Also, for commuting, mr. flea drives to Raleigh regularly - it's about 30 minutes from Durham. Durham to RTP is about 15, depending on where. You go against traffic if you live in Durham and commute to Raleigh or RTP, so it's faster. People here think 30 minutes is a really long commute, which amuses the hell out of this northeasterner.

Dana--are you thinking of moving there in specific, or are you weighing other options?

We've considered and discarded several options, but I'm happy to listen if you have a case to make for somewhere.

(in an urban, walkable neighborhood with 1920s era houses that is fairly expensive (houses start at 200k for 1200 sq ft) but suffers from a fair amount of petty crime and has poor people living within a couple of blocks - what I consider a good neighborhood, but what some people would never consider living in)

flea lives in an awesome nabe, as I count these things.

Also, she says way better than I what I was flailing at with the "what's scary" probe -- in Durham in particular, a neighborhood may be half a dozen blocks in each direction, and some great ones can be right next to the ones that some realtors will drive the long way around so you never set eyes on them. It's hard to say anything like "avoid the south (or whatever) side of town" in a fine-grained place like this, and so there's a tendency to point new folk toward some of the duller suburbs. Especially in a place with a history of the kind of codespeak that says "scary" = "near blacks and Mexicans" -- which I know you're familiar with.

A good realtor is essential, wherever you end up. The guy I used is most familiar with Durham, but he rocks and I'd be happy to give you his name; finding a place that's a good match for you (and not just any old sale) is a big priority for him.

I'm happy to listen if you have a case to make for somewhere.

Well, I don't think I could convince you to come to LA, and I'd gag on my own tongue before trying to sell MI to anyone. I was just being a nosy spectator.

a neighborhood may be half a dozen blocks in each direction, and some great ones can be right next to the ones that some realtors will drive the long way around so you never set eyes on them.

Yeah, it sounds like New Orleans.

Michigan -- too cold. LA -- too expensive. Between the two of us, we have a slightly ridiculous list of criteria.

Raleigh, in my limited experience (we lived there for 6 months when we first moved down here, right by the university which you should definitely avoid) has a very small area of housing older than about 1950. There's a fancy, and tiny, neighborhood of turn-of the century houses near downtown, a bunch of urban neighborhoods of 1950s era housing, some of which is nice and some of which is ranch houses, and then endless suburbia, some of which is very nice indeed but rather anonymous and definitely not walkable. If I had to live in Raleigh I'd look at the Five Points neighborhood, which is in town and funky and has a great pizzeria, but I gather is quite expensive. I was stunned when I moved to Raleigh, after having lived only in New England and Ohio, how tiny the place must have been before the 1950s. Really, Durham was a bigger place than Raleigh before WW2 is my impression.

People I know who have jobs in Raleigh/RTP (or a couple with jobs in both Raleigh and Durham) tend to live in Southern Durham, down by I-40 - Woodcroft is a neighborhood. It's all cul-de-sacs - nice houses, circa 1980s, but pretty suburban. Fine if you like to drive everywhere, and there are some good parks and bike trails.

Moving is exciting!

In random news, this kills me: Toy Coffeemaker, $22, Real Coffeemaker, $20.

buy the real one and teach the kid to make coffeee