Durham’s landscape is characterized by 98,000 acres of hardwood and evergreen forests, including the only remaining old-growth Piedmont bottomland forests, hills and dales, meandering rivers and streams, and several lakes. The landscape creates endless recreation possibilities from hiking and biking to swimming and boating.

Located at the pinnacle of the 3,000-square-mile “Triangle Region” in the northeast Piedmont of North Carolina, the city is home to Research Triangle Park, Duke, and North Carolina Central universities and a $1.5 billion healthcare industry with 300 related companies and practices. The arts are well represented with galleries, museums, theaters, and music. Downtown Durham is the historic birthplace and geographic heart of this compact 299-quare-mile single-city county.

The community has fascinating and varied architecture from the art deco of downtown to the neo- Romanesque tobacco warehouses to Gothic Duke West Campus and Georgian Duke East Campus to the futuristic designs in Research Triangle Park to the funkiness of the Ninth Street District. The small city size mixes well with the creative, high-tech environment creating a home-town feel embraced by Durham’s residents.

Reprinted, with permission of the publisher, from 50 FABULOUS GAY-FRIENDLY PLACES TO LIVE (www.FabCities.com) © 2005 Gregory A. Kompes. Published by Career Press, Franklin Lakes, NJ. 800-227-3371. All rights reserved.