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Preiss and Trinity Properties manages some of the house rentals around campus so check their sites. Duke's housing listserv and the one I linked above often have listings. indyweek.com sometimes has rentals in their classifieds. And there's always Craigslist.
That's good to hear about the restaurants! I can't believe I forgot to mention I'm a major foodie! I generally focus on vegetarian restaurants and I did notice Chapel Hill has a lot, but that doesn't mean Durham is lacking. I just don't happen to be able to find them via Google Maps.
I'm glad you qualified what kind of hipsters are around, I'd actually like a more academic feel anyways since I myself want to be an academic. I'll always be more West-coasty in attitude, but I don't mind mixing with a different sort of crowd.
Well, since you don't know yet where your wife will be working, it makes sense to end up in Durham. At least you know that you'll be close to at least one of your jobs. What if, for example, your wife gets a job in Morrisville and you both have to commute 25 minutes, as opposed to only one of you commuting that long?
Also, re: restaurants, every single restaurant in town has at least a few vegetarian items and usually two or so vegan items as well. We don't really have any dedicated veg-only places, but mostly because we don't need to. Vegetarians are welcome everywhere.
That's good to hear about the restaurants! I can't believe I forgot to mention I'm a major foodie! I generally focus on vegetarian restaurants and I did notice Chapel Hill has a lot, but that doesn't mean Durham is lacking. I just don't happen to be able to find them via Google Maps.
We're vegetarians and have no problem finding a place to eat downtown. The selection is even greater on Meatless Mondays. Search for Triangle Meatless Mondays for details. BTW, here's the walk score BTW for downtown:
Yes, and then some. But it doesn't list smaller places, which I find ironic since you are a self-described "Alternative/Hipster" type for whom I would think going to a big shopping mall would be anathema One thing that makes Durham so cool is all the small, local shops.
Yes, and then some. But it doesn't list smaller places, which I find ironic since you are a self-described "Alternative/Hipster" type for whom I would think going to a big shopping mall would be anathema One thing that makes Durham so cool is all the small, local shops.
The big mall for Durham is Southpoint.
Haha I figured this would be said at some point. While I do delve into the alternative scene to a great degree and don't personally need shopping malls for anything except the occasional pair of jeans, my wife does like to shop at places like Victoria's Secret and work-clothes stores, hence why I'd be interested in knowing about some regional malls.
Our favorite scenario is walking around town into local stores, especially for our foods and pets, which seems to be Carborro and Durham's thing. If there is a one-of-a-kind clothes store that makes good and inexpensive stuff, that'd be great too! We just never see anything like that. Boulder/Denver tends to have local shops like that with a hefty price tag only accessible to more well-to-do folks.
I think Durham sounds like a great fit for you. We love it here! And, since you are a foodie, I'd recommend checking out the CarpeDurham blog when you get a minute (not sure if I can post a link, so Google it). It will give you a good overview of the food scence here.
Apparently you need to put in a specific address rather than just a zip for that site to work right. Check out this current rental property in downtown Carrboro Walk Score of 110 Lindsay St Carrboro NC 27510 which gets the "91 Out of 100 Walker's Paradise" label vs the 37 for just the zip.
I think the OP should definitely look at Durham, though. Wonderful places downtown and definitely a great food and arts scene.
I wanted to inquire also, and perhaps this deserves a topic in itself, the crime mapping of Durham. It seems like all the places I'd love to live and can afford (particularly on Main St. downtown towards East Durham) are characterized by a frequent amount of crime. Rest assured that I am not engaging in any form of racial profiling, recognizing that this is solely about the crime maps of downtown Durham and what they tell me; I actually prefer a diverse neighborhood! I don't buy into this Durham is bad, everywhere else is good, dichotomy.
