Getting tired of Durham being dismissed out of hand (Raleigh: high crime, houses)

[MaimounaKande]

I didn't know people could leave comments either! I just found a whole bunch left for me--that was fun! And what's funny is I got a positive and negative rating for the exact same post a few months ago!

[findingmesomeday]

I only found a few comments once I discovered where the link was. But now I see my rep #'s going up, but the details page hasn't changed. Weird!

[karmel]

Indigo Blue, THanks so much for all the resources. I am planning a move to the Raleigh area and am reading as much as I can about the different areas in which to live. I prefer not to relocate and find that I need to drive everywhere I want to go. I would love to find a place with a little town. I will definitely check out Durham. I also like the sounds of Chapel Hill and Hillsborough (sp), but understand that it's a bit pricey.

[Indigoblue]

My pleasure Chapel Hill and Hillsborough are also lovely areas, though a bit farther out from the shopping I like to be near In the price range we were looking at (low 300s), Hillsborough was more affordable than SW Durham. Chapel Hill overall is WAAAY more expensive than other areas in the Triangle. One exception I know of is Chapel Hill homes that are in Durham County. They are just a wee bit more expensive than homes in the city of Durham just a few blocks away. You would be paying extra for the city name

Originally Posted by karmel

Indigo Blue, THanks so much for all the resources. I am planning a move to the Raleigh area and am reading as much as I can about the different areas in which to live. I prefer not to relocate and find that I need to drive everywhere I want to go. I would love to find a place with a little town. I will definitely check out Durham. I also like the sounds of Chapel Hill and Hillsborough (sp), but understand that it's a bit pricey.

[durhamsbiggestfan]

Yep. I was born and raised in Durham and I find myself having to search for the facts about Durham to show people because they base their opinions on what they hear. I could not have been raised in a better place. The further away I get, the more unhappy I become.

[arsbadmojo]

It is a little strange; when we first heard we'd be erelocating to this area, I heard from no less than three different people "stay away from Durham". Had any of them actually lived in Durham? No.

We bought a house in a suburban Durham area and couldn't be happier with the location.

[nclovescoley]

I agree that compared to Richmond, VA, Durham is heaven!
I also agree with Indigo on a lot of his points.
I LOVED downtown, central park, the ymca, and american tobacco district. The crime IS undeniable though, and this is coming from someone that was optimistic on my arrival. I was carless during my stay and I never felt safe walking anywhere; my neighbor's car was stolen. This was not a "house next door to me" neighbor. He was a "lives across the hall from me" neighbor.
As a young progressive chick, I actually preferred the nightlife and restaurants to downtown Raleigh. If I had a car, I would've considered staying.

Originally Posted by IdaClaire

Unfortunately, the Triangle area is fairly short of affordable housing in that range. The first home we purchased was in 2000 in Old West Durham. We bought a darling little mill house for only $126,000. We can't speak highly enough of this part of Durham. The neighbors were friendly, we had exquisite heart pine floors, and we could walk to over 30 restaurants. We made the decision to move just west of Carrboro to have a more rustic lifestyle, to get more living space, and to be closer to my husband's workplace, but under the right circumstances, I would definitely consider Durham again. I believe that Durham's reputation as a "rough" city is extremely exaggerated. Having lived in Richmond, Va, and having spent some time in New Orleans, Durham is fairly tame outside of a few hot spots that are easy to avoid.

I am pretty much either a downtown or middle of the wilderness kind of gal- not much for the in-betweens, but even I find the suburban sections of Durham near Southpoint livable, attractive and affordable. Many of our friends in their early childraising years have settled in Woodcroft, and there are actual, honest-to-God TREES in many of the neighborhoods down there. Penrith is a nice little neighborhood as well. For those looking for affordable starter homes, there is a slightly older neighborhood (sixties or so) called Parkwood that has some decent split level and ranch style homes.



Not to me. I actually think that a well-kept, safe older suburb is a good choice for a growing family who wants a lot of square footage for the money. Split levels often have the nice features we like in older homes- attention to detail, sturdiness, hardwoods, etc, without the high price attached to a true historic home. They just aren't trendy and "historic" enough right now, but I suspect they will be in the near future. There are some great older suburban neighborhoods in the Triangle area in Durham, Raleigh and Cary where a growing family can pick up a sizeable split level with gleaming hardwood floors and mature trees without spending a fortune.

I think for me, the presence of larger trees and architecture that varies significantly throughout the neighborhood is part of how I view a neighborhood. So many newer subdivisions clear cut the entire neighborhood and I cannot imagine living without trees. Nor can I imagine living in a neighborhood where one is limited to choosing between 1 of 4 designs. That's just me. I realize that tastes differ.

[Indigoblue]

I'm not saying crime is deniable, nor denying that there are areas where you are more likely to be affected. What I am saying is that it is wrong for people to make relocators believe that even a large part of the city is dangerous. The area you described living in in another thread is fairly close to the highest crime area of the city. That said, in any of the cities in the Triangle, we're all in danger of our property, including cars, being stolen, and our houses being broken into. As a police officer once told me, criminals don't stay in their own neighborhoods to steal because they tend to be in low income areas and there's nothing to steal. Thieves travel

PS. I'm a she

Originally Posted by nclovescoley

I agree that compared to Richmond, VA, Durham is heaven!
I also agree with Indigo on a lot of his points.
I LOVED downtown, central park, the ymca, and american tobacco district. The crime IS undeniable though, and this is coming from someone that was optimistic on my arrival. I was carless during my stay and I never felt safe walking anywhere; my neighbor's car was stolen. This was not a "house next door to me" neighbor. He was a "lives across the hall from me" neighbor.
As a young progressive chick, I actually preferred the nightlife and restaurants to downtown Raleigh. If I had a car, I would've considered staying.

[Dave O]

Originally Posted by Indigoblue

It's getting really old to see people repeatedly told not to live in Durham b/c of the false belief that violent crime is happening all over the city and all the schools are "bad".

Great points but the fact is that there is a stigma attached to Durham that isn't likely to change anytime soon. Unfortunately the high crime reputation is as detrimental to property values as actual crime. If I were house hunting in the Triangle area Durham is the last place that I'd buy.

[scorp200]

Originally Posted by Dave O

Great points but the fact is that there is a stigma attached to Durham that isn't likely to change anytime soon. Unfortunately the high crime reputation is as detrimental to property values as actual crime. If I were house hunting in the Triangle area Durham is the last place that I'd buy.

See now that keeps the houses somewhat affordable for the rest of us who would buy there first...so it all works out ?? Uh until you go to sell, I guess.