.75% and 7.25%: Sales and Use Tax
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