Where to live in Durham, NC?
June 15, 2011 6:46 PM Subscribe
I am moving to Durham, NC, to start a position at Duke's Fuqua School of Business. I have narrowed down my housing search to certain neighborhoods but I am curious how convenient they are to get to my job.
I have seen previous questions on where to live in Durham, but my question is a bit more specific - how convenient are certain neighborhoods in terms of getting to Fuqua?
I have been recommended Old West Durham, but I see it's near Duke's East Campus, and given Fuqua's location, I would like to know what the commuting options are and how long it takes. If it takes me 30 minutes or so door-to-door then OWD would not be such an attractive option for me. I am also considering the Hope Valley Farms area. The attraction is that there's newer housing, it looks like a short drive to Fuqua, and it's sort of halfway between Chapel Hill and Durham. I do expect to go to Chapel Hill a fair bit, too.
I also welcome suggestions for other neighborhoods / areas we should be considering.
We are looking for housing with at least 3 bedrooms (or 2 bedrooms + office space), 1+ bathrooms, and ample closet space. Overall, I value convenience and comfort. We will be renting, if that makes any difference.
I have seen previous questions on where to live in Durham, but my question is a bit more specific - how convenient are certain neighborhoods in terms of getting to Fuqua?
I have been recommended Old West Durham, but I see it's near Duke's East Campus, and given Fuqua's location, I would like to know what the commuting options are and how long it takes. If it takes me 30 minutes or so door-to-door then OWD would not be such an attractive option for me. I am also considering the Hope Valley Farms area. The attraction is that there's newer housing, it looks like a short drive to Fuqua, and it's sort of halfway between Chapel Hill and Durham. I do expect to go to Chapel Hill a fair bit, too.
I also welcome suggestions for other neighborhoods / areas we should be considering.
We are looking for housing with at least 3 bedrooms (or 2 bedrooms + office space), 1+ bathrooms, and ample closet space. Overall, I value convenience and comfort. We will be renting, if that makes any difference.
*is ODW, I mean
posted by sunnychef88 at 7:05 PM on June 15, 2011
posted by sunnychef88 at 7:05 PM on June 15, 2011
Anywhere you find in Durham will be less than 30 minutes door to door. I would simply find the nicest housing you can find (based on your requirements) that is a rental in Durham.
Old West probably doesnt have the newness of housing you want, but you could probably get to Fuqua in less than 10 minutes. People recommending you that area probably think you're more concerned with the neighborhood than convenience and comfort.
posted by sandmanwv at 7:05 PM on June 15, 2011
Old West probably doesnt have the newness of housing you want, but you could probably get to Fuqua in less than 10 minutes. People recommending you that area probably think you're more concerned with the neighborhood than convenience and comfort.
posted by sandmanwv at 7:05 PM on June 15, 2011
The campus area of Durham is very small; Old West Durham is ten minutes from West Campus on a very bad day. Hope Valley Farm is about 10-20 minutes from West Campus, and (because of the way the roads go) really only five to ten minutes closer to Chapel Hill. You'd be better off in Old West Durham, I think, unless you're going to go to Chapel Hill just about every day (and maybe not even then).
posted by gerryblog at 7:06 PM on June 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by gerryblog at 7:06 PM on June 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Let me put in a word for Old North Durham. It's 10-15 minutes from campus, affordable, with pleasant tree-lined streets that are filled with people out walking their kids and dogs.
It's also well within walking distance of downtown Durham, which is a big plus in my eyes -- near restaurants, brewpubs, the farmer's market and the food truck scene. More or less, it's quiet and comfortable to live in but conveniently located for all manner of entertainment.
Durham's a great place to live. I've been here three years and really love it.
posted by jeffmshaw at 7:16 PM on June 15, 2011
It's also well within walking distance of downtown Durham, which is a big plus in my eyes -- near restaurants, brewpubs, the farmer's market and the food truck scene. More or less, it's quiet and comfortable to live in but conveniently located for all manner of entertainment.
Durham's a great place to live. I've been here three years and really love it.
posted by jeffmshaw at 7:16 PM on June 15, 2011
Response by poster: When people say 10-12 minutes, is that by car, by foot, bicycle, or taking the bus? What I had in mind by 30 minutes door-to-door was, for example, if taking public transportation, walking to bus stop, taking bus, walking from the bus stop to my destination.
