moving to the durham area with a 3 year old and a newborn (extended stay, rent)

[Any]

Hi all,

I will start working at Duke University. We currently live in DC. We are panning to move in the next months and are planning to buy a house.
With 2 kids (3 and a newborn) what would be the best area for us?
Our concerns are: commute (no longer than 15 min) and good school for the pre-K.

We know NOTHING about the area so all your advices are welcome!

Thank you.

[marialidia]

Please read the sticky "Triangle Relocation Index" at the top of this thread! It will start you on the process of learning about the area. Then read through the threads that interest you. (I found this all superbly helpful when I was considering moving here.)

Then, with all this fabulous information, if you can post about how long a commute you are willing to do (coming from DC even rush hour here will seem trivial), what kind of housing you want, what kind of area...people will chime in with suggestions.

And congratulations on the new job.

[m378]

Rent for a year, especially since your kids aren't in school yet.

[Any]

Hi, thanks for the suggestion. We would like to have a commute no longer than 20 min. Looking for a single family home, max 400k. We do not know the areas so it is hard to say, but looking for a good school district and an area with activities for kids.

[Any]

Also, we are planning to go there for a few days during the Christmas break. Where do you suggest we get the hotel? Which areas shall we explore? Thanks in advance

[marialidia]

There are a number of hotels near the Duke campus, especially near the hospitals, and also downtown. But you might like to look into the extended stay hotels near the intersections of routes 15/501 and I40, and route 54 and I40. Those are nearer neighborhoods that you might like to look at, and which will also give you the kind of commute you are looking for.

You can try the commutes while you are here, although of course the traffic will be lighter than usual during the holiday season.

I will leave it to the folks with school age children to discuss that aspect of your questions!

[NM posts]

Maybe stay at LaQuinta on 15/501 - it's really nice and puts you right near neighborhoods that will be a good base for you to look at.

I live in the area of the map below, and my neighborhood is filled with people who work at Duke; many with young children - I don't have kids so am unsure of where they take their kids. One area in the map - Hope Valley - is pretty expensive and luxe (though your max housing price is pretty high for this area). Definitely recommend checking it out.

[hey_guy]

Woodcroft

[NM posts]

Originally Posted by hey_guy

Woodcroft

Woodcroft is great but can she get to Duke in 15 min? I feel like it would take more?

[Any]

Thanks for all the comments. Please give me more names of neighborhoods, that way I can put then on my gps
Driving with 2 kids with no destination can be a bit stressful, ha!