DURHAM anyone? less "safe" than Raleigh/Cary? (Trinity: middle-class, rentals)

[TraumanurseNC]

My comments in blue....


Originally Posted by newenglandgirl -Red comments by Charlton Dude.
I am possibly relocating to the Triangle area, older (semi-retired). I know nothing at all about Durham, other than it has Duke and a performing arts center. I've had two Cary realtors tell me to "stay away from Durham." No explanation. Why would they say this?

- Is Durham considered less safe - higher crime? Yes, but there are safe areas. The overall crime rate is higher than surrounding towns due to concentrated areas of high crime. - if you say so. I feel perfectly safe here....

- Are the city neighborhoods going downhill? Some yes and some no. - the same could be said about Cary or Raleigh or Chapel Hill or Wake Forest or.....

- Should I look in the N or S part of the city? Southwest, no question. - I personally like North Durham, traffic isn't as bad, but it is further away from things...

- What do Durham folks pay for property taxes? About 50% higher than many in Wake County towns. - I will have to look at my bill, I didn't think it was that bad...

- How good is your drinking water? The same as most any other public water. I did taste higher levels of chlorine. I drink bottled water mostly. - I drink filtered water most of the time (from my refrigerator dispenser), but drink the water at times, and think it is fine...

- Public transportation? Not much. Some buses - likely more buses in Durham than Cary....

- And Durhamites, how to you compare your city in general w Raleigh/Cary? Cary is the single best town overall to live in. We don't live there, but we frequent it often. It is beautiful, unique, pleasant, safe and just very comfortable - hmmmm.... Durham is the single best town overall to live in.... I DO live there and I frequent Cary often, but choose NOT to live there.... Durham is beautiful, unique, pleasant, safe, and just very comfortable FOR ME, and LOTS of other people who call Durham home!!! I love my city, I hope you do too!
It really is personal, you have to find out for yourself, but don't rule out Durham just because someone who DOESN'T live there tells you it isn't a great place.... For me, it is the BEST place!

[KE4ZNR]

I don't live in Durham (I live in West Raleigh) but I do work in Durham 6 days a week in the area of Hillsborough Rd & Cole Mill Rd and I feel as safe there as I do anywhere. EVERY city is going to have good and bad spots. Hell, I have close friends that are Raleigh PD officers and ask honestly they will admit there are parts of Raleigh they don't go into alone and instead roll double or triple units late at night. Durham has always gotten the bastard stepchild of the Triangle treatment and the more time I spend there the more I realize that in reality it is about the same as Raleigh.

[Francois]

Originally Posted by jill7930

It's smaller with less traffic than Raleigh and has a lot more diversity, quirkyness, and character than Cary!

Absolutely! Of course, almost any area here will have more 'character" than Cary, since it is the epitome of "quickly-growing suburbs" and has very little "old culture". OTOH, Durham is definitely the quikiest of the towns/cities, with, as people say, little pockets of many different things. Some of the neighborhoods such as Old West Durham look like old Southern towns such as where "Driving Miss Daisy" lived in that movie, while downtown is very hip and some of the newest, and coolest, architecture and amenities in the Triangle are there; Northern Durham near Northgate Mall has nice friendly neighborhoods with smaller (generally) and older homes, but is very established. SW would be the "suburban sprawl" part of Durham, with newer houses and the most modern architecture, if that's what you're after, and then around Duke, you'll find the sorts of "quirky artistic areas" such as Ninth Street. It's Southeast that would be dangerous to go after without knowing the area more.

[adlnc07]

Originally Posted by TraumanurseNC

My comments in blue....
- What do Durham folks pay for property taxes? About 50% higher than many in Wake County towns. - I will have to look at my bill, I didn't think it was that bad...

The difference is closer to 40% - I remember noticing that when I was first house hunting in this area. I pay $1897 in property taxes in Cary - a similarly valued house in Durham County (Audubon Park) would be $2600 or so.

I think Durham is a neat city - but I'm not a city person so I wouldn't live in the more "city" areas. That goes for downtown Raleigh as well. It has nothing to do with crime, or how safe I'd feel - just not my cup of tea. I like the southern suburbs and area near South Point, which frankly isn't all the different from Cary or Apex. One of the first Durham subdivisions that caught my eye was Audubon Park, which isn't far from where my new job is. Oh and I really like Woodcroft.. beautiful!

[Bull City Rising]

Originally Posted by adlnc07

The difference is closer to 40% - I remember noticing that when I was first house hunting in this area. I pay $1897 in property taxes in Cary - a similarly valued house in Durham County (Audubon Park) would be $2600 or so.

One thing to keep in mind is that housing prices tend to be lower in Durham than in neighboring counties; your tax rate is higher as a result.

Wake Co. can have a lower tax rate because they spread certain costs over a 1MM+ population, vs. 250k for Durham Co.

We live in a 1935 cottage/Colonial in Trinity Park, which we're in the middle of rehabbing and fixing up. If we'd tried to buy a similar property in a similarly-nice neighborhood "inside the beltline" in Raleigh, we'd have probably paid twice as much for it.

Many of us who live in Durham are absolutely passionate about it. I like Raleigh well enough, and there are areas there I really like -- but of everywhere I've lived in the US, there's nowhere I've felt as home at, and as passionate about, as the Bull City.

DanielleNC had a great series of links, btw.

Not sure where in New England you're coming from. My wife's from Southern NH, and I do think a lot of people who move from places like Amherst, Merrimack, Salem, etc. tend to prefer Wake Co. and Cary, but that's a reflection of the fact that those NE towns appeal heavily to people seeking a suburban lifestyle who don't want to live in a city.

