Anybody here who has spent time living in both New Haven and Durham NC? I'm considering the possibility of a move to NH for work and don't know it well (only ever passed through it while driving north or south). I'm particularly interested in how practical/accessible trips are to NY if desired, access to nice day trips in the area with a variety of natural scenery, quality/proximity to daily life stuff like grocery stores and shops that make for easy and convenient living, as well as the general social culture for yuppie/professional type people in their 30s. Any tips for comparison would be greatly appreciated!
Comments
bahtdog OP t1_j8u5jfe wrote
Thanks for the info! That definitely sounds more my speed culturally. Would you say that NH is more urban/walkable in feel than Durham? Also, if you need to make trips outside the downtown core to shop or run errands, is the traffic situation comparable between them?
mozzzking t1_j8v847s wrote
New Haven is extremely walkable. Like the definition of walkable city lol
paddyboombotz t1_j8uoyhi wrote
Yes way more. Durham is spread out. Durham to me seemed much more gentrified than new haven too, although that’s hitting new haven pretty hard recently. CT is a really small state so everything is pretty close. If I have to drive 45 min soMewhere i piss and moan about it. Traffic is pretty horrible in both cities.
RedditZhangHao t1_j8vmteu wrote
This ^ OP, plus New Haven and ‘burbs have more housing variety than Durham/Triangle, and it’s very accessible to the City, Boston, outdoor activities in/near New Haven, the rest of CT, New England, and also upstate NY. If you’re a Dukie, not much love exists for Duke in CT.
stereolights t1_j8tmo0o wrote
Though I can't compare the two cities directly as I haven't lived in NH or Durham, I did live in NC for some years and currently live in CT and find the vibe of the towns and cities to be shockingly similar. My wife is a Hickory native and makes this comment herself, too. New Haven is definitely a great place to live if you want access to the rest of New England, though! You can take 95 all the way down to NYC or up to Maine. There's also a direct Metro North train to Grand Central from NH's Union Station, I believe, as well as Amtrak service to Penn Station. Certain areas can be sketchy (from my POV as an outsider but honestly, this is most cities) but I worked for a woman who lived there and is a photographer, and she loved it
bahtdog OP t1_j8u5pzn wrote
Have you heard which parts of NH are sketchy? Would that include either the immediate downtown area or the part near YNHH? Thanks!
EmuBoth t1_j8v66i2 wrote
downtown is fine. The new apartment buildings near YNHH is technically in the Hill, area gets bad rap but those buildings people are liking it.
autumn--blaze t1_j8xx5ya wrote
Some areas around YNHH are very sketchy. It varies block by block. If you want to move to that area specifically, you should ask future co-workers which streets/blocks are good and which ones to avoid. Or just move to East Rock which is on the other side of town but is a very nice place to live!
autumn--blaze t1_j8xo6uw wrote
Super easy to get to the city—hourly Metro North train service to and from New Haven Union Station & Grand Central. Round trip tix cost about 80$ and each leg takes about 1 hr 45 mins. So day trips are very easy. Or you can drive if you are willing to figure out parking in the city!
One thing to be aware of when moving from south to north is that winters suck in New England! Even this winter, which is weirdly warm, is still very dark and gray and dismal. It gets completely dark out by 4 pm in late December-mid January. And spring takes a LONG time—e.g. daffodils don’t bloom until April, and most other spring flowers don’t start until May. Not a reason not to move up here for most people, but it is something that I for one am still not used to after 15 years.
ntvblls t1_j8y78yb wrote
Round trip tickets from NHV to GCT are between roughly $35 and $45 (depending on off peak or on peak), not $80. Still too expensive but nowhere near that bad. Express trains are at shortest 1 hr 40, many more local trains take 1 hr 55, and local trains back usually take a little over 2 hrs. Just as an FYI for anyone looking.
Difficult_Ad5098 t1_j8z64i8 wrote
I’m from Asheville NC and moved here and I like it. Kinda gives me similar vibes to
home but less gentrified. Trips to NYC are super easy.
The walkability is dope, I can ride my bike for my work commute which would have been impossible back home.
[deleted] t1_j8x3j7e wrote
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paddyboombotz t1_j8tofx2 wrote
I live in new haven, my older brother lives in Durham. He came to visit recently. His two big takeaways were 1. Everything is waaaaay more expensive in CT (not so much rent/bills/mortgages cuz those are actually pretty similar between the two cities, he’s talking more like food and recreation) and 2. He likes the people in new haven way more than Durham. He thinks people in Durham are boring and stuck up. He also thought people in new haven are much more accessible, like you can meet a big time politico drinking at a bar downtown and strike up a convo and become friends up here. He said that kinda stuff doesn’t happen down there. The whole duke/yale thing is very similar, but I think the big difference is you’ll meet lots of 30-something’s who are graduate students and work for Yale who are cool and down to earth, whereas my brother says most people involved in duke are stuck up and boring. Long story short, I think if you’ve lived in Durham, new haven will seem pretty familiar and easily adaptable to, and there’s a good chance you will prolly like it better.