SperlingViews - Fayetteville, North_carolina

We have watched Fayetteville grow by leaps and bounds in the 7 years we have been here. Due to the majority of the city being military the economy booms and will continue to do so because the military base here is a large major one.[read more...]

I am determined to get my son into a great elementary school in the Fort Bragg/Fayetteville area! Although I have never been there and have been warned about moving to certain areas, I need to stay positive! I would love to find him a great school and find a place to live near there but I am very nervous about getting there and seeing the house I saw online look completely different face to face. I am going to stay positive regardless of all the negatives I hear about Fayetteville and living on Fort Bragg. Anyone have any suggestions for me?[read more...]

This place sucks with a capitol S! First off, the job base is literally saturated with as many as twenty people a day looking for the same job with the same qualifacations. Most jobs stay open for three weeks. That computes to an average of 300 people per job in this place! This level of saturation also explains the extrodianarily low wages here in Fayettnom, as the locals know it. The saturation point also leads into a whole range of negatives. Since there are so many people looking for work here, there is a total disregard for facts among employers as they relate to any claims made against an employee. Hense they fire here people for broad completely non substantiated claims on a regular basis. There are absolutly NO CHECKS & BALLENCES here in which one can demand a mediation of hard facts. This even applies to the school system where the rights of children are abused under the same repressive situation as the employees. I would be glad to give specific examples if one dares to ask. And all of this assuems that one can even find jobs here to begin with, since the point of saturation is so high in this place, concidering that the local employment security commission and the local job base in general consistently descriminates in favor the military personell and the ex military personell. Businesses offer terrible service here due to the high number of transients about. THERE IS NO CUSTOMER SERVIce HERE! The entire system scams the people here. The cable companies lie and get you in on their contracts at one price and then tripple up on their charges two payments later. The phone companies are guilty of the same crime of extortion here. The mortgadge companies hold your check payments until they are late, then attempt to extort late charges and extra fees from you. If you refuse to pay then, as in all of the above cases, they just stick all of this into you credit file since there is no check here to keep them from doing so! Many people are losing their homes in foreclosure because of this activity, and there is NOTHING THAT THE PEOPLE CAN DO ABOUT IT! The Police constantly stop people at random, then just issue tickets for traffic offenses even though they are innocent and the courts here completely supports them. Fayettevile NC has some of the highest taxes in the entire state of NC and has the least to offer in terms of services rendered. Think that you can just take all of this to court? Just try too and many many have already. You will not even be able to find a lawyer to take this repressive system on, especially when it comes to labor laws. For God's Sake and your own, don't ever make the mistake of moving to this place. I wonder if the Mofiosa has not taken this government over here. [read more...]

cost of living is quite a bit lower than other areas I have lived, such as Maryland and Dallas, TX[read more...]

I am from California and I am sure anyone from there can attest to what I'm about to throw down on to the table. Fayetteville is not an ideal place to live. There are to many ignorant people. I swear the drivers are the worst in the world. I swear there is atleast one accident a day on Ramsey st. and when it rains there are atleast two a day. Bragg Blvd gives fayetteville a bad name as well. All of the street hookers, strip clubs, drugs, filthy businesses and worn and torn streets and homes everywhere. Then there is Walmart. Any Walmart you go to your pretty much signing a waiver stating that you could get shot, stabbed, robbed, raped, etc. My first month here I happened to witness a shooting outside of Dicks sporting goods. Even a place that may seem nice in Fayetteville can make you think otherwise. Like going to Mazerick Park and then finding a used needle. Fayetteville does have some good points though, like the Dogwood Festival, Cape Fear river trail, Botanicle Gardens, and now were even starting to see more venues in the Crown Colliseum. But the way I look at Fayetteville is that there are way to many bad points here than good. [read more...]

My husband is a youth minister and accepted a position at a church in Fayetteville in August 2007. We packed up our family and moved to a city we knew nothing about. In the time that we have lived here, I have gained a much greater respect for the military families (our church is 50% military). The downtown area of Fayetteville is beautiful! People that move to this area need to keep in mind that Fayetteville is not a major metropolotin area, therefore, there are not numerous interstates (I-95 runs through Fayetteville), nor a large international airport. It is a mid-size southern city. It seems that most complaints that I run across about Fayetteville is the high crime (there is crime everywhere, even in the small town that I'm from) and that there is "nothing to do". If you do your research there are PLENTY of things to do. For young children there are numerous parks and a wonderful children's museum. Fourth Fridays are a wonderful time to visit the downtown area. There are numerous festivals throughout the year and plenty of shopping. For the average person, there is not really a reason to leave the Fayetteville area for shopping needs (unless you are looking for more "high-class" type stores, I myself can't afford those anyway). The schools are not unlike any schools you will find around the south. There are some excellent teachers in the schools, but sometimes not the most supportive parents. Education does not just happen in the schools, but the most important education takes place within the home setting. I love that the beach is a short drive away, and my family and I take great advantage of that during the summer months :) If you are moving to the Fayetteville area, please don't pass judgement based on negative comments that you read. You have to make the best out of where you are. Any city has it's ups and downs...you have to be the one to make it great for you and your family![read more...]

About to move there.[read more...]

Extremely Poor[read more...]

As a long time military spouse I have lived in a number of places and the most important thing I have found is that every place has its good, bad and ugly. What makes the difference in your perception of a place is your own attitude. Do you really get involved, seek opportunities, look into all a community has to offer. I hear people speak poorly of Fayetteville, NC and I think, but did they really look into all that the community has to offer. 42 parks, it's own symphony orchestra, tremendous festivals with headliner groups, a community concert series, arena football, the Fire Antz, the Cape Fear River trail and most importantly, warm and caring people. Wherever you are look deeper and if in Fayetteville, NC, enjoy, enjoy.[read more...]

