I saw someone in the OP saying this is airbnb bait and they're right but who the hell is booking an airbnb out there??

300k for 600sqft is atrocious.

Though I can't compare the two cities directly as I haven't lived in NH or Durham, I did live in NC for some years and currently live in CT and find the vibe of the towns and cities to be shockingly similar. My wife is a Hickory native and makes this comment herself, too. New Haven is definitely a great place to live if you want access to the rest of New England, though! You can take 95 all the way down to NYC or up to Maine. There's also a direct Metro North train to Grand Central from NH's Union Station, I believe, as well as Amtrak service to Penn Station. Certain areas can be sketchy (from my POV as an outsider but honestly, this is most cities) but I worked for a woman who lived there and is a photographer, and she loved it