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Even though the prestigious campus of Duke University is in Durham, the city seems to be the whipping boy city of the triangle area. I visit family there every year and talking to many locals they seem to pinpoint Durham as the less desraible place to be. The city has some beautiful parts but much of it's downtown is evident of the tobacco industry gone bust and pretty sketchy. Raleigh and especially Chapel Hill are a lot cleaner and both of those cities a very clean from my observation. But compared to other cities in the country I don't think it would be fair to label Durham as dirty. I think in the future it will most likely gentrify and prosper, it's got good bones.
I would consider your assessment of Durham a fail, it's not sketchy nor ungentrified. I lived there for years and it has continued to evolve. The downtown area in particular is much more interesting than Raleigh and Durham's dining scene has made national mention more than a couple of times, versus Raleigh which is in my opinion bland/boring. Restaurant scenes don't happen in non-gentrified areas and they most certainly aren't generally supported by the more aloof in Raleigh. The locals you speak with are no doubt those that live in Raleigh or Cary, as there is an unexplainable "air of superiority" that comes from that end of the Triangle. If one favors suburban, strip mall culture the Raleigh or Cary area is probably the direction to head toward. If one is more cultural/enlightened and prefers great independent restaurants/shopping as well as established neighborhoods with "character" housing check out Durham or Chapel Hill/Carrboro.
Thanks all!
What about Richmond!? Looking at their photo treads it's beautiful! I am sure there are some dirty areas and all, but all of the old buildings look so well kept, and very clean-esp given their ages! (I know some ppls versions of clean are just stream line and new cities) So, how does Richmond compare?
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kyle19125
I would consider your assessment of Durham a fail, it's not sketchy nor ungentrified. I lived there for years and it has continued to evolve. The downtown area in particular is much more interesting than Raleigh and Durham's dining scene has made national mention more than a couple of times, versus Raleigh which is in my opinion bland/boring. Restaurant scenes don't happen in non-gentrified areas and they most certainly aren't generally supported by the more aloof in Raleigh. The locals you speak with are no doubt those that live in Raleigh or Cary, as there is an unexplainable "air of superiority" that comes from that end of the Triangle. If one favors suburban, strip mall culture the Raleigh or Cary area is probably the direction to head toward. If one is more cultural/enlightened and prefers great independent restaurants/shopping as well as established neighborhoods with "character" housing check out Durham or Chapel Hill/Carrboro.
I would consider your post OFF TOPIC. The OP had asked what were the most visually clean cities in the country. I responded to a post inquiring about the triangle and Raleigh/Cary are undoubtedly more visually clean than Durham. This isn't a discussion of what city has more character and which one has more strip mall culture. If it was I'd be inclined to agree with some points inyour post, but that's not the OP's topic. And as far as some of downtown Durham looking a bit sketchy, well you can disagree but I stand by my assesment. For the home city of a prestigious university like Duke it could use some more life and feels a bit sketchy, though not nearly as bad as say the contrast between the Yale Campus and the city of New Haven. There is room for opportunity in Durham, like I said in my first post it's got good bones.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 09-20-2012 at 09:11 AM..
This ranking (granted, it's old) would certainly disagree with that assessment.
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