I live in Durham and have commuted for the past 4 years. My commute is short and so I have to extend it by a number of different routes - mostly urban. I don't have much weekend time for "recreational" riding but have found a number of rural routes that provided great scenery, a mix of hills, and some great destinations. I have, like most, had some encounters with drivers who didn't exactly attend to their task the way I would have wanted; however scary encounters are rare. I've lived here close to 30 years and can say that if you don't like the area you probably will have problems elsewhere too. Being car-free is definitely possible with good planning. I rarely drive my truck - mostly on the weekend for other hobbies (can't pull the boat on my bike). Infrastructure is much better than 10-15 years ago and the greenway projects are blossoming.