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Leavin' Carolina, the original post is from 2010, so probably they have figured things out by now.
I'll agree that Madison and Fayetteville have little in common, but other areas of NC, like Chapel Hill, are more similar to Madison. I have never been there, but I would guess that Fort McCoy would be the logical Wisconsin comparison to Fayetteville.
My Fiance is in the military and is being moved to Fort Bragg, NC. He is in Special Operations. I am moving there to finally be with him but everything I have read about Fayetteville is negative. I recently graduated from a very good university and I want a good job. I am used to living in Madison, Wisconsin, with a very high standard of living. Madison is a very clean, educated, and overall great place to live (Middleton, my hometown, making the Number 1 place to live in the US recently).
Everything I have read about Fayetteville is very bad. I am just wondering if people could respond and tell me if Fayetteville is really THAT bad? I am not a low income or "Trashy" individual. I like my nice clothes, nice stores, "Luxury" apartments, nice car, etc. Being that sort of person, will I find Fayetteville essentially unlivable? The more I read about the area, the more concerned I become. Any and all advice is welcome!
Thanks!
Your post is about 7 year old, and I didn't see if you confirmed or denied coming here, or, if you did, how you fared. I've been most everywhere, including Fayetteville. There is good, there is bad in all sectors of a community. The trick is understanding these areas, these nuances, and choosing wisely. My experience with Fayetteville have been mixed. I've met some wonderful people in all spectrums of economic stature. This has been tainted by the bad elements that lurk-more so in military towns.
The Sherriff's Department and Fayetteville Police have been informative, supportive and proactive. Sadly, my family has had to engage their protection and support quite frequently because of some sectors of society that have touched our lives through what we thought were fairly harmless "friendships." (Yes, that happens anywhere).
The economy is depressed for many reasons: no new jobs, no emphasis on education or little cultural development, and military residuals: Those who get out and don't leave because they can't afford to leave (or trapped based on choices they made), those who remain behind after spouses move on, the after-effects of continuous deployments on families, the desperation for fast money, and companies aren't investing in cities with high risk. The military brings with it a mix of American Society, and for those who signed the US dotted line from other nations or married military personnel, a mix of world cultures. Without a strong, defining structure of culture, what is unacceptable will always challenge the acceptable.
That said, I just drove through the Art district, which looked fairly desolate late at night (or early morning), but bustles with economic activity during the day. It's charming and heartwarming. Big box companies such as Walmart, Target, Home Depot are here-you just need to know where to go and assess the neighborhoods they are in. There are a LOT of pharmaceutical stores like Rite Aid, Walgreens, and yes, a wide variety of restaurants, by genre.
Most people I know, other than those who were born and raised here from the old farms and old communities, are transients. That's a hard group to "reign in" and they do bring a wide variety of both positive and negative contributions. It's sad to see some who come here, use the place up, spit it out and move on. It's also sad to watch the predators leech off the newcomers in an effort to "get out of here."
And here I thought it only happened at overseas bases.
It's heartbreaking, because I KNOW good people here. I WANT Fayetteville to thrive.
I also know bad people here, and wish they would simply move about their own business and get their own lives straight without the collateral damage.
"Grow where you are planted, and try to leave a place better than how you left it."
Your post is about 7 year old, and I didn't see if you confirmed or denied coming here, or, if you did, how you fared. I've been most everywhere, including Fayetteville. There is good, there is bad in all sectors of a community. The trick is understanding these areas, these nuances, and choosing wisely. My experience with Fayetteville have been mixed. I've met some wonderful people in all spectrums of economic stature. This has been tainted by the bad elements that lurk-more so in military towns.
The Sherriff's Department and Fayetteville Police have been informative, supportive and proactive. Sadly, my family has had to engage their protection and support quite frequently because of some sectors of society that have touched our lives through what we thought were fairly harmless "friendships." (Yes, that happens anywhere).
The economy is depressed for many reasons: no new jobs, no emphasis on education or little cultural development, and military residuals: Those who get out and don't leave because they can't afford to leave (or trapped based on choices they made), those who remain behind after spouses move on, the after-effects of continuous deployments on families, the desperation for fast money, and companies aren't investing in cities with high risk. The military brings with it a mix of American Society, and for those who signed the US dotted line from other nations or married military personnel, a mix of world cultures. Without a strong, defining structure of culture, what is unacceptable will always challenge the acceptable.
That said, I just drove through the Art district, which looked fairly desolate late at night (or early morning), but bustles with economic activity during the day. It's charming and heartwarming. Big box companies such as Walmart, Target, Home Depot are here-you just need to know where to go and assess the neighborhoods they are in. There are a LOT of pharmaceutical stores like Rite Aid, Walgreens, and yes, a wide variety of restaurants, by genre.
Most people I know, other than those who were born and raised here from the old farms and old communities, are transients. That's a hard group to "reign in" and they do bring a wide variety of both positive and negative contributions. It's sad to see some who come here, use the place up, spit it out and move on. It's also sad to watch the predators leech off the newcomers in an effort to "get out of here."
And here I thought it only happened at overseas bases.
It's heartbreaking, because I KNOW good people here. I WANT Fayetteville to thrive.
I also know bad people here, and wish they would simply move about their own business and get their own lives straight without the collateral damage.
"Grow where you are planted, and try to leave a place better than how you left it."
I agree with a lot of what you said, except for the economy be depressed. When I moved to Fayetteville last year, I moved for 2 reasons.
1. Was to get a political career as a registered Republican
2. The job I was looking into when I graduated pays very well in Fayetteville
I started out making $36,000. I wanted more money and it didn't take long to find it. At first I was going to join the National Guard or US Army Reserve, but instead I applied for a few entry level jobs that payed in the 50's and 60's and was accepted for 3 jobs, one is at my current job, the other 2 were for PWC and Eaton. I made my decision based on how much management paid. I also have 2 family members who followed my footsteps into Fayetteville, one works for a Government contractor and the other works for Human Resources at a major Distributing center. Fayetteville has very large companies from what I saw, such as Good Year, Purolator, Eaton, Sykes, Systel and PWC to name a few. I don't actually live in Fayetteville, I mainly only go there to work downtown and Cross Creek Mall (I live in Hope Mills), but it doesn't seem very bad to me. Bragg BLVD doesn't even seem that bad to me, I mean yes their are some shady looking characters, but I don't fear going shopping at the Eutaw Shopping Center. I can't necessarily speak for Fayetteville, but Hope Mills seems like a thriving community at least. Lots of friendly people, and I know we have that industrial center. I know a new company was on the news that just moved to Fayetteville metro 2 months ago that employs nearly 1100 I think in Red Springs.
Fayetteville is the worst place to buy a home. I bought my house in 2007 and today I can't even get what I paid for it. Calculating in inflation, if I sold today I'd take a $40,000 plus loss in my investment... that is if I sold it for it's original price... which I can't even get that. I hate this place. It's crime ridden, drug infested, ghetto fabulous, poverty laden crap that has way over built, and is STILL building more houses leaving this town with a MASSIVE glut in the housing market driving everyone's property value into the dirt.... which attracts the one step out of poverty crowd... which also kills the public school system... which helps kill the home values... it's a spiraling financial disaster. NEVER move here.
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I Hope It Worked Out...
