Durham, North Carolina

Durham, NC, a sister city to Raleigh, has all the best parts of a large city, packed into a much more reasonable package. Because it used to be a big tobacco town, there was already a lot of infrastructure needed to make a great little city. All of the brick buildings that house those workers are now some of the local's favorite places to live, eat, and work!

Some of the perks include a ton of opportunities for outdoor activities, great restaurants with dog-friendly patios, a surprisingly great art community, and a big university.

If you talk to a Durham local about moving there, they’re going to mention that besides a few ritzy neighborhoods, it’s not the most walkable or bike-friendly city in the US. That being said, there are a lot of areas specifically for recreational activities, but you do lose that city feel the more you talk about walkability. With people also complaining about the public transit, it’s considered a must-have car town unless you live right smack-dab in the center of downtown.

In terms of work life, Durham is big on tech and medical. As a growing tech city and part of The Research Triangle, or The Triangle, it’s home to one of the most prominent high-tech research and development centers in the US, making it a hotspot for people wanting to use the University’s resources. Not to be outdone by tech, the city of Durham is also dubbed “The City of Medicine” according to durham.gov, and has over 300 medical and health-related companies.

Most of the Durham workforce works at one of the hospitals/universities in the area either Duke or UNC. There is an awesome biotech hub here with Syngenta, Biomerieux, Monsanto (sorry), BASF, Bayer Crop Science, and EPA all represented. There is a pretty thriving agriculture scene here with a lot of small farms in the area. Those are mostly in the northern part of the county and in adjacent Orange and Chatham counties.

Like many mid-sized cities, Durham is becoming less and less of a hidden gem by the day. That being said, there are a lot of housing opportunities due to the rotation of students and fellows at Duke. Speaking of Duke, according to the University, the cost of living in Durham is about 23% lower than the national average.