<p>So I was selected for an interview for Duke's accelerated BSN program, so I went last week in person to interview... and I loved the school. I'm hoping that I get in! I've been touring some apartments, and was less than thrilled with the areas that The Belmont and University Apartments were in. So I began to look into other areas and was wondering what people thought of some of these apartments?</p>
<p>I'm especially fond of Lenox East/West. If anyone has any insight on ANY of these apartments for a young grad student, and what it's like to drive to campus from these areas, please let me know. Thank you!</p>
<p>I lived by myself in Lenox East (1Br) senior year of college. I thought it was a great apartment complex. There are actually a lot of professional/grad students as well as workers from Duke that live in that complex. Here are some of my thoughts:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It’s a short 10 minute drive to campus down Morreene. There may be a bit of traffic around Erwin in the morning but generally 10-15 minutes is plenty to budget for. </p></li>
<li><p>There aren’t a lot of undergrads because it’s a little out of the way so it’s not as noisy (and expensive) as some of the apartment complexes they tend to favor. </p></li>
<li><p>It’s really close to the Kroger on Hillsborough where there are also a decent number of fast food restaurants etc for when you just want a quick bite. </p></li>
<li><p>I never felt unsafe while living there. It felt very detached from some of the sketchier neighborhoods down the road and had a more family-neighborhood feel to it. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Some of the cons: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Almost guaranteed you won’t have a ton of classmates nearby like you would if you lived in Belmont or some of the other popular complexes. This makes it a bit more expensive taking cabs to go out or coming back since you can’t split the tab. </p></li>
<li><p>It’s a bit farther from some of the more popular places students like to go to such as Brightleaf square, shooters, etc. </p></li>
<li><p>Apartments aren’t as fancy as some of those loft-style luxury apartments etc. But then again, they aren’t as expensive either. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Overall, I liked living there because I didn’t go out as much and preferred the quiet. But if you are very social and want to live there by yourself, you may be a bit lonely. And of course I was a senior in college, I don’t know what the social dynamic is like for the nursing school.</p>
<p>Ah, awesome, so nice to hear from someone who lived in Lenox! I am actually looking at a 1 bedroom for now, so this is perfect! Where did you typically park when you drove to campus? Like, where would I park if I wanted to be near the nursing school/medical complex? I know that parking close is very unlikely, but what would my closest option be? Haha. Was finding parking difficult at times?</p>
<p>Also, when was traffic typically the worst? Would you say around rush hour (8 AM and 5 PM?) And how much did your utilities run (water and electric)? That drive really isn’t bad at all, and I’m thinking living out there may be worth it to live in a safer place for some peace of mind. I’m not so worried about not having classmates near by, mainly because I will be at school with them 24/7, and a lot of them are going to be older anyways so they will probably be favoring places like this. And finally, what features did you have in your 1 bedroom? Is it plastic type linoleum in the kitchen and bathrooms, or wood linoleum? </p>
<p>Do you know anything about UA/UC? I really loved the model they showed me at UC, but I was concerned about the area it was in. I’ve heard good things from a lot of people about the area, but it scared me, lol. And I was nervous about not having a dishwasher or w/d. I’ve never lived without those before, and I would really prefer not to… especially during nursing school, when I’m going to be busier than ever.</p>
<p>As an upperclass undergrad in Pratt/Trinity I was assigned parking in the blue zone by the football stadium. I don’t imagine that the Nursing school will have the same arrangement. Most categories of students/employees/staff affiliated with Duke will be assigned differently colored parking garages/lots. I know that the medical students have a parking garage across Erwin road from the Hospital about a block down Fulton I think. The grad students can get parking in the Sands garage (I think) on Research Dr. 2 blocks down Erwin. I’m not sure what the Nursing school is assigned. There are some large lots off central campus on Flowers. So yeah, you really don’t have a choice. You’ll have an assigned lot and you can buy or not buy a permit. </p>
<p>Traffic is “worst” around 7:30 to 8:30 around the Duke campus since that’s the timeframe when the first classes start. Afternoon rush hour isn’t so bad around Duke since people leave at different time. But in the end really it’s not bad. The intersection of Morreene and Erwin is the worst generally in that area but you won’t wait more than a few minutes and you can easily go around it by cutting across campus walk and up laSalle (by Belmont) to get to the Nursing school. </p>
<p>My electricity bill ran around $40-50 a month with Duke Energy. Water was free IIRC (I don’t remember ever paying or even having a water company). Internet was $40-50 a month. So about $100 on top of the $570 in rent was about it. The floors are mostly carpet, the kitchen is the plastic type linoleum and I forget what the bathrooms are, probably the same as the kitchen. I forgot to mention that one of the bigger reasons I picked that complex was because all the 1brs came with washer and dryer in each unit which after living 3 years on campus was like paradise for me. :D</p>
<p>No idea about UA/UC. But no W/D and no dishwasher sounds like a terrible idea and the area the few times I drove by looked a bit sketchy to me but that’s just IMHO because it’s closer to downtown Durham.</p>
<p>Edit: also forgot to mention a con. The walls at Lenox East is a bit thin I think. It was never a huge problem for me because my neighbors were all the quiet type (as is most of the complex). But I could occasionally very faintly hear my neighbor next door snoring through the walls of my bedroom. I don’t know if it’s because he snores loudly or the walls are thin. It’s one of those things you can never get a feel for when looking at or touring apartments and is very situation dependent, but just one of my observations after living at Lenox for a year. In my case, it never became a problem or bothered me much and I would’ve happily continued living there had I chosen to go to med school at Duke.</p>
<p>Hi there! I am coming into the masters program for nursing at Duke but im on the younger side (24) and was wondering if you made a decision on where to live? Im coming out to interview for a part-time RN job that I will have during school at the end of the month and will be looking at places. A few people I talked to told me living in Raleigh is really fun but I cant decide if I want to be far away!</p>