<p>Does the fact that Duke is in hick country cause any concerns for you? Is it a problem for people from different parts of the country, and especialy internationals?</p>
<p>I'm curious, miqdad...what sophisticated part of the country are you from?</p>
<p>us'en sutheners shure cen be ruff on them there outsiders... ... 'cept over at that ther duke ...thems sum smary uns ..here they even got some furrieners runnin round ... from ohioer and michigan ... can't beleave it ...last time we saw so many sherman was marching up from atlanta durin the war of northern aggression</p>
<p>He must be one o' them damn Yankees...lol</p>
<p>No, it is not a concern for me. :D</p>
<p>meh...a lot of people actually think this</p>
<p>To seriously answer the question, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh make up the Research Triangle. The Research Triangle has more Ph.D's per capita than anywhere else in the U.S., so Durham is not completely full of hicks! North Carolina also gets a lot of Northern transplants. Now, if you want hicks, you should try the NC mountains...</p>
<p>miqdad - I figure if you have to ask a question like this, it's best for you to go to college in your hometown or region. You'll probably be happiest there. No offense or anything....I just think regional diversity may be too tough for you. I'll never forget when we traveled through Europe and overheard several Americans complaining that their food, hotel rooms, etc. weren't just like home. I felt embarassed by those comments and thought they should have stayed home where they were comfortable. Sorry...just my opinion.</p>
<p>I'm from South Florida and had a chance to visit Duke before deciding to enroll. The actual metro area has over a million ppl (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) but everything is really spread out so it doesn't seem like theres that many ppl as there are. Coming from a very busy part of the country, I was actually glad to be away from all that traffic congestion and impacient drivers, etc... The area is nice and quiet and ppl. are in general more friendly than I have seen down here in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. Regarding Durham itself, it is not the nicest of cities, but I wouldn't go as far as to call it "ghetto." Its a different atmosphere than what most urbanites are used to but its this same relaxed, some would call it static and lethargic feeling, that attracts a certain type of person such as myself. To add a little anecdote to my post - my dad and I were eating breakfast at a local Durham McDonalds on our trip there and as we were leaving, some random guy sitting at a table just randomly said hi and goodmorning to me and smiled even though I didnt look at him or anything - just that southern hospitality? Also, when we were lost, no one honked at us for not accelerating full throttle 1 second after the light turned green like they would here in S. Florida. Theres some stuff in Durham - Northgate Mall is not too far from Duke, Raleigh has some historic stuff and museums, etc, and Chapel Hill is also close by. There are also mountains to the west, the ocean to the east, and D.C. to the north if ur up for the drive during weekends. The campus itself is pretty much self-contained and theres plenty of stuff to do there academically and socially, especially athletics and outdoor-type activities.</p>
<p>zxc123, that made me laugh. No, but really I don't think the 'furrieners' would have a problem with this. As someone said up there, Research Triangle Park doesn't attract too many hicks. And just curious, what kind of problems do you think it would cause?</p>