Fuqua is at the very Western edge of West Campus. Old West Durham or Old North Durham would be attractive if I can easily walk or bike there. It's less attractive if I have to drive every day anyway. And I'd prefer not to live in older housing with teeny closets.
posted by research monkey at 7:27 PM on June 15, 2011
Fuqua is at the very Western edge of West Campus. Old West Durham or Old North Durham would be attractive if I can easily walk or bike there. It's less attractive if I have to drive every day anyway. And I'd prefer not to live in older housing with teeny closets.
posted by research monkey at 7:27 PM on June 15, 2011
It's 10-12 minutes by car, probably 25 minutes by bike from Old North Durham to Fuqua. Public transportation is ... inconsistent in Durham. Some routes are more convenient than others.
Old North Durham (where I live, anyway) is about 4 miles from Fuqua. Just about right for a bike ride, probably too long to walk.
I live in a three-bedroom, two bath house with huuuuuuuge closets built in 1988. The housing options here are diverse, but you wouldn't have a tough time finding a place like you describe.
posted by jeffmshaw at 7:39 PM on June 15, 2011
Old North Durham (where I live, anyway) is about 4 miles from Fuqua. Just about right for a bike ride, probably too long to walk.
I live in a three-bedroom, two bath house with huuuuuuuge closets built in 1988. The housing options here are diverse, but you wouldn't have a tough time finding a place like you describe.
posted by jeffmshaw at 7:39 PM on June 15, 2011
Are you thinking of biking? Durham is very small, so biking would be possible, but it's not an especially bike-friendly city (few sidewalks, fairly hilly, hot in the summers, randomly wet). The numbers people have been giving you are by-car. It would be 20-30 minutes by bike, I think -- see Google Maps.
Know that there's essentially no public transportation of use in Durham. There are Duke campus buses that run from East to West, so depending on where you were living in Old West or Old North Durham it actually might be better for you to grab that bus someplace than to bike the whole way.
You definitely wouldn't want to ride your bike from Hope Valley.
posted by gerryblog at 7:40 PM on June 15, 2011
Know that there's essentially no public transportation of use in Durham. There are Duke campus buses that run from East to West, so depending on where you were living in Old West or Old North Durham it actually might be better for you to grab that bus someplace than to bike the whole way.
You definitely wouldn't want to ride your bike from Hope Valley.
posted by gerryblog at 7:40 PM on June 15, 2011
From a quick search, this kind of place is fairly common in Old North Durham and surrounding areas. No details on closets, but it appears to meet your other criteria: http://www.trulia.com/rental/3051201206-1207-N-Roxboro-St-Durham-NC-27701
posted by jeffmshaw at 7:42 PM on June 15, 2011
posted by jeffmshaw at 7:42 PM on June 15, 2011
The system map for the DATA bus is here (pdf). Unless you live right in the middle of town, getting anywhere by bus will probably require you to ride most or all of the way in to the main station and transfer. There's also a
http://www.bullcityconnector.org/map.html
>free downtown bus that's supposed to run every 20 minutes along Main St. from the Regional Transit Center to the middle of Duke's campus (still about a mile away from Fuqua, looking at Google Maps).
posted by josyphine at 7:54 PM on June 15, 2011
>free downtown bus that's supposed to run every 20 minutes along Main St. from the Regional Transit Center to the middle of Duke's campus (still about a mile away from Fuqua, looking at Google Maps).
posted by josyphine at 7:54 PM on June 15, 2011
sigh, I broke that link like whoa. Route map for the Bull City Connector is here.
posted by josyphine at 7:56 PM on June 15, 2011
posted by josyphine at 7:56 PM on June 15, 2011
If you're going to be biking, you'll definitely want to be in one of the old neighborhoods near campus. You will die attempting to bike from Hope Valley Farms. (I lived down near Streets at Southpoint; it's not a bad drive at all, but biking is borderline impossible and people throw things at cyclists. It's a pleasant area, convenient to I-40 and shopping, though less convenient to campus than other neighborhoods. Some of my friends rented in one of the family neighborhoods down in that area, Woodcroft, I think? Very nice. Anyway, plenty of nice detached home rentals if you look.)
