might end up moving there. wondering how it is, does it suck, is it alright?

how much thuggery is there really? pretty quiet areas? social scene?


stuff like that.


I've done some googling, but want ya'lls view as well.

4/11/2008 4:19:51 PM

Tis my hometown sir.

Depends on where you live. If you live in the fucking ghetto I'd expect gangsta type ill-shit to go down.

Otherwise I've always prefered it over Raleigh for some reason...

4/11/2008 4:21:28 PM

you already should know it has a lot of gang crime...

and around Duke the well off and dirt poor areas are right next to each other

4/11/2008 4:30:35 PM

I love Durham. It seems like there's pretty much a line between the thuggy parts and the better parts. As long as you don't spend a lot of time on the bad side, it's nice. The only thing I really notice where I live vs. a similar neighborhood in Raleigh is a few more people driving around with loud thumping music. I also like the mandatory recycling because I'm a hippy.

4/11/2008 4:30:37 PM

Quote :

"and around Duke the well off and dirt poor areas are right next to each other"

just another reason it's the yale of the south

new haven is laid out for maximum petty crime potential, with the slums surrounding the university

4/11/2008 4:32:25 PM

the durham area of briar creek is where its at

4/11/2008 4:34:38 PM

I liked living in Durham

sure there are some shady areas, but it was safe enough for me to walk around in high school

plus it has the good Cosmic Cantina

4/11/2008 4:34:50 PM

Durham is cool. I think it has more character than Raleigh. I could be biased, tho, as I grew up there. There are definitely areas to stay away from, and then there are areas that are just fine. I'm assuming you're talking about moving to the city of Durham... because there are other areas of the county, too...

And Durham Bulls FTW

4/11/2008 4:38:57 PM

HOW DARE YOU LIKE SOMETHING I LIKE STILLFUCHSCISA

4/11/2008 4:41:05 PM

I live in Durham currently and I really like it. The observations about the thugishness are somewhat true but those things are heavily localized in certain areas and as long as you live in a decent neighborhood and use common sense you'll be fine. The social scene is great and there is a lot of development happening right now in the downtown area and the american tobacco campus area with really great bars and places to eat. I like drinking and hanging out on mainstreet across from Brightleaf Square at the Federal, James Joyce and the Down Under Pub. Those places tend to have crowds of either locals or duke grad students, not many duke undergrad pricks. There is plenty to do in Durham that is really fun but you dont want to be an idiot about where you drive or walk at night. I'm going to a Durham Bulls game tonight, which I maintain is one of the best ways to spend a Spring evening in the North Carolina.

4/11/2008 4:43:58 PM

^^ you don't have a monopoly on the cosmic, B

[Edited on April 11, 2008 at 4:45 PM. Reason : I remember back in the day when I could go there and get a quesadilla and drink for $2, no tax ]

4/11/2008 4:44:52 PM

i grew up in durham until high school, and even then, i wasn't really far from the city (though technically i was in orange county)...as has been said - stay out of the thug areas and you're golden...there are some really nice places on the edges of the county (especially towards orange county) that give you really quiet family neighborhoods...and even those are only a whopping 15 minutes from duke on 85/147

4/11/2008 4:49:52 PM

yeah I'm asking because its possible that I might be moving out there to the durham area. Would like to get into one of those nice neighborhoods and all that if I move out there.

this is great info, and if you have more, plz to share.

4/11/2008 5:17:10 PM

I live here now as well. It reminds me a lot of older Rust Belt cities, hence why I feel at home.

Bar scene is older folks (mid 20s on up), music tends more towards indie rock (Chapel Hill effect?), there are places Duke undergrads go to, and places the rest of us go to (where they aren't).

Really good art and creative community...the Indy is here, Central Park is blowing up if you like nice restaurants and living spaces.

Also, people seem to give a shit here...I've met some really awesome folks who want to make an impact on their communities (community gardens, bikes, voter registration, music scene, art, local food, etc.)

There are some sketch areas out east past Mangum St. and down by Central, and some homeless people on 9th St., but no worse than Raleigh.

4/11/2008 6:12:39 PM

The Air Force should use it as a bombing range.

