r/duke • u/Ornery_Funny8709 • 2d ago
how safe is Durham + affordable housing recs?
Hey guys!! Incoming international grad student at Duke for spring 2027 and wanted to ask how safe Durham actually is š. ive heard some very conflicting reports and want to hear from people actually around there. especially around Duke and for someone who might have to walk around alone.
Also howās Raleigh in comparison? Is commuting from Raleigh to Duke even practical without a car?
Would love recs for safe + affordable apartments/areas near Duke, shared housing, or literally anywhere decent that wonāt cost an arm and a leg š
Any areas to avoid, housing scams to watch out for, or general advice would be appreciated!!
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u/Relfa Class of ā26 2d ago
The neighborhoods that grad students usually live in are pretty safe (itās still a big city, so thereās still crime but Iād say itās safe). Thereās an outdated stereotype tied to Durhamās safety, but due to gentrification in the past two decades, the areas around Dukeās campus, Downtown, Duke Forest, and Southpoint regions have become very safe.
If youāre not planning on having a car. Do NOT commute from Raleigh. First of all, Raleigh is not any safer than Durham. Second, this is the US, public transportation is AWFUL.
EDIT: you should check out the apartments west of West Campus (particularly The Belmont, Chapel Towers, and LaSalle) and, if you decide to have a car, there are a few apartments around Sandy Creek Park that are pretty affordable. J501 and Patterson Place are good places to start. You will most definitely need roommates to make it more affordable though.
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u/bulaybil 1d ago
Big city? It barely has 300k residents...
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u/Relfa Class of ā26 1d ago
Itās in a metro area of roughly 2.2M people. It is a big city.
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u/bulaybil 13h ago
Also, that is not the population of Durham metro area, that is the population of the entire Research Triangle which contains the city of Raleigh. The DurhamāChapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area has the population of some 600k. By your logic, Chapel Hill (pop. 61k) is a big city, too.
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u/bulaybil 1d ago
Notice how you used the words āmetro areaā. I weep for the class of ā26.
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u/Relfa Class of ā26 1d ago edited 1d ago
Would you say Saint Paul, MN is not a big city? Jersey City, NJ? Those are both small cities by your accounts. If youāre not taking metro areas into account, especially in such an intense commute region like the RTP, youāre not as smart as you think.
You can keep your tears. The Class of 26, which faced a much more competitive field to get into the school than you probably did, is doing fine, thank you.
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u/w4terfall 1d ago
Metro area is entirely appropriate here.
Look at other cities in the south. In the last census both Miami and Atlanta had a population of less than 500k. Nobody would consider those anything but big cities.
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u/bulaybil 13h ago
Yes it is an appropriate term. It just means something different than ābig cityā.
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u/bulaybil 13h ago
You make a good point with Atlanta and Miami. But both are approximately 490k in terms of population which is more than 50% bigger than Durham.
Also, if weāre going by what people āwould considerā, well, just look at Durham and look at Atlanta and then tell me, with a straight face, they belong in the same category.1
u/Sufficient_Show_8537 1d ago
Belmont/LaSalle did have an armed robbery problem a few years ago. You can easily get a house with a few student roommates in an extremely safe neighborhood relatively close to campus though. As mentioned, downtown is extremely safe and as a woman I never think twice about walking around alone st night.
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u/RoundChampionship840 2d ago
Just be smart and don't go walking through any bad areas in Durham and you'll be fine.
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u/bulaybil 1d ago
And what are the bad areas? I used to live in Poplar Manor and some people shuddered when I told them, because of all the crime and violence in that "bad area".
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u/Sensitive-Key-8670 2d ago
I live in chapel tower. I pay $700 ish for walking distance and utils included. There was a shooting in the parking lot last week, but usually itās okay. Remember that people have legs so this could have easily happened at any other grad student housing as well. Youāre never perfectly safe anywhere but also not super unsafe anywhere.
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u/Odd_Goat_1294 2d ago edited 1d ago
The easiest way to not pay a lot for housing is with roomates. You should have access to Dukelist, which is Duke's internal classifieds -- I am no longer a student, but if I recall correctly there was a housing/roomates section. There are probably still some groups on Facebook as well.
Public transit is not good. Don't live outside of Durham. If at all possible, I recommend being in walking distance from some part of Duke's (massive) campus. Once on campus, the Duke buses are reliable and you can get anywhere you need to quickly, even if it's far away; the city buses are iffy, but they're there if you can't manage to find a place near campus. I biked when I was in school, but biking here is... not the best/safest. It's an option though.
The general demarcation for the "bad side of town" (and rapidly gentrifying, in certain areas) is East Durham (which is on the other side of downtown from Duke's campus), but even there, there's a difference between you being "unsafe" vs around the dangers/crimes that come with being in a poorer area. Durham is not meaningfully unsafe, particularly for Duke students. And to any extent that it is, like most crime, it's often limited to (often marginalized) communities. Besides, much of that anecdotal stereotype is mixed up with regional racial tension & wealthier folks who pearl clutch at poverty and black people. You'll find locals don't love the stereotype.
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u/Relfa Class of ā26 1d ago
This is an excellent comment! Second everything here! I will say thereās been a significant expansion of bike lanes in the areas surrounding campus and biking is becoming increasingly popular for short to medium commutes.
Also, bumping on how the āunsafeā stereotype to Durham I had a lot of racism imbedded into it and is absolutely unfair.
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u/SnooGuavas9782 19h ago
Back in the day (the 90s) Durham had a rep for being unsafe but it has gotten way better and honestly Raleigh is slightly more sketch than it used to be. On my last visit Durham was looking better than it has ever looked.Ā
Commuting from Raleigh to Durham without a car isn't worth it.
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u/Dismal_Wishbone_5013 1d ago
Durham has the highest per capita violent crime rate in the Triangle, but only has reliable public transportation to/from Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill is generally more expensive than Durham, but it also supports a sizable grad/professional student population. You may wish to look there.
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u/then00dleincident 1d ago
If you wanted to spend two hours a day traveling between Chapel Hill and Duke's West Campus, this would make sense.
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u/ella_stea 2d ago
Commuting from Raleigh to Duke without a car is not practical at all (no reliable bus system) and you will have to uber a lot which will be expensive. I'm assuming you will have to be on campus at least 3 times per week so being close to campus when you don't have a car is your best option. I've lived on west campus for 2 years (lasalle street area) and it is safe, nothing crazy happens. If you get a roommate you can find housing for less than $900 per person. Chapel tower has good options, partners place or Belmont. Those are some of the cheapest options I've seen. Depending on when you sign the lease they can even have promotions. I promise you will be fine, and good luck on house search!