If you're going to be driving, the key point is how close or far your parking lot is to Fuqua. It frequently takes longer to get from your parking lot to your building on foot than it takes to get to campus by car ... at least for students. Presumably employees get better spots.
If you're open to a townhouse, Ticon Properties owns a whole bunch of apartment/townhome developments in several places around Durham. They have three-bedroom, 2.5-bath townhomes that are very nice and rent reasonably. I found them to be a professional and easy-to-deal-with landlord. I believe those would all be drive-to-work locations, though.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:31 PM on June 15, 2011
If you're going to be driving, the key point is how close or far your parking lot is to Fuqua. It frequently takes longer to get from your parking lot to your building on foot than it takes to get to campus by car ... at least for students. Presumably employees get better spots.
If you're open to a townhouse, Ticon Properties owns a whole bunch of apartment/townhome developments in several places around Durham. They have three-bedroom, 2.5-bath townhomes that are very nice and rent reasonably. I found them to be a professional and easy-to-deal-with landlord. I believe those would all be drive-to-work locations, though.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:31 PM on June 15, 2011
I lived in Durham for a number of years.
If you are looking for ultra convenience, check out the Belmont Apartments. It is only 1.1 miles from Fuqua.
It is definitely the nicest non-campus place I am aware of within easy walking distance to the graduate schools. The only downside is having to put up with the occasional rowdy college seniors.
posted by jameslavelle3 at 9:44 PM on June 15, 2011
If you are looking for ultra convenience, check out the Belmont Apartments. It is only 1.1 miles from Fuqua.
It is definitely the nicest non-campus place I am aware of within easy walking distance to the graduate schools. The only downside is having to put up with the occasional rowdy college seniors.
posted by jameslavelle3 at 9:44 PM on June 15, 2011
Best answer: I've been tutoring someone in a building across the street from Fuqua.
#1 thing to find out -- where will you be able to park?
#2 - how long will it take you to get to Fuqua by bus? To walk from your assigned parking location?
Parking is a huge, byzantine deal at Duke. I'm an independent contractor, but even the administrators seem to have to park such that it's a 15-minute walk to their office. Professors? I have no idea.
Also - one of my students lives in the Belmont. I don't think she feels very safe there, but she's a gentle lady from Kazakhstan (who, admittedly, has traveled just about everywhere and is far from naive). There have been break-ins there, but they have police patrolling regularly now.
posted by amtho at 10:34 PM on June 15, 2011
#1 thing to find out -- where will you be able to park?
#2 - how long will it take you to get to Fuqua by bus? To walk from your assigned parking location?
Parking is a huge, byzantine deal at Duke. I'm an independent contractor, but even the administrators seem to have to park such that it's a 15-minute walk to their office. Professors? I have no idea.
Also - one of my students lives in the Belmont. I don't think she feels very safe there, but she's a gentle lady from Kazakhstan (who, admittedly, has traveled just about everywhere and is far from naive). There have been break-ins there, but they have police patrolling regularly now.
posted by amtho at 10:34 PM on June 15, 2011
As others have said, public transportation in Durham is not particularly reliable and will take you forever to get places.
The Belmont is OK; it's fairly expensive, and it is right next to Duke Manor, which is strangely reputed to be fairly crime-ridden. More recently, places such as the Lofts at Lakeview have opened up, which are even closer to campus (right across from Erwin), but are even more expensive (I think it was like 1K or 1.1K for a 1 bedroom?).
Parking is not always awesome; I was on a wait list for three or four years for a lot that lets me only walk ten minutes to my office. Professors park here, and it's no longer open to graduate students. A lot of it works on seniority; my boss has been here for twenty years or so, and he parks a mere five minute walk away. Really new people get to park by Bullock's and take a bus to campus.
There's a bus from East to West (actually two, one that goes through Central), and it's fairly frequent.
posted by Comrade_robot at 5:27 AM on June 16, 2011
The Belmont is OK; it's fairly expensive, and it is right next to Duke Manor, which is strangely reputed to be fairly crime-ridden. More recently, places such as the Lofts at Lakeview have opened up, which are even closer to campus (right across from Erwin), but are even more expensive (I think it was like 1K or 1.1K for a 1 bedroom?).