4/11/2008 9:04:24 PM

good 'ol dirty durham

4/11/2008 9:27:50 PM

i'm also looking at moving to durham, probably close to the durham co-orange co lines.

haven't gone out there yet to look at any of the locations yet, though.

4/11/2008 9:32:46 PM

this thread seems like deja vu - i swear ive read this before

4/11/2008 10:03:22 PM

I'll be a durham resident sometime in june.

Anyone use the american tobacco trail? my yard will pretty much back up to it.

4/11/2008 11:21:06 PM

Seems pretty awesome to me.

4/11/2008 11:23:57 PM

I'd appreciate it if I could get less spottings around here...

4/11/2008 11:56:41 PM

^^^ i rode my bike on it about 6 weeks ago. i only rode on the paved part which kind of sucked considering i have a mountain bike, but it would be great for running or a road bike. i went from near fayetteville road and woodcroft straight to downtown, had a beer at the mellow mushroom, and rode back. it was about 10 miles. hills were minor if that, and at no point did i feel like i was going to be mugged. probably because i was on a bike, but there were lots of people out there.

[Edited on April 12, 2008 at 12:36 AM. Reason : ^]

4/12/2008 12:36:34 AM

I'll be moving to Durham around July, and what I've seen so far I've liked. It's just like any town, some good parts and some bad parts, just gotta know what parts to stay away from.

4/12/2008 1:23:13 AM

i may be moving there too. never spent much time at all out there before so this info is helpful.

4/12/2008 1:44:04 AM

for real, durham sounds like a pretty neat place to be.

4/12/2008 2:27:15 AM

I'm from Durham as well, lived there my whole life until college. Being a kid you can't really tell what it's like. Now that I'm older I know more of what's going on.

The work they're doing at the American Tobacco area is great, converting all these old tobacco buildings into restaurants and apartments. It's right next to the Durham Bulls park. The music is great too. Durham is the home of Piedmont style blues and every summer there's a blues festival at the old ball park.

4/12/2008 6:49:38 AM

Quote :

"just another reason it's the yale of the south new haven is laid out for maximum petty crime potential, with the slums surrounding the university"

so damn true.

4/12/2008 7:13:13 AM

I was thinking about it, and there really is a lot of art going on. Let's see, the yearly American Dance Festival and several film festivals. Also check out the Light Up Durham Christmas parade, it's heavily attended and you'll see a lot of great acts!

Lots of black culture too. The Hayti neighborhood (pronounced hay-tie) used to be black wall street. Now it's a ghetto but people are trying to bring back the former glory. The Hayti heritage center is always throwing events. (They put on the blues festival) There's always a few indie white people at the poetry slams and whatnot, so don't be afraid!

4/12/2008 7:20:11 AM

OH SHIT BLACK PEOPLE!!!!

did someone transport this thread from 1950?

4/12/2008 9:57:10 AM

north durham is typically more rural and mostly white, west durham is nicer in general (downtown west)
south durham is spotty, really nice (duke and Hope valley) and really ghetto, east durham is spotty as well but mostly ghetto, down town has nice bits mixed in with shitty bits.

at least you don't get tricked into thinking the US is all upper middle class like you do in cary

raleigh has more crime but less per capita than durham

4/12/2008 1:04:17 PM

adf is way cool

as is full frame

4/12/2008 1:17:52 PM

what about like country clubs, social stuff, things of that nature. anyone know about that?

4/13/2008 7:56:32 AM

Quote :

"the durham area of briar creek is where its at"

'

yep. except our taxes are higher than wake county (i believe) and they still use recycling buckets instead of rolling trashcans. i much prefer the rolling trashcans for both recycling and trash.

greensboro has it better in that respect, as their city services are much more advanced.

4/14/2008 3:06:40 AM

I must comment on "the durham area of briar creek is where its at" as well. I've been living there since last August and love it. My neighborhood is great, I'm 5 mins from the shopping center & 540, 3 minutes from the Durham Frwy (for getting downtown), less than 10 mins from 40, etc...

Neighbors are great, the area is well maintained, and I live really close to the golf course (not that I play, but it's usually pretty nice around golf courses).

