Durham, NC

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The Triangle and the Universities

Duke University is located in Durham, a city of about 180,000 residents in central North Carolina's rolling Piedmont. The "Triangle" (the area within and adjacent to the triangle formed by Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh) offers an extended community which includes four universities and several colleges, as well as the Research Triangle Park. Duke University and North Carolina Central University in Durham, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University in Raleigh, as well as the community of scholars and researchers of the laboratories of the Research Triangle Park, give the area an intellectual and cultural tone found in few parts of the country. The combination of intellectual resources and mild climate have stimulated substantial recent growth in the area, which is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in the country. The region is not plagued by many of the problems of large cities: there is little pollution, traffic flows smoothly, and housing is relatively inexpensive.

Outdoor Activities

The pleasant climate invites outdoor activities: swimming pools, tennis courts, golf courses, jogging trails, and baseball fields abound. Duke Forest is a rich tapestry of hiking trails. For the more adventurous there is wind surfing on nearby Jordan Lake, fishing and sailing on the ocean, or hiking in the Smokies and Blue Ridge Mountains. In winter, the mountains (only about a 3- or 4-hour drive away) provide opportunities for cross-country and downhill skiing. Hundreds of miles of beaches along the North Carolina shore includei Nags Head, Cape Hatteras (National Seashore), Kitty Hawk (the site of the Wright Brothers' historic flights), and many undeveloped stretches in the National Seashores which are excellent sites for camping and fishing. Interstate 40 connects Duke to the popular beaches surrounding Wilmington, North Carolina in only a 2-hour drive.

Entertainment

Cultural opportunities at Duke include numerous film series, the Duke Performances and frequent visits by popular music groups. The rock music club scene of the Triangle is nationally recognized as one of the most progressive in the country. The Walnut Creek Amphitheatre brings big-name tours of popular bands. In the summer the American Dance Fes tival makes its home at Duke, bringing foremost modern dance companies for six weeks of performances.

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