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If you are running together and usually have dogs, I would not worry about it much at all. Cycling, I wouldn't worry much either. Use normal urban area situational awareness. Durham downtown is growing rapidly with new condos and such. There's way more people out exercising that just a few years ago, in my experience (I ride in on the ATT fairly often). There seems to be more police bike patrols as well.
Awesome! Thanks for the input. Yes, totally agree with the situational awareness. We both grew up in large cities and have been living in (and loving) Central Denver. It still gets a bit sketchy here after 9pm. So, I think that kind of awareness is intrinsically there for us.
We were planning to rent bikes and go for a short ride this weekend to check out ATT, but it seems like the weather is going to be crappy during our visit. But, we'll make sure to squeeze in at least a short walk on the trail on Friday afternoon after we get into Durham.
Awesome! Thanks for the input. Yes, totally agree with the situational awareness. We both grew up in large cities and have been living in (and loving) Central Denver. It still gets a bit sketchy here after 9pm. So, I think that kind of awareness is intrinsically there for us.
We were planning to rent bikes and go for a short ride this weekend to check out ATT, but it seems like the weather is going to be crappy during our visit. But, we'll make sure to squeeze in at least a short walk on the trail on Friday afternoon after we get into Durham.
i actually enjoy the third fork creek trail (it's accessible from MLK) (and the att)
from the ATT itself the best parts are the far end where it goes to jordan lake but if you want to ride through town side you can rent a elctro bike from the store near the mall and zip the 8 miles to downtown and have a beer/whatever
my house is across the street from ATT about MM 10 and its been a great asset but i'm also kind of bored on it but it took like 8 years so you got some time (long times in the saddle can be boring)
i get the generic critique about ugly new housing but none of the housing stock is artisan or craftsmans its just some spectrum of really old to newer
i like the woodcroft housing stock because the houses and lots are well apportioned and you arent on top of each other
north of mlk and before downtown is generally the ungentrified areas so you know caveat emptor
i actually enjoy the third fork creek trail (it's accessible from MLK) (and the att)
from the ATT itself the best parts are the far end where it goes to jordan lake but if you want to ride through town side you can rent a elctro bike from the store near the mall and zip the 8 miles to downtown and have a beer/whatever
my house is across the street from ATT about MM 10 and its been a great asset but i'm also kind of bored on it but it took like 8 years so you got some time
i get the generic critique about ugly new housing but none of the housing stock is artisan or craftsmans its just some spectrum of really old to newer
i like the woodcroft housing stock because the houses and lots are well apportioned and you arent on top of each other
north of mlk and before downtown is generally the ungentrified areas so you know caveat emptor
yes, I was quite underwhelmed with the housing stock in Durham. I have seen some Victorians, bungalows, a few Tudors and a bunch of southern homes (I have no idea what their style is called, but the two storied houses with large pillars) in downtown area. But those house seem very overpriced to me - and I am coming from Denver. Some of those house have been sitting on Redfin since last December. Not sure why... maybe way in East Durham?
Anyway, we'll check out ATT both north and south of MLK. There is something about living close to trails. Everywhere I lived and visited... houses close to trails eventually gain in value. Case in point the Beltline (or whatever it's is called) in Atlanta. Some stretches of it used to be sketchy, but now you can't find anything under 500K. I see it as having a huge playground in my backyard... and a great potential for increasing the value of my house.
The trails/sidewalks in and around RTP are pretty safe, and the area is virtually deserted on the weekends. If anyone was looking for a place to run/walk/bike with few others around, RTP is the place
yes, I was quite underwhelmed with the housing stock in Durham. I have seen some Victorians, bungalows, a few Tudors and a bunch of southern homes (I have no idea what their style is called, but the two storied houses with large pillars) in downtown area. But those house seem very overpriced to me - and I am coming from Denver. Some of those house have been sitting on Redfin since last December. Not sure why... maybe way in East Durham?
Anyway, we'll check out ATT both north and south of MLK. There is something about living close to trails. Everywhere I lived and visited... houses close to trails eventually gain in value. Case in point the Beltline (or whatever it's is called) in Atlanta. Some stretches of it used to be sketchy, but now you can't find anything under 500K. I see it as having a huge playground in my backyard... and a great potential for increasing the value of my house.
Imo I'm not a woordcroft shill but that's your best bet you are right on 3 greenways and a easy seven miles to downtown
One place that is cool to run is around the border of Duke's East Campus, neighboring the beautiful Trinity Park neighborhood and Ninth Street. Very close to downtown proper. Might not work in your budget for living, but worth checking out.
One of these days I'll get around to exploring Duke Forest, which I've heard good things about
So, the trip went very well! Friday was pretty gloomy and rainy, but Saturday and Sunday were gorgeous, and we had a great time exploring Durham. Greenways and trails were everywhere! We really just loved seeing trails popping up in unexpected places.
As people suggested, we checked out the neighborhoods south of MLK. We liked the Woodcroft neighborhood. People were out and about riding their bikes, running, etc. I think that's definitely an excellent place for a family with kids. But, as we suspected the neighborhood might not work for us. Also, the houses seemed a bit too big... at least for 2 people with very minimalist tastes.
We stayed in the Airbnb in Trinity Park and spent a lot of time around downtown. That whole area seemed very walkable and safe. We walked from Motorco/Fullsteam a couple of times after 9:00 pm and felt pretty safe.
We loved Morehead Hills, Lyon Park, Forest Hills and Tuscaloosa-Lakewood. We'll probably try to rent in one of these areas first though.
So one thing I wanted to ask (has nothing to do with trails or housing...). We were at Pizzaria Torro, in the back sitting by a window overlooking the W Main street (?). Out of nowhere, this pickup truck showed up with a huge confederate flag mounted to its bed. The whole thing felt intentional... like "I am going to drive around Durham to p*** these people off" intentional. Does this kind of thing happen often? I mean I wouldn't be surprised to see that in rural NC... or like on a highway. But, in the middle of the downtown area on a St Patrick's day weekend... that was pretty shocking.
I have to say right after that a bi-racial gay couple passed by holding hands... so we kind of thought that was a pretty good antidote for what we'd just witnessed. But, still I wasn't expecting to see that flag in Durham.
So one thing I wanted to ask (has nothing to do with trails or housing...). We were at Pizzaria Torro, in the back sitting by a window overlooking the W Main street (?). Out of nowhere, this pickup truck showed up with a huge confederate flag mounted to its bed. The whole thing felt intentional... like "I am going to drive around Durham to p*** these people off" intentional. Does this kind of thing happen often? I mean I wouldn't be surprised to see that in rural NC... or like on a highway. But, in the middle of the downtown area on a St Patrick's day weekend... that was pretty shocking.
I have to say right after that a bi-racial gay couple passed by holding hands... so we kind of thought that was a pretty good antidote for what we'd just witnessed. But, still I wasn't expecting to see that flag in Durham.
Not sure I understand why you would let that ruin your day.
I don't agree with it BTW, but the country is
founded on free speech.
Lots of political, religious and other type of signs & flags around of things
I disagree with. But they are easy to ignore.
This may not be the area for you if you are intolerant of free speech.
"I am going to drive around Durham to p*** these people off" intentional. Does this kind of thing happen often?
Your interpretation is correct. There's a guy who drives around Chapel Hill and Carrboro with the same flags on his moped just to annoy people. There are other folks who you can tell are just going from point A to point B and they might have a Confederate bumper sticker on their truck or whatever just going about their business, but this one guy on the moped I'm thinking of is just doing it as a display.
Look up ACTBAC. They like to come to Chapel Hill and Durham occasionally and parade around.
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