/$.02

[Edited on April 14, 2008 at 5:13 AM. Reason : o]

4/14/2008 5:12:45 AM

Quote :

"except our taxes are higher than wake county (i believe) "

a LOT higher.

Durham county property tax rate: .834
Durham city tax rate: .618
Total rate: 1.452


Wake County property tax rate: .678
Raleigh city tax rate: .435
Total rate: 1.113

4/14/2008 7:29:58 AM

If you're planning on raising kids in Durham, the one thing I would be concerned about is the public school system. The second high school I went to was OK, but the middle school had serious issues, as most of them do. I had to transfer from the first HS I went to because I saw someone get shot Definitely do some research if this is in your future

4/14/2008 8:07:48 AM

yeah, you'd think with all those taxes, you'd get something like decent schools.

no.

Those taxes are paying for the duke lacrosse lawsuits.

I'm leaving arguably the best school district in raleigh (leesville) for the worst in the triangle (durham)

so yeah, i'm sending my kid to a montessori school or other private institution.

4/14/2008 8:27:37 AM

hey, I went to Durham public schools for 12 years and I turned out great!

in fact, I think it's better for kids to go to shitty schools. that way it's easier for the kid to be at the top of the class. face it - if your kid is smart, they'll be fine no matter where they are. I guess if the kid is dumb you might want an expensive school.

4/14/2008 9:08:48 AM

Montessori school!?!?!?!?

you want your kid to turn out like a little bitch?

4/14/2008 9:11:23 AM

Quote :

" Bar scene is older folks (mid 20s on up), music tends more towards indie rock (Chapel Hill effect?), there are places Duke undergrads go to, and places the rest of us go to"

And where might these places be? I live in Durham but don't do much there....

4/14/2008 9:19:18 AM

Quote :

"Anyone use the american tobacco trail? my yard will pretty much back up to it."

Lots of people use it...
as a getaway route after they rob your house.

4/14/2008 9:26:06 AM

^^ 9th street, AHTD, bits near down town, Brightleaf

4/14/2008 9:46:33 AM

Quote :

"hey, I went to Durham public schools for 12 years and I turned out great!"

Don't get me wrong, I fared well... I guess it does build character in a way... but it doesn't reflect well on the school system when a brand new, state-of-the-art school is built (the new Hillside) only to be falling apart within a few years. When I went there, everyone was trying to transfer out.

4/14/2008 9:56:36 AM

I went to Hillside. Lots of people in my neighborhood transferred to Jordan. But it wasn't because Jordan's better. It was because parents didn't want their kid going to "the black school."

In fact Jordan is so crowded that my class sizes were smaller at Hillside.

4/14/2008 10:02:08 AM

In some ways, Jordan was better. Maybe Hillside improved after I left, I dunno, but it was a freaking free-for-all the year I went there. Constant fights, everyone skipped class, and the principal would never come out of his office because he was so timid. I think he left after that year. My art teacher let me play tennis for 2 hours instead of coming to her class. Anyway, I hope it got better. Jordan was better in terms of classes and teachers, but I actually liked the kids at Hillside a lot better and the school was nicer.

4/14/2008 11:14:02 AM

Quote :

"Montessori school!?!?!?!? you want your kid to turn out like a little bitch?"

I take it you went to one.

4/14/2008 11:41:16 AM

all the kids i knew growing up that went to one of those had some sort of social problem

4/14/2008 11:43:56 AM

Yeah, who wants their kids to be mature and self-sufficient?

I think the problems Montessori kids have come from really small schools (meaning less socialization, no after-school programs), not bad teaching methods.

4/14/2008 11:45:43 AM

Quote :

"all the kids i knew growing up that went to one of those had some sort of social problem"

That is relevant, but I'd also be interested in knowing what they are doing today.

4/14/2008 12:26:28 PM

I was a Montessori kid. I was a little shy when I left my school and wasn't used to set classes and things like that, but I didn't have much of a problem at all adjusting. Now I'm normal, graduated college early, have a job, and I don't think I'm socially retarded, at least for the most part.

4/14/2008 12:29:24 PM