Coming back to Durham after several years. What should I expect? (Raleigh: chapel, how much)

[Stacy B.]

I'm taking a trip down memory lane and coming back to Durham on a road trip with some friends this fall. I used to live there, but after five years I'm sure there'll be some getting back into the swing of things. I've surfed blogs and forums and talked to a few friends who still live there, but I want to know from people who've lived in Durham for at least a few years who can tell me what's changed so I don't have a stroke at how much things may be different.

Any takers?

[sbanawan]

Downtown has seen quite a revitalization in the past few years. Brightleaf Square is now hopping, The Federal and James Joyce are packed most nights (until 11 or so). The area across the street from Southpoint mall is complete and there's lots of shopping in that area. The American Tobacco trail is more complete than it was a few years ago (though it's still not done).

The American Tobacco campus is also a great place to hang out. Mellow Mushroom, Tyler's, WUNC and their summer concerts are in full swing. I don't know if the Bulls ballpark was done when you were last here, but it's a fun time for families.

Things really are moving in the right direction over here.

[Francois]

Yeah, most changes in Durham recently have been for the better. South Square Mall has been torn down (I'm not saying that's good or bad, but it's a big change) and is now just strip centers. That whole stretch of 15-501 to Chapel Hill looks quite different. As they mentioned, downtown Durham is becoming really cool, not drab and old as it was not so long ago. The Bulls have a new ballpark (not sure when you left) that's big and modern, but the old one is still there if you're nostalgic. The old tobacco warehouses across the RR tracks from downtown have been converted into a really cool complex,"The Amercian Tobacco Warehouse", though the big Lucky Strike smokestack reminas as a historic monument. There's a new jail just east of there, and a new performing arts center that will open next year and be fancier than Memorial Auditorium in Raleigh (and higher on the list of the good Broadway tours) going in right there in the same area.