Visiting Scholar Resources

four people standing outside

Welcome to Duke University and to Durham, North Carolina. This page contains information about housing and practical information for living in Durham.   Information here is specific to Visiting Scholars.  The University has a wonderful resource for international students,  Duke International Student Center, much of the information found on their website is also helpful to international Visiting Scholars. 

Apartment Rentals

Click here for a useful guide on how to find housing, common housing options including  renting, subletting, furnished apartments, short term rentals, and a list of questions to ask when speaking with potential roommates or landlords. 

The average rate for a 1 bedroom or studio apartment in Durham as of 2023 is $1,482.   Many apartments are housed within a larger "complex" some apartment complexes have extra amenities including pool, gym and tennis courts.  A list of apartment complexes near Duke Campus have been included below. 

Note: if your stay is for one semester many apartment complexes do not offer short term rentals.  Below are listed websites and list serves for shorter term rental options and apartment exchanges.

Apartment complexes close to campus:

Trinity Properties   -Twenty minutes walking distance to the Center, or take the LaSalle Loop Duke bus to get to campus.                                                              

The Belmont         

Erwin Terrace                                                                    

Duke Manor 

Bradford Ridge

Station 9

University Ridge Apartments         

Trinity Commons @ Erwin

Poplar Manor

Holly Hills  (note the additional "s")

Holly Hill apartments

The Heights La Salle

Berkshire Ninth Street      

 

List Serves for Apartments and single rooms:                  

Student Exchange House- Offers short-term housing at one price for everything: furnished room, utilities, wifi, etc.

DukeList- Classified ads, including a category for rental housing. Requires a Duke ID to access.

NearDuke.com- Searchable list of rental properties near campus.

Duke International Student Center provides advocacy, advising, educational programming, and community building.

University Apartments offers some furnished apartments and is close to West Campus.

Airbnb is a popular website that lists places to stay, including individual rooms in apartments or houses.

Zillow is a real estate website that lists houses for rent.

Quote from former HOPE Visiting Scholar: "In terms of areas to live, close to East Campus is a great location and I feel very safe.  It's especially nice, because the bus transportation between East and West Campus is so good.  Also Whole Foods is close for shopping for healthy food."

Public transportation in Durham consists of a bus service, GoDurham. Go Durham has limited routes, due to this it has been the preference of many scholars to live walking/ biking distance to campus.

In addition to public transportation, there is the Duke University bus system, which is very good-and free. Duke Transport allows you to track the buses between the two campuses on your smart phone or computer.

Uber or Lyft are both used frequently by students and scholars. 

Grocery Stores

There are two grocery stores near East Campus

Harris Teeter
2107 Hillsborough Rd
Durham, NC 27705

Whole Foods

621 Broad St

Durham, NC 27705

There is also a co-op on W. Chapel Hill Street (Durham Co-op Market).

Places to Eat

Visit Durham Convention webpage on local dining.

On Campus there are several dining options nearest to the center are the Brodhead Center and a  coffeeshop Saladelia @ the Perk, the glass-wall space adjoining Perkins Library.  For a complete list of dinning options on campus click here.

Places to Visit

Duke Homestead

Nasher Museum of Art

Eno River State Park

North Carolina Museum of Art

Carolina Theater

Durham Bulls Baseball Park

Durham Performing Arts Center

Quote from former HOPE Visiting Scholar:"Good places to visit are definitely Asheville, Chapel Hill, and the beaches close to Wilmington. Washington, DC is not far and New York is close and one can find cheap flights to visit while here."

Quote from staff member Paul Dudenhefer: There are tons of great restaurants in Durham! You don't have to leave town to eat well!

 

Doctor/Dentist

If you are having an life threatening emergency, call 911 or go to the emergency room at Duke Hospital, located at 2301 Erwin Road.

For illness and routine medical care:

Click here for a list of urgent care locations and information on how to find a doctor. 

Doctor: Find a doctor in the Duke system.

As 2022-2023 Visiting Scholar Edoardo Peruzzi emphasizes, people at Duke never give people tax advice because they do not want to be sued. And Edoardo doesn’t want to be sued either! But he has graciously supplied us with a document that explains how to file your taxes and hopefully get any refund that may be due to you.