My daughter is moving to Durham in July to begin a fellowship at the medical school at Duke. She was there for less than 24 hrs for her interview and didn’t have time to even think about looking for places to live. Could some parents with students who have attended Duke offer advice as to where to look for a rental? Or anyone who lives there?
Safety is a big concern to me. I heard from someone I sat with on an airplane that Durham isn’t that safe. Is that true? This woman recommended living in Chapel Hill or Raleigh rather than Durham, but that seems too far away to me. She has been very lucky in her locations in college, medical school, and residency with nice, safe towns and affordable prices. She will be living by herself and has a small, well-behaved dog.
She should check with the school. They my have a housing office with listings of places to rent which might become available as current med students, residents, and fellows move on
I have lived for over 20 years in Durham. Durham is now considered the “cool” place to live with arts, great food, and diversity. There are less safe “pockets” in Durham, but most I know feel safe in the area. Same with Raleigh and Chapel Hill. IMO, Durham has a lot to offer. DD when she came back from riding her bike across country commented to me that “Durham has more hipsters than Portland.” Not necessarily a positive statement, but just a comment about what a desirable place it is for young people in the last several years. A lot of the comments about Chapel Hill and Raleigh being safer is related to fears of diversity.
My wife went to med school at Duke, and lived in several shared houses in areas of Durham that were safe. I agree that checking with the school is the first step.
My niece, when she was a grad student at Duke, lived at Station 9 where most of the occupants were grad students and it is very close to campus and very safe. You can google to see if there are newer apts in that area.
I wouldn’t commute to Durham from Raleigh or Chapel Hill - way too much time on the road for little benefit. And Chapel Hill is ridiculously expensive. There are lots of nice apartment complexes off route 54 in Durham.
Durham is like any city - there are areas where if you cross the street you go from a ritzy high-priced neighborhood to a neighborhood a female might not feel safe walking alone. But with the revitalization of downtown Durham, things have improved tremendously. The American Tobacco village would be an amazing place to live, but is quite pricey. With the Durham Bulls, the DPAC, local theater, restaurants, and clubs, Durham has a lot to offer.