How about a nice, not-too-nice neighborhood for me? (Raleigh, Durham: crime rate, houses)

[Sonorio]

Here's what I'm accustomed to: A glorious prewar house with leaded glass, all hardwood (real wood, not stick-on stuff) floors, front porch; clean basement, first floor, second floor, full attic for the music studio. I can shrink on the house size; in fact, I want to.

Beautiful street lined with mature trees. Front porch on every house.
Relatively large back yard, about 3x the house's footprint.
Neighborhood about 25% Caucs like me, 25% Puerto Rican, 50% black.

(All you Thought Police go take a pill and lie down.)

Car gets broken into pretty much yearly, house every 8-10 years. Loud stereos make it pretty much difficult to hear your own TV or your own thoughts for that matter.

Kids are everwhere, loudly and cheerfully playing, which is sweet most of the time. Neighbors are friendly although we white guys are a little shy, comparatively. A LOT of socializing when it's warm enough to go outside.

Okay, suppose I want to move to the Raleigh area. I like where I am except I don't want to have to hear the stereos and barking dogs all the time. It would be gravy if I were burglarized less often. No floods please.

Did I mention my house appraises at around $60,000? Plus insane taxes (Rochester, NY) which make up the difference between us and the rest of the country.

Do you have any neighborhoods in which I'd be happy?

Thanks

So

[dcgrl]

NOrthgate in Durham might appeal, although houses are around $150k, and houses tend to be post-war bungalows.

eta: basements are rare in the South.

[mdp_az]

Check out Cleveland-Holloway and some of the areas north of Forest Hills/south of NC-147 in Durham, too.

[imtheone81]

1 story 750-1300 sq ft 2 or 3 bedroom 50s brick ranches
Huge mature tree lined streets
Mix of front and back porches
1/4 to 1/3 acre lots
Mixed race neighborhood
Crime rate about the same as all the other entry-level house neighborhoods, but not everyone on this board may agree.
The occasional loud stereo would be a familiar sound, but it's not that bad
Lots of people out and about


A couple of us on the board live here: Lockwood, Windsor Park, Rollingwood, Longview
North of New Bern
East of Raleigh Blvd
East Raleigh/Inside the Beltline
Houses starting under $100k, $125-150k is more common




Do you have any neighborhoods in which I'd be happy?

[lovebrentwood]

You'd like the houses in Oakwood; it's downtown. However, those houses are really more like the houses on Park Ave in Rochester. And they cost five or six times (or more) more than your house.
Historic Oakwood - Raleigh, North Carolina

My first house was on Clay Avenue in the Tenth Ward of Rochester. A 1910 two-story in absolutely mint condition. I still miss the front porch and the bloom-until-November huge coral roses growing on the side.

Sorry, there is nothing equivalent to your $60,000 house in any nice not-so-nice neighborhood in Raleigh (that I know of!).

[Francois]

Originally Posted by lovebrentwood

Sorry, there is nothing equivalent to your $60,000 house in any nice not-so-nice neighborhood in Raleigh (that I know of!).

Yup, even a not-nice in a not-nice neighborhood would be about twice that.

[imtheone81]

Those are some good neighborhoods to start with in Raleigh and Durham, take a look and let us know!