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I just want to set the record straight about Durham. I moved to southern Durham, near The Streets at Southpoint, November of 2005. I moved down from a very rural area of Massachusetts. This is my first experience living in a city…..if you even want to call this area of Durham a city. After LIVING in Durham for over a year, I can truly say I love living here. There is so much to do and everything is kept up so well. The only area of Durham I avoid at night is east central Durham. That area is where you will find most of the crime. It is an area that has not kept up with most of Durham. If you avoid that area, you will find that Durham has so much to offer. Northern Durham County is very rural, with lots of land and farmhouses. West central Durham has Duke University and many older and very nice homes. Southern Durham is where everything new is located, including the fabulous Streets at Southpoint mall. Most of the people that bash Durham are people that do not live here. If you do not live here, you do not know how good it is. When trying to get advice on Durham, listen to people that live here, not people that like to bash from afar.
I totally agree that there are some areas of Durham that are quite nice.
However...do you have kids? Where do they go to school? That is what turns most of my clients off about Durham.
Here is the simple truth of the matter...if you have $300,000 to spend, your Realtor should be showing you what your money can buy. Whether its North Raleigh or Cary or HollySprings or Durham. Then its up to my clients to determine where they want to live. Its a choice, people.
However...do you have kids? Where do they go to school? That is what turns most of my clients off about Durham.
And unfortunately, they're not getting the full picture. They're looking at flat numbers, I guess, and assuming the education is automatically sub-par.
But BullCityRising's figures, several posts back, proves pretty darn clearly that once you cancel out differerences such as race and socioeconomic differences, the scores for Durham and Wake Counties are virtually the same.
Add the fact that forced yearround and overcrowding and reassignment are way less common in Durham County than Wake County...well, I don't have a kid but if I did I might just actually MOVE to Durham for the schools alone!
(Sorry, Southpoint, it wouldn't be southern Durham though...reminds me too much of Cary these days. )
And unfortunately, they're not getting the full picture. They're looking at flat numbers, I guess, and assuming the education is automatically sub-par.
But BullCityRising's figures, several posts back, proves pretty darn clearly that once you cancel out differerences such as race and socioeconomic differences, the scores for Durham and Wake Counties are virtually the same.
Add the fact that forced yearround and overcrowding and reassignment are way less common in Durham County than Wake County...well, I don't have a kid but if I did I might just actually MOVE to Durham for the schools alone!
(Sorry, Southpoint, it wouldn't be southern Durham though...reminds me too much of Cary these days. )
Yes, RaleighRob, Southern Durham is actually starting to become like Cary. I guess that's why I like it. Controlled Area for Relocated Yankees and I am a yankee.....unfortunately. Luckily the traffic hear seems much more manageable than Cary......for now.
I agree with you about the schools. My son is already out of college, so the schools were not a consideration for me. However, Durham does have excellent and poor schools, like most towns. It seems like Wake county is starting to have a lot of problems with overcrowding now, so it will be interesting to see what happens.
uh huh, me too and for a moment I thought they were pictures of Mobile. Traffic here is Horrible and not just rush hour,all the time!!
Love the pics though.........have more?
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