I live a couple of hours away from Durham and might be interested in coming down and staying in some temporary housing while trying out the startup scene there. But what's the deal with Underground? Is it an incubator? An office? I went to the site and I was unable to determine if I was looking at office space or applying to be accepted somewhere.
For the most part, it's more of a fraternity for geeks. You get to know other companies and their employees a lot more than a traditional office park. Every office has a huge glass wall that faces the hallway, so you get to see the same people every day as they pass by your office. You'll often find local angels and VC's in the hallways and conference rooms. The space is designed for startups. Small spaces for early stage companies, at a decent rate, with short lease terms.
As far as housing goes, I /think/ West Village in downtown Durham does 3 month leases, but I would check on that. Of few of my friends from the last Launchbox class stayed there. It's a bit expensive relative to the area though, so I would look around if you're on a budget.
The American Underground is a bunch of relatively small offices. There was/is an incubator down there as well called Launchbox Digital, but it's unclear if that's continuing or not (see the discussion in this thread). Because of the layout of the Underground and the type of companies that have been down there, the companies down there seem to be closer than your average office neighbors are as far as I know and have heard.
