That is an easy answer if I am anywhere but Durham, but in Durham I feel shy answering "oh yeah" depending on who's asking. If it's a born and bred Durham native, I wonder what their guidelines are for a yes to be correct information...will they think I am not worthy if I have only been here 12 years? Does owning a business for 10 years earn me more Durham cred? Durham natives are pretty loyal and protective of their city, I mean just being here 12 years I get defensive when I hear people from surrounding cities say Durham isn't safe. I also hurt a little when people tell me to move to Chapel Hill or Raleigh to get my kids in better schools. So I get the fierce loyalty Durham natives have for their city...my city....our city. So again, can I really call myself a Durhamite? Can you? If you look it up, you really don't find many people actually defining Durhamite. I did find one definition from the Urban dictionary: Durhamite definition . And various articles about people explaining why they are a Durhamite. But no real guidelines...no threshold that you have to step over to be a true Durhamite. So, since there wasn't an overwhelming consensus, I have laid out the following guidelines: 1) Live in Durham 2) Love the city (which also means stand up for it if people are putting it down) 3) In some way give back to Durham (this can mean anywhere from volunteering your time and/or money to supporting your Durham local businesses) In the end, I think a true Durhamite comes from your love of the city, not how long you have been here. Now let's talk South Durham...... |
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Are you a Durhamite?
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by definition, i am a Durhamite!
ReplyDeleteLive in Durham? Check.
ReplyDeleteLove the city. Double check.
Give back? I like to think so.
So yeah, I am a Durhamite
Two stories to relate. When we first moved here (in 1994) a friend of mine said "Durham? Be careful. It's got a really bad reputation." I wondered what he meant, and frankly having lived on the South Side for 16 years I am still wondering? Oh I get it, I know there are parts of town that are a little scary, but for goodness sake almost any urban area in the country has it's "don't go there at night" zones. What really makes me laugh about this friend's comment is that he was from Greensboro. I had a flat tire once at 11:30 at night in Greensboro and I have to tell you the neighborhood I got caught in there was as scarier than any place I've ever seen in Durham.
Second story. My daughter is a freshman at NCSU this fall. Often when she tells fellow students she's from Durham she gets an "oooooh scary" kind of reaction. It makes her angry as it would/does me). She tells them (politely) "You don't know what you're talking about." That's my girl!
I have a pretty good idea as to why I think Durham has this reputation. Some of it is just rank stupidity -- but I don't want to cast aspersions toward everyone who feels this way because many of those folks may be suffering from mere ignorance. Like the comedian says - "you can't fix stupid", but ignorance can be remedied. Here's one remedy:
A (sample) great day in Durham (for less than 50 bucks):
1) start at Bean Traders in South Durham with one of the freshest (and best) cups of coffee anywhere.
2) A leisurely walk around Duke Gardens
3) Lunch at Watts Grocery
4) A bike ride along the American Tobacco Trail
5) dinner at the Only Burger Truck
6) a ball game at the DBAP
7) a nightcap at City Beverage
When we moved to Durham in 1999 our agent kept say, you need Cary or North Raleigh, Durham has bad schools. We said our Cat doesn't got to school. I love being in Durham - the Center of Research Triangle Park! It's much more reasonably priced than either Raleigh or Chapel Hill, and you don't have 1,000 other homes in the same neighborhood as in Cary.
ReplyDeleteBorn and raised a Durhamite- In fact I used this term a couple of nights ago and Michael had no idea what I was talking about being that he has only been here for a few years now. It kills me when people make comments about Durham being "dangerous" or "ghetto". I just politely remind them that Raleigh, Cary and Chapel Hill have murders, robberies and sex offenders, etc.
ReplyDeleteDurham has a bad rep and I don't like it. I would be nervous to be outside ANYWHERE in the dark, alone. It's 2010 and there are not too many Mayberry's left today. Sad? Yes. Truth? Yes.
I love Durham and I will raise my own children here someday. I would feel privileged to teach in Durham. There are a lot of great things going on. I teach in Cary and I can promise you there are many Durham schools that are comparable if not better. I'm glad to see others stand up for Durham like I do!