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My husband and I were interested in a house for sell on Rondelay, but hear so much about high crime rate in Durham that we're having second thoughts about leaving Virginia Beach and buying there. Can any ole timers give me some REAL advice before we relocate??
Like everywhere there are some bad spots but those spots are easily distinguishable. I think it's a fantastic place to live and raise a family. Overall, Durham is probably the safest place to live in the region. It used to be a very antiquated city but has come a long way and now is very obvious there is a strong goal of preserving the historical beauty of the city. Listen to other opinions as well to be fair since I'm very biased towards Durham.
Keep in mind that much of what you read is about the city of Durham, but there is also a county of Durham that encompasses a much larger area. I Googled Rondelay, and it appears to me to be in Durham County, but not the city of Durham.
Yes, Durham does have a higher crime rate than Raleigh or Chapel Hill. When you compare 2009 crime rates in Durham versus cities nationwide, however, you see the full picture.
Durham has less violent crime than the average Southern city its size (i.e. less crime than Greensboro, Little Rock, Shreveport, Richmond, or Winston-Salem). It also has less property crime than 5 of 10 Southern peer cities.
When looking nationwide, Durham is in the lowest quartile for violent crimes (i.e. Durham has less crime than 75% of cities its size). The city of Durham is in the second quartile for property crime (meaning that Durham has less property crime than ~65% of its nationwide peers), and the combined city-county property crime rate is also in the lowest quartile.
It is also worth noting that Durham has less crime than Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Fayetteville, and Wilmington.
So yes, as in all cities, there is some crime in Durham. But please, don't let people scare you into thinking that Durham has an out-of-control crime problem. When it comes to crime, we're actually a lot better than most cities our size.
I now live in Raleigh....I moved here from Durham. I stayed in Durham for 13 years before I moved to Raleigh. To me, I like Durham better and I am planning on moving back(Lord's Willing) next year. When I stayed there, yes there was crime, but there are crime everywhere you go. There are some good places you can live in Durham and yes I felt safe there. Raleigh have crime too. It's not that bad there.
Roughly the Southeast "wedge" of the city from "3:30" to "5:30" from downtown, on a map, is an area you should not consider without seeing it first (in the daytime). Most of the rest of Durham, especially the North and West as well as Southwest, are quite desirable either for being brand new homes or established "neighborhoods with character".
If it's the Rondelay in Ravenstone, I think it's pretty safe. We have lived in Ravenstone for 2.5 years and feel very safe. Ravnestone is a great neighborhood, and there are 3-4 people here on this forum that also live here.
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