Homethinking.com

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Welcome to North Durham!

Situated along the banks of the Eno River and minutes from Duke University, Duke Medical Center, and Durham Regional Hospital, North Durham is an ideal location for families with children, health enthusiasts, singles, professionals, empty-nesters, seniors, and just about anyone who enjoys a quality of life that is yearned for by residents of other parts of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area.

From North Durham, you can reach Downtown Durham in 5 minutes, Research Triangle Park or the RDU airport in about 25 minutes, Chapel Hill and its university and hospital are about 15 minutes away.

Whether you enjoy hiking, biking, canoeing, or kayaking, you'll love the wide-open spaces that North Durham has to offer. 

North Durham is home to such communities as Willowhaven, Greymoss, Trapper's Creek, Country Club Heights, Ashfield Place, Grande Park, and the award-winning golf course community of Treyburn! 

The main roads running through North Durham are Guess Road and Roxboro Road, which run North and South.  Umstead Road runs East to West, connecting Cole Mill Road to Guess Road.

For more information about homes in North Durham, contact me at (919) 730-7068 or at rthomas@markthomasrealty.com.  Search all homes for sale in North Durham here.

Monday, March 10, 2008

New Harris-Teeter is Underway

The long-awaited Super Harris-Teeter has broken ground and is well-underway. It is located on the site of the former Willowdaile Cinemas, which occupied that spot for the past 25 years. Once the new movie theaters were opened at the newly-remodeled and expanded Northgate Mall, the Willowdaile decided it was time to close their doors. That opened the door for Harris-Teeter to move to that prime location.

The new grocery store will be twice as large as the existing one, and it will house a Starbucks, as well as a pharmacy. Manager Tom Reece says that the store is expected to open in April of 2009. The Guess Road store is a favorite among North Durham residents, and it is conveniently located between many North Durham homes and I-85 and 15-501, so it's easy to drop in on your way to and from work.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Great Places to Eat in North Durham

We love dining at Randy's Pizza and Italian Pizzeria. With young children, pizza and spaghetti are a part of our routine at least once a week. They are both within a 5-10 minute drive from North Durham.

Another favorite is Ruby Tuesday's at Northgate Mall. Their salad bar is second-to-none, and with the recent re-decorating now completed, the atmosphere is suberb, too.

When you're in the mood for a nice, hot cup of coffee, you're in luck. We are fortunate enough in North Durham to have not one, but two, drive-thru coffee houses - Starbucks and Coffee World. While you're enjoying a coffee, you can also dine at Subway, Krispy Kreme, and Ice Cream Club.

North Durham Community Watch Program

I am hosting a Community Watch program for the residents of North Durham on Wednesday, February 27, 2008. It will be held at 6:30PM at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in room 209, the Outbackers' Sunday school class.

The program will be presented by Deputy John Carroll of the Durham County Sheriff's Department. He will tell us how to protect ourselves, our homes, and our property, and help us start a Community Watch program for our neighborhoods. Please plan to attend if you'd like to be a block captain or to learn more about this program

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Why Live in North Durham?

Many people ask me why would I want to live in North Durham, when the "big mall" is on the south side of town? Well, that's my reason, exactly. The big mall is NOT here. Now don't get me wrong. I love shopping as much as the next person, but I like the slower pace of life North Durham offers. What IS here that I truly adore are the large yards, lovely azaleas in the Spring, and loads of colorful leaves in the Fall.

There are townhomes, single-family homes, Treyburn Country Club (the best kept secret in the South), rolling hills, farm land, horse farms, and lots of clean air to breathe. We now have our very own drive-thru Starbucks. Our schools aren't overcrowded, and we're a 10-minute drive to the finest minor league baseball team in the whole USA -- the Durham Bulls.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Getting Started

My husband always says the hardest thing about getting started is, well, getting started! How true. Whether it's a new diet, exercise routine, career, or Christmas cards. It's all the same -- it's hard to get started.

He dragged me kicking and screaming into real estate 8 years ago, but once I got started, I realized how much I loved it. I should've started much sooner. Real Estate is not my first career. It's not for most people. It's their 2nd or 3rd, perhaps their 4th stab at the working world. For as far back as I can remember, I've always sold something: Girl Scout cookies, Million Dollar chocolate bars, toothbrushes for new band uniforms, Cutco knives, water filters, skin care products. The list goes on and on.

Maybe I get my salesmanship from my father. He, too, was a salesman. Dad worked at JC Penney as a salesman as a young man, then ran the store later in life. Once he retired from Penney's, he sold IRAs, Keoghs, SEPs - all before investing money was popular. He also sold shoes, brooms and fruit cakes (for the Lion's Club), and anything else that came his way. He was the city's version of Mr. Haney from Green Acres.

Getting started on this blog was no easier than starting a new diet or a new career. Now that I've started, I'm on my way. Stay tuned for more neat information on North Durham County, North Carolina.