While I realize crime is a characteristic of any Downtown area, I wanted to get a fuller perspective on this issue and understand just how dangerous it really is? I don't want to just assume the downtown is riddled with ridiculous amounts of crime, but I don't want to land mistakenly in an extremely dangerous neighborhood. I have two dogs that I'd like to be safe while I'm away during the day, as well as two Kia cars from 2002 that I hope people have no interest in stealing (honestly if they steal them, it is their funeral ). We found great townhouses built by "The Community Builders, Inc." that have floor plans and locations that are just fantastic for our preferences and want to believe that we don't have to worry about walking around the area and can truly live a cultured, alternative, AND safe existence.
On another note, based on all your recommendations so far, I figure that the entire Downtown region surrounded by I-85, the 501, and 70, is where all the excitement is with a little spill-over towards Duke's campus and with the except of the far east side of this described area? I get the impression that Southpoint is also fairly active but really characterized by the suburbia I'd like to avoid.
Am I missing another area to consider in Durham? I've decided to focus only on I'm looking solely at Durham, Chapel Hill, and Carborro, with an emphasis of walking distance places to Duke since they seem to be the most difficult to find.
Further descriptions for you all: after talking to my wife, I've learned that she has no interest in a house or a duplex, but apartments, town homes, and similar properties are ok. We both want trees around if we're going to live out our tree-hugging ways in an urban environment!
I wanted to inquire also, and perhaps this deserves a topic in itself, the crime mapping of Durham. It seems like all the places I'd love to live and can afford (particularly on Main St. downtown towards East Durham) are characterized by a frequent amount of crime. Rest assured that I am not engaging in any form of racial profiling, recognizing that this is solely about the crime maps of downtown Durham and what they tell me; I actually prefer a diverse neighborhood! I don't buy into this Durham is bad, everywhere else is good, dichotomy.
While I realize crime is a characteristic of any Downtown area, I wanted to get a fuller perspective on this issue and understand just how dangerous it really is? I don't want to just assume the downtown is riddled with ridiculous amounts of crime, but I don't want to land mistakenly in an extremely dangerous neighborhood. I have two dogs that I'd like to be safe while I'm away during the day, as well as two Kia cars from 2002 that I hope people have no interest in stealing (honestly if they steal them, it is their funeral ). We found great townhouses built by "The Community Builders, Inc." that have floor plans and locations that are just fantastic for our preferences and want to believe that we don't have to worry about walking around the area and can truly live a cultured, alternative, AND safe existence.
On another note, based on all your recommendations so far, I figure that the entire Downtown region surrounded by I-85, the 501, and 70, is where all the excitement is with a little spill-over towards Duke's campus and with the except of the far east side of this described area? I get the impression that Southpoint is also fairly active but really characterized by the suburbia I'd like to avoid.
Am I missing another area to consider in Durham? I've decided to focus only on I'm looking solely at Durham, Chapel Hill, and Carborro, with an emphasis of walking distance places to Duke since they seem to be the most difficult to find.
Further descriptions for you all: after talking to my wife, I've learned that she has no interest in a house or a duplex, but apartments, town homes, and similar properties are ok. We both want trees around if we're going to live out our tree-hugging ways in an urban environment!
Anything within walking distance to Duke (say 1 mile or so) isn't going to be bad at all. For a perspective on crime, you should compare the crime stats in Durham with those of other, similarly sized cities. Here is a report that does just that, using crime stats from 2012, the latest year that nationwide numbers are available:
For what it's worth, I've been living in my house for about 4.5 years now in Burch Avenue. I've never once felt unsafe, have never been a victim of crime in Durham, and would recommend my neighborhood to just about anyone that can tolerate diversity. Yeah, some neighbors have had their cars broken in to, but they also left cell phones and GPS units sitting on their dashboards overnight (or even in unlocked cars!). If you have any street smarts at all, you'll be fine.
I'd recommend going to Durham Hoods - Maps of Neighborhood Mailing Lists in Durham, NC and finding the listservs for those neighborhoods you want to move to. Then email those listservs and ask them how they feel in their neighborhood and a description of the area.
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One thing that makes Durham so cool is all the small, local shops. 
