http://studentaffairs.duke.edu/forms/chouse/search.php
Duke provides this website to help graduate students find local housing.
The housing listed is off-campus, which is typical for physics graduate
students. Many people looking for roommates advertise, but the site is
also useful for learning about specific realtors, complexes, and
neighborhoods -- not all are created equal in Durham.
http://studentaffairs.duke.edu/sites/default/files/2009%20Neighborhood%20Report.pdf
Examine the comments in the annual Housing Survey to learn what people who
have lived in a location you are considering think.
http://parking.duke.edu/buses_vans/bus_sched/index.php
Though housing near Duke's west campus (where the physics building is
located) is usually either expensive or dangerous, other areas of Durham
along the Duke bus routes provide great places to live without the need of a
car.