A local publication, The Independent Weekly, recently asked it's readers to tell them what they love about Durham. Here are a few of the nearly 100 responses they received, many touching on similar strengths--diversity, friendliness, beauty, civic involvement. You can find the entirety at: http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A31991

It's the brick and the kudzu. One a victim, the other a victor. Never in my life growing up on the West Coast have I seen a city so full of red and brown brick both subsisting and disappearing. It marvels me. The brick in Durham remains a poignant symbol in the history of the tobacco industry. I hear locals expressing a discontent for its gentrification. There seems there's no stopping it. One of my favorite things to do in Durham is ride my bike through downtown to the old Tobacco Trail. The sprawling, dangling kudzu makes me feel like I'm in some enchanted dreamland. There seems to be no containing it. One day the subsistent brick factories may all be turned into offices, boutiques and fancy restaurants. But at least later, who knows how soon, they will not be able to withstand the relentless, ravishing kudzu.

I moved back to Durham after five years in New York City. The reason: There are millions of interesting people from all walks of life in New York, but somehow you never get to meet that many of them. And there are thousands of interesting people from all walks of life in Durham, but somehow you get to meet a lot of them. I feel my life has been enriched even more by living here than by living in the largest city in the country, just by showing up at the grocery store, the coffee shop, the Y, the neighborhood.

Some towns display their jewels in showcases. Durham casually conceals hers in old cigar boxes and brown paper bags. Behind a storefront, a riveting production of Chekhov. In an apartment over a Main Street office, a collection of antique harpsichords. Next to a parking lot, down a narrow path, a graceful garden with sculpture. On a residential street (no sign out front), a celebrated restaurant. When our treasures are too big to hide, we have other strategies. The lofty building that serves as our community's cathedral? We call it a "chapel." (referring to the Duke Chapel)

I love zipping to work in minutes: no highway driving, no traffic jams. (My husband can bike or walk on the American Tobacco Trail to his office.) I love seeing movies at the Carolina; sipping a latte at the Guglhupf Cafe; hanging out at Foster's Market; eating at the Thai Cafe, Sitar Indian Palace, Bahn's and Saladelia's. I love readings at The Regulator and shopping at Vaguely Reminiscent. I love walking in my neighborhood of Forest Hills. I love fresh eggs and flowers from the Farmers' Market. I love that lonesome whistle of the freight trains in the night; I love "Hit Bull, Win Steak." I love concerts in Duke Chapel, the wisteria-covered pergola in the Gardens, the new Nasher Museum; Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Blue Devils. I love the Eno and the dancers who come to town every summer. I love the emerging art scene. I love being part of a community where people of all colors work and play alongside one another and I love that the only people who move here are ones who feel the same way. I love living in the best-kept secret in the state.

One of the many things we most love about Durham is its wonderful music and arts culture. In late March we noticed an ad in the Indy announcing a chamber concert by the Durham Symphony to be held on a Sunday afternoon. This reminded us of the many happy musical moments we shared in the 1980s when we lived in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area. The quality of the performance we enjoyed that afternoon was as good as it gets, easily on a par with the best available in any other city in the country. What a great pleasure it is to live in a small city that consistently presents and maintains such a rich and diverse offering of music, film, dance, and indeed all of the arts at the highest level.

The sunsets are sneaky in Durham, like a lot of the beauty. You have to be in the right place at the right time and remember to look. Just before dusk, go to the top of the field on East Campus that slopes down to the intersection of Markham and Broad. The huge willow oaks become backlit with orange, fiery red and pink, then purple, as dog walkers, runners and Frisbee-tossers pass by. The greens of the grass and trees become deep, rich and finally, dark, as everything quiets into night and the lights of the corner tavern come up.

Now, you've got to come find out for yourself what there is to love about Durham. We really are the best-kept secret in the state. Whether you're looking for a newly built home, a mid-century modern, a Carolina classic ranch, or a charming 1920's bungalow -- Durham has it all.