The DU Lounge

We--husband and two school age sons--moved to Chapel Hill in 2000. I was living alone in a high rise downtown Raleigh apartment building in 2020 when Covid hit and immediately killed that lifestyle of walking everywhere and having season tickets for the symphony and ballet. No yardwork or maintenance. If it hadn't been for Covid I would probably have eventually bought a condo in a well established near by high rise building and stayed downtown because I loved the lifestyle.
It was because of Covid I bought this house and it's primarily because of Covid that I don't participate in many of the social activities here. Someone still always seems to have it and folks gather unmasked in the clubhouse for activities. Quite a few of my neighbors work at Duke or are retired University professors or medical professionals.
I'm glad I bought when I did, because I rode the wave of price appreciation from Covid. This area of southwest Durham is growing like crazy. You wouldn't recognize Chapel Hill: lots of multi story apartments being built and single family housing prices are crazy. I would much rather have bought a sfh without an HOA in Chapel Hill, but couldn't find one that I liked that I could afford! So I settled for this. Our HOA dues have gone up by $20./ mo for the first time this year to $220./mo. Property taxes have gone up about $150/ year every year. Durham County will reassess valuations this year and I won't be surprised to see my valuation go up $150K. I just hope they reduce the tax rates to offset the appreciation!