While Durham has nice suburban areas, particularly at the northern and southern edges, much of Durham's character and energy comes from the urban areas, Duke/NCCU, downtown, Ninth St. and so forth. If you're the kind of New Englander who'd rather have a triple-decker walk-up in Arlington, or a funky loft in Lowell, or an in-town house in Hartford or Providence than be in a suburban, chain-store place like Franklin MA or the furthest North Shore, I think you might like Durham's core.

If suburbs appeal to you for their newer housing stock and proximity to mass-market shopping, one might be happier (IMO) in suburban areas of Durham or in Wake Co./Cary.

Good luck!

[Charlton Dude]

Originally Posted by jill7930

True enough I suppose. And I should say that Durham actually has a different character depending on which part you live in. As has been mentioned by some previous posters, and speaking with some generalizations:

SW Durham tends to be more "sprawlish" with lots of new housing, strip malls, the large Southpoint shopping mall and surrounding bunch of stores, etc. Central Durham includes Duke and downtown, with lots of great restaurants, non-chain stores, the Ballpark, DPAC, Duke Campus resources (Duke Gardens, Nasher art museum, etc). Then there's western and northern Durham which has much less retail, the beautiful Eno River State Park, and a more rural feeling. I know less about East Durham since I have no reason to go there much- there are some "sketchy" areas out East with gang/drug problems. Check it all out and see what feel right for you! I love living in western Durham and would not want to live in SW Durham (though my inlaws are there, close to the Chapel Hill line) and it's a great location for them. I much prefer the "quieter feeling" of western/northern Durham.

This post sums it up pretty well. Durham county will offer you a wide range of options. There is something for everyone. SW Durham is more like Cary. It contains the most quality character anywhere in Durham and as the OP is a fellow New Englander, she would most likely find SW Durham or Cary the most pleasing. SW Durham & Cary are where the best architecture will be found, the most beautiful trails and landscaping, the best shopping, great restaurants, the best access to RTP. These two areas have it all over anywhere else.

[PDXmom]

Originally Posted by adlnc07

I like the southern suburbs and area near South Point, which frankly isn't all the different from Cary or Apex. One of the first Durham subdivisions that caught my eye was Audubon Park, which isn't far from where my new job is. Oh and I really like Woodcroft.. beautiful!

I agree. However, I find drivers to be more agressive and drive faster in Cary (in general) than in the Southpoint area. It could be because Cary is more populated than the Southpoint area, and thus Cary has more traffic. Generally, you get more house for your money in the Southpoint area and I found that houses the same age generally have a little bigger lots in Southpoint area.... .25-.33.

I live in Durham and like living here. But I will say the taste of the tap water is terrible. But I've had tap water in Raleigh, Cary, & Chapel Hill and feel that it all is terrible. But I moved here from somewhere that the water supply came from snow pack not a lake fed by streams ect like we get here. So my tastebuds are spoiled. Here we filter our water and it taste fine after the filtering process.

[daveraleigh]

I think Durham's reputation for danger/crime has gone down vs recent years...not sure about the stats. It also seems (to me) that its had the 'bad' luck to have high profile crimes.
The downtown area can be sketchy...maybe a bit more so than Raleigh. (just my opinion)
Crime is random, though. I lived on Buchanan a few houses up from the infamous Duke Lacrosse house and witnessed a carjacking right at the light near Domino's (if its still a Domino's) ...but I've had my house broken into 3x while living in Raleigh (I know, right?) Twice at my rental in Cameron Park!

[mia78]

I'll comment on the public transportation as someone who has direct knowledge of it. You would have to find the home you like first THEN see if buses service that area and then there is always a chance that DATA will change the route or remove the stop (happens quite commonly), so I would not rely on buses here. Due to the spread out landscape of Durham and the Triangle in general, bus service is sparse in many areas. When I was looking at houses (which I needed to be close to buses), I found that the North side seemed to be the most lacking which makes sense as the North is more rural anyway. Even if you are convenient to a bus stop, the places where you can take the bus to are extremely limited and sometimes the ride can be loooooooong. Also, the nicest houses and nicest little neighborhoods were generally the furthest from buses. Also to note that Durham in general with the exception to some downtown areas is quite pedestrian unfriendly. Consistent sidewalks in Durham are a rarity. There are many places that have bus stops that I think are really unsafe to be walking (specifically that stretch of Cornwallis between Fayetteville and 55). I would see people out there in the winter before the sun rose (sun doesn't get all the way up here until around 7am sometimes) and I was afraid that they'd be hit by a car. It was so hard to see them as we drove by and I thought they really needed some reflective vests. Most of Durham is pitch black at night in comparison to cities in the NE so visibility is lower for drivers.

[mjohnson185]

I have a friend that lives in Trinity in Durham in a really expensive house and has heard gunshots from her own yard. She's only been there 2 years. I think there are some really great little bungalows there, but you will notice that Durham posts it's public crime records on the county website. The friend that lives in Trinity says you can't leave anything in the front yard or it will be gone, but she says she wouldn't leave anything there no matter where she lives. We were looking at Durham when we bought our house 3 years ago and decided against it since we were shocked that every house we were interested in had a great number of crime incedents within a mile radius. Most were theft or burglary, but some were murders and rape. One or two crimes in a mile radius was okay, but 15 t 20 incedents was way too much. You may not find this in the South part of Durham, but we were looking in the historic district near Trinity.