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My husband and I will be moving to the Durham/Raleigh area in the next month or so, and we don't know where to even start looking for housing. Ideally, we'd like to rent a fairly new town-home. He will be working in Durham, but he's open to as much as a half hour commute. We mostly just want to make sure we live in a nice area. Any advice?
You didn't mention where in Durham he is working? Durham is pretty big (the city is almost the entire size of the county so covers a lot of square mile). Also, what do you think of as nice? For us it was a big yard where I could garden & grow things to my heart's content (but that wouldn't be for everyone ).
I work right downtown & we live about 6 miles north of there & like it. The commute is easy (no major highways) and we love being so close to downtown, but yet a little removed from the traffic & noise.
It is a mix of newer developments & older neighborhoods. We like being in a neighborhood where we know our neighbors, there are 2 roads in/out & there is plenty of space in the yard so we don't feel we are on top of the folks in the next house over (but no HOA counting every bird feeder I put out & telling me what flowers I can plant out front). Even being tucked back in our neighborhood we are 5 to 10 minutes from the church, grocery store, several restaurants & CVS.
That said, if your husband is working in the Southpoint area, you might want to look down closer to that area. They have a lot of the developed communities in that area. Personally I find that area a bit more crowded (smaller house lots, more traffic, and lots of retail in the mix). Not my cup of tea, but a good fit for lots of other folks.
Downtown Durham has some cute lofts/appartments. A lot of people love living in the old converted buildings & being right near everything. Something to be said for being able to walk to a show, ballgame or fantastic restaurant from your home. And that would put you on the bus line which could save you on driving/gas.
You might want to use the RAIDS website (RAIDS Online: Regional Analysis and Information Sharing) to cross reference places you are looking at. Bear in mind, every city has some crime, you can't avoid it, but you'll be able to tell where there is a consistent problem vs. the occassional break in or DUI arrest.
Thanks for the info! My husband will be working by the Durham Bulls ballpark. "Nice" to us means a safe area, as well as a newer development. We would like a townhouse that could be up to half an hour from his work, but not in the middle of nowhere. I hope to ideally have basic conveniences (such as a grocery store) somewhat nearby. I will not go down to Durham until we actually move there, so I just want to make sure he gets us a townhouse in a good area. Any specific neighborhood names or street names/landmarks telling me where to have him look would be extremely helpful!
If there is one thing that Durham has a surplus of, it is townhomes. Woodlake, Woodcroft, Lochside, Hope Valley Farms and Falconbridge are all names of communities that have nice townhomes. With the pricing of houses, you can usually find a house for the same price in a decent neighborhood. My friends that have townhouses haven't been able to give them away because the market is flooded. Truly, a buyers market right now.
Welcome to the area, jogal! Another question for you -- are you looking to rent or buy, and what's your general price range? That may get you some more specific suggestions.
I'm not as familiar with the townhome communities close to downtown, but can speak to some options near Southpoint (which would be maybe a 20 min commute for your husband). As ZimaCheryl mentioned, this area has more new, planned developments, and is generally more suburb-y, plenty of grocery stores and shopping, etc. Your husband can check the developments (some to rent, some to buy) along Rennaissance Parkway close to the mall. Can't beat the convenience (walk to SuperTarget to grocery shop, or drive to one of four other grocery stores within a mile or two?). You guys may also want to consider the developments off of Fayetteville Rd between I-40 and Woodcroft Parkway. Nice area, convenient to plenty of amenities. There are plenty of other nice developments in the area, but if you want some hard-to-go-wrong areas, those would work!
Thanks for the pointers! My husband and I are looking to rent, and we hope to find a place that's between $1100 and $1300 per month. We would also be open to a small home, as long as it was fairly new or renovated. We don't need too much space because we don't have any children. I will definitely have my husband check out the areas that have been suggested thus far!
I know of one community on Guess Road called Lattamoor that is fairly new & would put you in the 5 - 10 mile range from downtown. I don't know price range or if it has rentals available?
I also know heading north of Durham on Guess Rd, not too far from the State Employee Credit Union there is another 'cookie cutter' style neighborhood. Sorry I don't remember the name - I know I see the sign when going to the bank, but since we aren't house hunting it doesn't sink in. But if your husband is house hunting a quick drive up Guess Road & he would be able to find it easy enough.
You might like the Guess Road area - we are in that general area & love being tucked back between things, but yet a 5-10 minute drive to almost everything. Once you get a little north of town it is a nice area. There is a police substation at the corner of N. Roxboro & Latta Rds. I Love having them that close . There is also a fire station right off Guess Rd on Umstead, again, glad they are close but hope I never have to call them.
Since you are right downtown I would suggest just watching for Rts 85 & 40. They can, from what I hear on the traffic reports be a bit crazy in the mornings. Rt 147 is better, but can still be a little rough if there is an accident. Fortunatly that doesn't seem to happen as often on 147 as it does on 85 & 40. Where ever you decide to rent, if you can, work it so you don't have to use the major highways.
By the way - I'm envious of your husband working by the ball park! Of course if I worked there I would never do any actual work any time they had a day game
Make sure you get over to check out a game after you get here.
Not to hijack this thread, but I was also considering moving to Durham, though I work in downtown Raleigh. I like the area around Southpoint mall. Any recommendations for apartments, townhomes, or single family houses that have garages? I'm trying to stay below $1150 a month.
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). 
But if your husband is house hunting a quick drive up Guess Road & he would be able to find it easy enough.
. There is also a fire station right off Guess Rd on Umstead, again, glad they are close but hope I never have to call them. 
