NCGator

Hey Abbie Grace, I can't reply to your message because I haven't posted enough times yet:uhoh3: If you want, you can try to contact me through the Yahoo group (crockett1066) or the Facebook group, or let me know if it's okay to post the info here!

Well, the job market in general isn't great here, as with most places, but being an environmental engineer might not be so bad. I would imagine that government jobs are a possibility (including local and state, since the capital is Raleigh), and there might be environmental firms at Research Triangle Park (RTP), so I would check RTP's website to see what kinds of companies are there. Another good resource might be the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment website, because it might have some resources for job seekers. Durham can be a little tricky to navigate. The nursing school is on the edge campus, not far from the hospital. I would park near the chapel and walk around from there. He can probably find a campus map on Duke's website. The visitor's center in downtown Durham has a good free city map if he wants to explore further. As far as neighborhoods, East Durham is generally not where you want to be. I would check out the website www.city-data.com and look through the forums for Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill. There is some good information. It is not all good, but it is mostly helpful. There is one user called North Raleigh Guy who posts a lot of pictures of neighborhoods that he likes, which are generally the good ones.

My knowledge of Baltimore comes solely from the Wire, so I'll just describe Durham. With two Duke (soon to be three) hospitals in Durham (and one in Raleigh) as well as UNC hospitals down the road in Chapel Hill and a few other hospitals over in Raleigh, the Triangle is always going to be a strong job market for health care. Yes, the economy has slowed things down for the moment, but that will eventually change. I'm pretty sure the cost of living in Durham is going to be less than Baltimore. Home prices did not skyrocket out of control here like they did in places like Florida, so the housing market is pretty stable. In-demand neighborhoods have seen prices stay the same or even go up slightly, whereas more suburban areas may have seen a drop off. The average home price is pretty low in the Durham, although certain neighborhoods demand a premium. Some parts of Durham are fairly walkable, others not at all. The neighborhoods north of downtown like Trinity Park, Watts-Hillandale (where I live), and Old West Durham are all within walking (and if not, biking) distance of shops and restaurants. Southwest Durham is a more suburban area that is not walkable at all. Downtown has improved a lot over the past few years in terms of the number of restaurants, bars, and shops that it has to offer. No one is going to mistake it for Greenwich Village, but it is improving nicely. Durham still has a bad reputation among some people who live in the Triangle (e.g., North Raleigh residents), but this is largely unfounded. Crime has gone down considerably over the past few years, and although there are bad areas (as in any city in the country), I would still think that Durham is considerably safer than Baltimore (if the Wire is even 50% accurate). I hope this helps!

Last year the Gators (football) were on network TV or ESPN just about every week, so I just watched at home. There seem to be a lot of UF alumni/fans in the Triangle but, unfortunately, no Gator bar to watch the games. North Carolina even has a University of Florida license plate. Ditto about Zook...although he was a good recruiter.:)

Go Gators! (and now Blue Devils, too!)

Congratulations to everyone who was accepted, and good luck to those who were waitlisted. I'll see you in the fall!

I have taken neither Human Growth and Development nor Nutrition...I just couldn't stand to wait any longer to apply with all of the other prereqs that I had to take!

According to my notes from the fall info session, the reimbursement is taxed at 38.65%. Ouch!

Hi Kelly, Like Abbie said, the Washington Duke Inn is a nice hotel on campus. They have an afternoon tea that you and your mom could attend. There is also a Marriott downtown that probably has good rates. If you want something a little more unique, there is a new inn across from East Campus called the King's Daughters Inn (http://thekingsdaughtersinn.com/). It is in a beautiful old building that used to be a residence for single, older women. My parents stayed there the last time they were in town and were pleased. As far as stuff to do, you can of course tour the campus (be sure to check out the chapel), or go to the Nasher Museum of Art (also on campus). The shopping areas on Ninth Street and in Brightleaf Square are good places to visit. Durham also has a lot of excellent restaurants, so you will not go hungry. Carpe Durham is a blog that you could check out to get some reviews. I hope this helps!

Maryash, There is not a dedicated dog park in W-H, but there is at least one park (Indian Trail Park) with a big field that is kind of secluded where I have seen people let their dogs off leash to play in the mornings. However, there is a dedicated dog park nearby at Northgate Park (http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/parks/dog.cfm).

The Streets at Southpoint is the big mall in Durham. It's a nice shopping area, with all of the normal stores, but I honestly do not go there very often. The area has newish apartment complexes, and I have met several people who live there and like it, and I do not think safety would be an issue. It's in the southern part of Durham, so it's about a 20-min drive to Duke. You would probably have to drive to a park-and-ride lot and take a bus to campus. It all depends on what you are looking for. The Southpoint area is more cookie cutter, with apartments, chain restaurants/stores, and close to I-40. It's not as close to campus and has a more suburban vibe than the established neighborhoods near downtown. The rental opportunities available in Old West Durham, Watts-Hillandale, Trinity Park, etc. will likely be houses. There are rooms in owner-occupied houses as well as entire houses for rent if you want to join together with a few other people. For example, the house next to ours is rented by three Duke grad students. You would be closer to campus and all of the downtown hotspots, but you might not like living with others or in an older house. Watts-Hillandale is very safe. The crimes reported on our listserv are mostly thefts of unsecured items (unlocked bikes or things stolen out of unlocked cars), and the people in the neighborhood are very quick to report any suspicious activity. I hope that helps!

Hello everyone, I am a Durham resident and have applied for the Fall 2010 ABSN program at Duke, and I thought that now was a good time to join the conversation. JasonB is absolutely right about ignoring any bad press regarding Durham and crime. Like with any city, there are problems, but things have changed dramatically in recent years. If you'd like to get an insider's view of city news, check out Bull City Rising (http://www.bullcityrising.com/). It's a great resource for learning about what's happening in Durham. For rental areas, check out Old West Durham and Watts-Hillandale (where I live), which are adjacent to each other. We're a short bike ride from DUSON, and there are also buses. I've seen people walking to work at the hospital from the neighborhood. The respective neighborhood listservs are good resources for finding rentals (you can Google Watts-Hillandale or Old West Durham and find links to the listservs on the neighborhood homepages). If you join the listservs, you can see when new rentals become available. A lot of good properties are only advertised on the listservs (it's how we found our house!). Some people were asking about the Durham Farmer's Market, and I just have to say how much I love it. It's open every Saturday from 10-12 (winter hours...it is open from 8-12 in warmer weather), and the offerings are great. It has it all: cheese, meat, eggs, vegetables, fruit, bakeries, hot chocolate...and it's not too far away from Duke. It's in an area that is really starting to revitalize, with a great yoga studio (Patanjali's Place), a pottery studio (Claymaker's), a theater (Man Bites Dog Theater), and a new brewery called Fullsteam that is set to open this spring (Durham has another great brewery called Triangle Brewing). My interview date is Jan. 22, so maybe I will see some of you then. Let me know if you have any other questions about Durham!