Parking is not always awesome; I was on a wait list for three or four years for a lot that lets me only walk ten minutes to my office. Professors park here, and it's no longer open to graduate students. A lot of it works on seniority; my boss has been here for twenty years or so, and he parks a mere five minute walk away. Really new people get to park by Bullock's and take a bus to campus.
There's a bus from East to West (actually two, one that goes through Central), and it's fairly frequent.
posted by Comrade_robot at 5:27 AM on June 16, 2011
Best answer: I lived in OWD and walked/bused to West Campus (the science buildings, which are down Science Dr from Fuqua) for almost 7 years (just moved away last month). If I just walked, it took right around 30 minutes (it's around a mile and a half, so your walking pace may be quicker than mine).
For a faster trip from OWD, you can catch Duke's H-3 bus to Duke Hospital South (Duke Clinics), and then it's a 10 minute or so walk through campus to Fuqua (total trip maybe 20 minutes if you time the bus right). The H-3 runs very often during peak travel times, but less often in the middle of the day and in the evening.
The Bull City Connector is not that convenient a commuting option for OWD to West Campus, but it could be useful if you were interested in living downtown. It also goes to Duke Hospital South, so the walk is the same once you're on campus. I took it sometimes from campus when I wanted to stop by Whole Foods or something on 9th St on the way home to OWD.
posted by hydropsyche at 6:56 AM on June 16, 2011
For a faster trip from OWD, you can catch Duke's H-3 bus to Duke Hospital South (Duke Clinics), and then it's a 10 minute or so walk through campus to Fuqua (total trip maybe 20 minutes if you time the bus right). The H-3 runs very often during peak travel times, but less often in the middle of the day and in the evening.
The Bull City Connector is not that convenient a commuting option for OWD to West Campus, but it could be useful if you were interested in living downtown. It also goes to Duke Hospital South, so the walk is the same once you're on campus. I took it sometimes from campus when I wanted to stop by Whole Foods or something on 9th St on the way home to OWD.
posted by hydropsyche at 6:56 AM on June 16, 2011
Oh, and most of OWD is older houses, but there has been a lot of remodeling and in fill going on, so some of them may have closets more to your taste. Apple is the primary rental agency for the OWD/Walltown/Watts-Hillandale side of town.
posted by hydropsyche at 7:00 AM on June 16, 2011
posted by hydropsyche at 7:00 AM on June 16, 2011
Best answer: Oh, and reading over your question, you mentioned going to Chapel Hill. The Robertson Scholars Bus is free, easy, and convenient (everything that parking in Chapel Hill isn't) and goes from West Campus to UNC in about 20 minutes. Once you get to Chapel Hill, the city buses are all free, too.
posted by hydropsyche at 9:58 AM on June 17, 2011
posted by hydropsyche at 9:58 AM on June 17, 2011
Response by poster: hydropsyche, you answered the questions I had in mind. The Robertson Scholars Bus does raise for me the intriguing possibility of living in Chapel Hill and taking the bus to Duke ...
posted by research monkey at 10:39 AM on June 18, 2011
posted by research monkey at 10:39 AM on June 18, 2011
I know people who have done this in both directions. (Chapel Hill is considerably more expensive than Durham and has a very different feel and culture. Some people vastly prefer one to the other.) The Robertson Bus does not run when neither school is in session, which obviously could be a problem for your job. There is also a TTA bus that covers the same route with more stops in between (so it takes longer), which works fine with the Robertson Bus isn't running.
posted by hydropsyche at 12:40 PM on June 18, 2011
posted by hydropsyche at 12:40 PM on June 18, 2011
Response by poster: In the end we ended up renting in the Hope Valley Farms North area, and we've been happy with both the location and the house itself. The commute is surprisingly pleasant, and the location is convenient to many other places in the Triangle. Thanks everybody for your very helpful answers!
posted by research monkey at 8:15 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by research monkey at 8:15 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
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posted by sunnychef88 at 7:03 PM on June 15, 2011