Hi guys,
I’ve applied to Duke and want to know more about Durham, North Carolina cuz I’m an international student who hasn’t gotten the opportunity to visit Duke yet. What’s the city like?
Is it a very urban place? What is there to do? What’s the general culture or vibe of the place, if any!
Thanks a bunch :))
Durham is part of the tri-city area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill), and with 3 major universities, and many smaller colleges there is always a lot going on. Most of the Duke campus is pretty self-contained, though, and you probably won’t spend much time in Durham itself. There are people who will tell you that Durham is a dump, and it is true that parts of it are poor and run down, but I wouldn’t worry about it. Duke has it’s own bubble.
Lots of nice restaurants have been popping up around town. The Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) is worth definitely worth checking out as is the American Tobacco campus (which has nothing to do with tobacco anymore!).
Durham is consistently ranked as one of the best small cities in the country and one of the best places to go to college. The research triangle is renowned for having the highest per capita concentration of MDs and PhDs in the US (and probably the world!).
Also, Duke students are increasingly venturing out into a revitalized Durham and having a great time doing it. I wouldn’t go to Duke with the mindset that the campus is “self contained”. Many people will take the initiative to leave the “bubble” on a very regular basis.
Also, it’s worth pointing out that Durham has some absolutely superb housing options for Duke seniors.
Durham is a medium sized city in the south. The Duke campus dominates Durham. But outside the campus within walking distance are lots of shops restaurants, nightlife, etc.
A short car ride will bring you to the rest of the RTP area: chapel hill, Raleigh etc which are similar size to Durham. The RTP area is within a reasonable drive to the beach, DC metro area and lots of things to do.
It’s not a big city like New York, Chicago or DC but you definitely won’t get bored.
Durham has rejuvenated in the past 30 years. It’s reputation as “run down” or a “dump” are no longer valid. Most students do venture off campus for restaurants or cultural activities (e.g. DPAC) from time to time. That being said, Duke also has plenty of opportunities on campus.
There are a number of excellent restaurants.
From some international student perspectives (like China or India), the Duke area is like a countryside, a small-sized, self-contained forest that is focused on its own campus life–not Durham or the area. A number of excellent restaurants nearby means like 10 total in the general area–it is a smallish place. There are no taxis on street corners like in cities in some parts of the world, no street vendors. It is not UCLA or Texas-Austin–urban schools close to and interacting with city life, jobs, variety of lifestyle nightlife options or cash jobs in the Chinese restaurant. As was mentioned, the research triangle greater area does house many high tech enterprises, but they are not big-city sized in North Carolina. Access to an automobile is necessary if interacting with the greater region is desired.
^ Durham is home to 400,000 people. It is definitely a mid-sized city. Also, I’m not sure that a 1,000 acre campus (adjacent to an 8,000 acre forest) can be considered “small”.
Have you even been to Duke?
I would not call the campus small at all. And, Durham is not that bad, and just like any other major city, there are bad areas, but I don’t think that really defines Durham overall.
Source: I used to live in Durham
Great points. It’s all perspective, hence why I posted “From some international student perspectives (like China or India)…” With all my years living in Asia, many people know Duke, but not Durham. It’s not a city that people globally would ever know or want to visit. When the students are coming from Shanghai (30M people), Beijing, Mexico City, Abu Dhabi, New Dehli, Durham, NC is not on anyone’s radar map as a destination city. Duke is campus that has so many things going on, there is little need to engage the greater city of Durham. It’s not Austin, Boulder, Berkeley, Ann Arbor–nor is it NYC, Chicago or LA. Duke is a good school in and of itself. Durham is not in the class of great college towns or major metropolitan areas of America. Going to Duke is an engagement with the forest campus and all it has to offer, not an engagement with say, the city of Chicago, if you were a UChicago or Northwestern student.
Here’s a website Duke has added to introduce folks to Durham: https://durham.duke.edu/
@ConcertoinD Actually, Chapel Hill is as much of a college town as Ann Arbor is and it’s only 8 miles away from Duke.