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My husband and I currently reside in the Baltimore/DC Metro region in MD. We are considering moving to the Raleigh/Durham area for multiple reasons. Some family members who live in Charlotte have advised us that Durham is not that great of an area to live, especially with small children (we have a two year old). But, we're just curious about the different communities within Durham and what areas are more 'family-friendly' than others? We lived just outside the Twin Cities for three years and really enjoyed living in an urban not quite suburban area... in other words, everything was right at our finger-tips, but we weren't subject to all of the noise of 'downtown'.
Anywho- thanks in advance for different thoughts you all might have about Durham!
I suggest you do a search of this topic. It has been discussed multiple times with great passion.
I'll just mention that my husband and I recently relocated to SW Durham and we LOVE it! We in no way feel like we've moved to an urban crime zone. (Another poster on a previous thread made the wry comment, which I'll steal and paraphrase, that you don't see too many gangbangers roaming the aisles at Nordstroms, which is about 2 miles away from our home.) My husband's commute to his workplace in the southernmost part of the RTP is less than 15 minutes; shopping and restaurants abound within minutes; we live in a nice, diverse, middle-class community; we are in a central location to other places in the Raleigh Metro area. I could go on.
Like other transplants, we were encouraged towards N. Raleigh and Cary by our first realtor. We are grateful for this board. The information we received on it prompted us to look outside that first line of direction. We estimate that we saved $150,000 on our home purchase, in comparison to the others we were considering elsewhere, and met everything on our criteria list.
Best wishes in your search for the community and home that is a right fit for you and your family.
I think what your friends said is a very outdated & incorrect assessment of Durham. You'll find that most of Durham - indeed, most of the entire Triangle - is very family friendly. I live in southern Durham in a neighborhood filled with many young families. Kids play basketball in front of their homes & ride their bikes along the roads and trails. People are always out jogging & walking their dogs. And although I feel that my neighborhood is special, I know that these same scenes can be found in many other neighborhoods all over town.
You say you like an area that is urban but not too suburban. I'm thinking that there are two areas of Durham that you might like: the historic homes near downtown or the newer neighborhoods in southern Durham. These areas each have different personalities, so you'll need to investigate them & decide which is best for you.
The older neighborhoods around downtown Durham include Watts Hillandale, Trinity Park, and a few others that I'm forgetting at the moment. These neighborhoods are within walking distance of lots of little restaurants and shops. It should also be easy to get to other activities in the downtown area like the annual Jazz Festival and the various events at the Carolina Theatre & the American Tobacco District. I am far from being an expert on this part of Durham, but I know some people who live in that area & love it.
Southern Durham is a great location if you expect to be working at Research Triangle Park and if you like newer construction and shopping at the mall. It has more of a suburban feel, but is extremely convenient. This is the area where I live and I very rarely have to drive more than 2 miles away from home. We have plenty of grocery stores and pharmacies, doctors offices, restaurants, and the Streets at Southpoint Mall, which many consider to be the nicest mall in the Triangle. There's a movie theatre, as well as Nordstrom, Macy's, other big stores, and tons of smaller stores like Williams Sonoma, Restoration Hardware, & Sephora.
The Streets at Southpoint (http://www.streetsatsouthpoint.com/html/index20.asp - broken link)
Around the mall are other shopping centers with stores like Super Target, Old Navy, Best Buy, Linens & Things, Michael's, and many many more.
If you tell us a little more about what you want (new or existing construction, lot size, price range, etc.) we might be able to point you to specific neighborhoods. There are a lot of great people around here who'd be happy to help.
Wow- Thanks for all of the info. Right now we're just toying with the idea of a relocation. I'm in nursing school and am highly attracted to the opportunities for health professionals in the RD region. My husband is very interested in UNC-Chapel Hill for his graduate and post-graduate studies. So, that's part of our motivation. Of course we want to find an area with good schools for our daughter. MD is way too expensive for us to try and buy a house (250,000 in my area buys you a fixer-upper... no thanks!). So, as current renters we have thought about moving down there, renting for a year, and then making a purchase... just to get to know the area better. It'll be our first home purchase, so it's a pretty big deal for us!
I was googling info on Durham and came across these boards today... so, I'm sorry if my question is a repeat.
Thanks again!
[quote=MrsSteel;2560125] You'll find that most of Durham - indeed, most of the entire Triangle - is very family friendly. I live in southern Durham in a neighborhood filled with many young families. Kids play basketball in front of their homes & ride their bikes along the roads and trails. People are always out jogging & walking their dogs. And although I feel that my neighborhood is special, I know that these same scenes can be found in many other neighborhoods all over town.
Sounds like my neighborhood in N. Durham...absolutely perfect place to live. Glad to see there are many Durham lovers out there!
I am on the total opposite side of the triangle and wouldn't live anywhere else.
