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Old 06-18-2012, 11:47 PM
 
11 posts, read 80,997 times
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Hi there,

I'm a graduate student wanting to live in the Durham area. I would say a 30ish minute drive would be the maximum reasonable distance I would prefer to live from Duke's West campus. I like a more urban or suburban (though I don't want to be lost in suburbia, but near activity) lifestyle and do not want to live in a rural/isolated area. I want to live in a place that is more vibrant and youthful, as well as characterized by the following: natural foods, arts and music, small unique businesses, accepting of different cultures and sexualities, vegetarian/vegan and Gluten-Free options, contemporary/alternative/youthful fashion, etc.

Honestly, to the naked eye I'm a typical white male married without children in my early 20's but in reality I'm a Coloradoan hippieish/liberal/tree hugging type trying to relive my roots. I'm not LGBT but LGBT friendliness often coincides with the features I just mentioned so I'm open to those areas as well. I don't want to be in a place where there is a run-down / dangerous feel to it.

For context, I just spent the last 4 years in a typical small village in Michigan with a suburbia-like feel to it. It wasn't terrible, but I definitely want to escape it and be around a place where there is a lot more action, especially according to the criteria mentioned above.

I have some areas in mind but I want to see what y'all think!

Last edited by Mikeyswen79; 06-19-2012 at 12:20 AM..
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Old 06-19-2012, 12:35 AM
 
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,763 posts, read 15,700,579 times
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I am sure there are places in Durham that meet your criteria, but I'll let those more familiar with Durham comment on them. But what you described sounds like you'd really like living in Carrboro, although it's more "town-ish" rather than urban. But it's liberal, hippyish, with the flagship Weaver Street Market (Natural foods co-op) right in the center of town. It's pretty young with grad students, residents, college grads and young families living in the "downtown" area. It's definitely a tree-huggin' type place.
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Old 06-19-2012, 09:08 AM
 
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What's your rental price range? That will largely affect what areas people will suggest in Durham.
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Old 06-19-2012, 02:29 PM
 
11 posts, read 80,997 times
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My wife and my maximum appears to be something like $1,000 a month, though $800 a month would be more manageable.

From my investigations so far it seems that all luxury apartments and many rental houses are out of reach for me, which is fine. I am open in order of most preferred to least preferred a townhouse, apartment, house, and a duplex. Other options are possible as well but I'm not familiar with the other types of living.
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Old 06-19-2012, 02:38 PM
 
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You can find lots of nice efficiency apartments in Trinity, Watts-Hillendale, etc and you'll be right around Ninth Street and a short bike ride of ride on the Bull City Connector to downtown Durham. These will easily be in your price range. One way to find out about them is joining Duke's International House listserv. Not just international students can join! Join an email listserv | Duke Student Affairs Efficiencies coming up available for rent are often posted on there. Honestly most of the apartments within walking distance of West Campus are pretty crappy and the students in the department I work for often have issues with break-ins.
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Old 06-19-2012, 07:04 PM
 
Location: Downtown Durham, NC
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There's no reason not to live in Durham. Search the forum for info about the following neighborhoods:

Burch Avenue
Trinity Heights
Old West Durham
Old North Durham
Cleveland-Holloway
Duke Park

From your description, you'll love Durham, and $1000 will get you far in a nice house in a nice neighborhood downtown. There's no reason to suffer through a commute when you can be a mile or less from West Campus.
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Old 06-19-2012, 07:20 PM
 
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Carrboro is what first came to mind for me too.
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Old 06-19-2012, 09:51 PM
 
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Totally agree about Durham. No reason not to live here. A commute wouldn't make any sense IMO.
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Old 06-20-2012, 06:16 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kids_Dentist View Post
Carrboro is what first came to mind for me too.
Durham has everything he was asking for AND it's bigger than Carrborro, so definitely a more urban feel than Cborro. If he was a grad student at UNC then Carrborro would make sense. But since he wants to be near West Campus (Duke) it makes no sense to not live in the areas of Durham that others have listed.

BTW, OP, this was not on your list, but Durham has a good food reputation too. Strong food truck scene, lots of farm table restaurants, and many more eateries that believe in promoting local. Also, near Downtown Durham there is a great Farmer's Market.

Lastly, while Durham has a fair amount of hipsters the hipsters here are little different from West Coast Hipsters. I'd say our hipsters are more academic hipsters. I just got back from a 2 week visit from Portland, Oregon (where I use to live) and the hipsters there are VERY different than the hipsters here.

I really think you can find what you are looking for near Duke in Durham.

Welcome to NC. And good luck finding a place to land.
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Old 06-20-2012, 06:48 PM
 
11 posts, read 80,997 times
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I appreciate all the insight on the value of being close to campus, and I do resonate with that! I just thought I should clarify that I am willing to do a commute of up to 30 minutes if need be since my wife will be working in the area (we don't know where yet) and I'd be willing to live in places that are close to her work, but not necessarily right next to mine.

Nonetheless, the East campus and downtown area sound fantastic! Any idea where one can find rental house listings in those areas? Or is it just a matter of driving around town and finding the signs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by PDXmom View Post
Durham has everything he was asking for AND it's bigger than Carrborro, so definitely a more urban feel than Cborro. If he was a grad student at UNC then Carrborro would make sense. But since he wants to be near West Campus (Duke) it makes no sense to not live in the areas of Durham that others have listed.

BTW, OP, this was not on your list, but Durham has a good food reputation too. Strong food truck scene, lots of farm table restaurants, and many more eateries that believe in promoting local. Also, near Downtown Durham there is a great Farmer's Market.

Lastly, while Durham has a fair amount of hipsters the hipsters here are little different from West Coast Hipsters. I'd say our hipsters are more academic hipsters. I just got back from a 2 week visit from Portland, Oregon (where I use to live) and the hipsters there are VERY different than the hipsters here.

I really think you can find what you are looking for near Duke in Durham.

Welcome to NC. And good luck finding a place to land.
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.
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