Hi Sherry
All answers are correct, I would consider Croasdaile, Hope Valley, and Farms Garrett Farms.
If you would like me to send you somer properties to look at I would be happy to.
Michael

The closest location with the best value is Croasdaile. You are one mile from DUMC and with a wide variety of classic homes in your price range. We live in a 5,500 sq ft house built in 1967 that sits on the Croasdaile golf couse that we bought 2 years ago for $675,000. Very satisfied!

Dear Sherry,
It may be helpful to you to review some resources to decide what part of Durham you want to live in. You will find that there are many schools within the Durham County district with a wide range of ratings. There are also some private schools such as Durham Academy. You may also want to visit the Durham Crime mapper for an accurate, up to date crime report on specific communities.

It sounds like you may like the Old Hope Valley area surrounding Hope Valley Country Club, Duke Forrest, Marydell and New Hope Valley. Another great possibility for you would be Meadowmont or The Oaks in Chapel Hill where some of the homes are located in Durham County; assigned to Durham schools.

Chapel Hill may be another option for you where you will find homes are more expensive and taxes are higher. Parts of Chapel Hill are a short commute to Duke.

I provide a school guide and area information on my website, http://www.mariescheuring.com in the resources section.

There are so many options of great areas in Durham. In addition to the areas suggested by others, you might like parts of N. Durham and Croasdaile area. Although my husband teaches at Duke and I do much of my work in Durham, we chose to live in Chapel Hill for the schools. You need to decide the various trade-offs you want to make, and there are always trade-offs, whether location, price, size, schools, commute, etc. What about some of the private schools? Do you want a newer house or an renovated older home?

Finding the right home isn't necessarily so difficult. Figuring out your priorities is an important first step. If you want to talk through some of the questions, don't hesitate to call or email me.

Vivian Olkin
Keller Williams Realty
919-624-5479 cell
Vivian@CrazyVivHomes.com

In terms of price, I would prefer a max of about 700K but could go higher if we didn't find anything we liked. We want a beautiful home but don't want to be a slave to the house with high mortgage payments. We love to enjoy life and don't want to cut back at all on our spending for leisure activities.

Hi Sherry,

Depending on what price range you are comfortable with, there are a number of neighborhoods and areas that would be excellent choices. As far as a general area, southwest Durham offers a tremendous selection of ammenities as far as shopping, restaurants, easy access to the inetrstae and the RDU Int. Airport. I live 10 minutes from campus & DUMC and have enjoyed it throughly since 1997.

Some specific neighborhoods that would be ideal to consider would be Garrett Farms, Lochnora, New Hope Creek, Duke Forest ( slightly older but still quite nice ), the schools are quite good and all of these are very close to Duke.

I have 25 years experience in the Durham - RTP real estate market and have worked with a number of clients affiliated with Duke during that time. If I can be of service and help you with your move, please feel free to contact me at anytime. I will be delighted to do anything I can for you.

Thanks,

Fritz Hine
REALTOR/Broker
Coldwell Banker Howard Perry & Walston Realtors
Office: 919-317-4324
hinef@hpw.com

The most popular area would be the SW Durham Area. There are many amenities (shopping, entertainment, schools, major road access. I would be glad to provide you with a community report that gives you great info regarding schools as well as possible homes if you would like. Feel free to contact me at my website, http://www.Horizon1Realty.com.

Thanks and good luck