That being said - the most beautiful homes I've seen in NC have been in Durham. Maybe it's because I've lived in SF, Chicago, Indianapolis and have experience in other 'big' cities - but I have no idea why people seem to trash Durham so much. It's got some areas... but my gosh, it's got some incredible neighborhoods, restaurants, museums... the list is almost endless.
Just want to throw out there that after DC, I think you'll find the "scary" areas of Durham are pretty much tame. Or at least tolerable. Very. =) Good luck!!
What Kristen said rings true. I know people who live all over the Triangle who are thrilled with their communities. The same is certainly true of Durham. My husband and I considered other communities, but I have never regretted moving to Durham. It's an excellent fit for us. And it helps that my husband works so close to home. When we lived further out, he put 40 miles on his car every day. Now he puts about 40 miles on his car each week! Now, if you have a million dollars to spend on a house and you like living 2 miles away from your closest neighbor, my neighborhood in Durham is not the right fit for you. But from what you've said so far, Kamnan, I know there are some areas around here that could be very good for you.
Since your husband is thinking of attending grad school in Chapel Hill, I think you should lean towards southwestern Durham. When we were house shopping in that area (with a budget that sounds similar to yours), we met TONS of grad students who were selling their homes because they were about to graduate & take jobs out of state. Indeed, we bought our house from a UNC professor who had just accepted a position at a university up north. Note that real estate in CH is pretty expensive & your money won't go very far (your description of the prices in MD remind me a lot of our options in CH). You'll find lots of people like this who chose to buy in southwestern Durham because of its close proximity to Chapel Hill & lower priced real estate.
I'm not sure what you specialize in as an RN, but there are plenty of great hospitals in this area: UNC in Chapel Hill, Duke Hospital & Durham Regional in Durham, Rex & Wake Med in Raleigh, etc. I'm sure you have better resources for this information than what I can offer.
Now. Schools. This is probably the most controversial subject on these forums. Each of the school districts around here have their own little quirks. You just have to decide which quirks work best with you.
The quirk about the schools in Durham's school system is that we have a higher number of black and lower-income students than all of the surrounding school systems. Historically, these students perform more poorly on tests than their peers. Therefore, they bring down the over-all test scores for many Durham schools. I cringe every time I have to write that on these forums because I fear it makes me sound racist (which couldn't be further from the truth), but it's a sad fact that can be found all over this country. When you look at test scores for a school in Durham, be sure to explore how the scores break down. If the results make you uncomfortable, then look elsewhere. I don't have children myself, but I have friends who studied all of the local school systems very carefully before moving here. Those people chose to move their families to Durham and enroll their children in the Durham school system (Hope Valley Elementary, Southwest Elementary, and Creekside Elementary) and they are all very happy.
My husband and I and our 17 year old daughter relocated to Durham from Michigan. When hubby and I were here in August (2007) on our house-hunting trip, a couple of people already in the area advised us that "whatever you do, stay away from Durham." When I mentioned this to our realtor, she very graciously suggested that we check out the area and make up our own minds on this. Was she ever right! Our realtor suggested the SW Durham area to us, which is where we ended up purchasing our home. We are less than 2 miles from the Streets at Southpoint and live not too far from Mrs. Steel. And yet our neighborhood is very quiet -- we are pretty far removed from traffic and highway noise, but so close to shopping and other conveniences!
Hubby and I both work in RTP (Research Triangle Park). My commute to work is less than 4 miles and takes all of 10 minutes (in peak traffic). Hubby works a little further out (in RTP) so he drops me off at work and drives another 5 minutes or so to his job.
We are very convenient to I-40. West takes us to Chapel Hill, Lowe's, Home Depot, Sam's Club. East takes us to Cary, Raleigh, RDU airport. All within minutes of home. When my older daughter (a sophomore at Michigan State University) flew home at Christmas, I tracked her plane and waited until it was nearly on the ground before leaving to pick her up at the airport. I got to the airport and still had to wait on her luggage!
As for schools, Durham has some great schools! If you are reading this forum, you no doubt have been reading about the controversy in Wake County schools over school reassignment. Durham offers a great alternative to that.
There are many people on this forum who live in Durham and love it. I would encourage you to check out the areas Mrs. Steel mentioned (she always has great posts -- positive, knowledgeable, and friendly!).
Good luck on your potential move, and please DO keep Durham in mind!
My husband and I have four small children, one in Elementary school, and thoroughly researched the area before deciding SW Durham was exactly where we wanted to be Here is a thread I started specifically in response to the frustration we all feel when people malign Durham. It has some really great links, including a school comparison put out by the city of Durham. //www.city-data.com/forum/ralei...issed-out.html
And here's a great video about life in Durham made by someone at Duke Law: Decidedly Durham
Also check out the photo thread stickied to the top of the forum where there are many links to photos of Durham Good luck with your decision and potential move!
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More thoughts on Durham