Fayetteville is definately a horrible disaster of a city. The streets are arranged in a horribly disorganized manner, the majority of the buildings are hideous, and the people are the most trashy and classless group of beings I've had the misfortune to live amongst. Truly, unless one must move to the area by force (i.e. being stationed at Fort Bragg), it would be extremely unwise to move to this city. The only redeeming qualities are the Airborne Museum and the Methodist College. It has a downtown area and a mall, but both are crime-ridden and unasthetically pleasing.[read more...]

Fayetteville is not a bad town it is just not really good. Much has been done to clean up the drugs and prostituion that had been so rampant in the past. It is just not very friendly and there are so many better places to live and work nearby. The best thing it has is Ft. Bragg. Jeff[read more...]

Fayeeteville is a good place to reside, there is a deverse amount of people. This is also a military town, Fort Bragg. Driving can be a challenge at times, some think you can drive faster in wet or icy conditions.[read more...]

If you can look past the pockets of crime and the childishly rude drivers, Fayetteville is a great place to live.[read more...]

When you hear on the news "highlights" that the town you're living in is literally the third worst place to raise a family, it makes you wonder why you yourself are here. There are many things that can be changed here. Instead of changing the way it "looks", change the way it is.[read more...]

Fayetteville is nice. The weather is mild compared to the rest of the south and there is plenty of shopping and friendly folks. Schools aren't great in Fayetteville, but if you live in Hope Mills (suburb of Fayetteville) the schools are excellent. There are a lot of taxes in North Carolina and it seems at times they are nicle and diming you to death. Otherwise, I like it here.[read more...]

Fayetteville is unique to most other normal cities and parallel to most other Army towns. What makes Army towns (not to be confused with Navy, Air Force etc.) unique is that the surrounding area has grown up to support the Army community. This means that low wage, no education jobs are abundant. There are plenty of strip clubs, bars, fast-food restaurants, tattoo parlors, pawn shops, sewing, dry-cleaning, etc. If you have not graduated high school and can't find a job, move to an Army town, there are plenty. Also, think about who comprises the bulk of the manpower of the Army. It's the enlisted ranks E-5 and below. And those ranks are flooded with young men (and very few women) who typically come from lower income households and depressed education levels. Additionally, this city is located in the south which nationally speaking lays claim to the lowest public education and highest number of obese people. I will let you draw your own conclusions as to what a male dominated, low education, low wage structure community feels like. [read more...]

August is blazing hot. Dec freezing One extreme to the next.[read more...]

I have lived in or near Fayetteville for 20+ years. In fact, I just returned to Fayetteville in 2006 after living in Winston-Salem, NC (an absolutely wonderful city!). Fayetteville definitely has good points and some bad ones. Don't listen to the judgements of people who have lived just one year. That's not enough time to learn the entire metropolitan area which covers nearly 3 counties! Fayetteville has made great strides in the past 5 years and it's outlook continues to improve. It has been mentioned in Forbes magazine and other financial magazines as an up and coming city. Unfortunately, most of the economy is tied up with the military. That means when the soldiers are deployed, many businesses are hurt terribly. Living in Fayetteville puts you with 2 hours of the beach and 1.5 hours from Raleigh. You can enjoy lots of recreation nearby if you are willing to drive to it. You can be in Myrtle Beach or Wilmington w/o any problem at all. The mountains are a bit of a drive however. Also there are plenty of bike trails, rivers and lakes within 15 minutes of nearly any home in Cumberland County. You can be golfing at Pinehurst with 45 minutes of Fayetteville also! So if anyone thinks there isn't anything to do maybe he/she needs to do a little research! Also, if you are buying a home, get a good realtor who has lived here for 5+ years. They know the good areas. You don't have to live in a ghetto to have a nice home. There are areas of Fayetteville where homes selling for $140K are within walking distance of homes costing over $500K and the neighbors speak to each other and wave greetings every day! I have lived in nicer areas over the years and have stayed in many that are much worse. People move to Fayetteville every month and stay here until they pass away. You can be happy nearly anywhere in life, it's just a matter of being open-minded. Good points Decent schools and some are excellent! Check the North Carolina school system report cards. Short commutes Multiracial communities (very important!) Improved downtown area Friendly people Affordable housing in good neighborhoods Low unemployment Good restaurants Good mall and shopping Beautiful weather - no snow - little ice - nice and hot! Strong arts and crafts community Excellent local newspaper - Fayetteville Observer - Pick it up and read it every day for your 1st 2 months! Then you'll know what's happening! Many nearby communities still maintain a small-t[read more...]

Fragmented social setting. Due to the low cost of housing and property disadvantaged are overwhelmed by the paradox of wealthy people located in pockets throughout the city where property values change dramatically. The selection of entertainment is very poor. No Interstates connect to this community and the airport is small. As a result of the small airport connections to metro airports add a great deal to flight costs. The Army population at Ft. Bragg is larger than the City. This place is isolated and cutoff from the mainstream. The city architects had no planning skills when they laid out the growth of this town. It is very difficult to navigate. Overall the town is old and worn out, and lacks the necessities to breakdown barriers to the fragmented social structure.[read more...]

I lived near Fayetteville, NC for one year (2003-2004), in nearby in Spring Lake, which is quiet and beautiful with nice neighbors. Husband was in the military, so the cost of living was pretty low. There are plenty of second-hand stores and flea markets, but pretty ghetto. We lived in an apartment in a ghetto and it was very unpleasant, so we moved to Spring Lake in the countryside. There are a lot of strip joints and military-oriented places, which is not very fun for an army wife. The weather is MAGNIFICANT and the people are very nice. LOVE the southern hospitality. I plan on moving back to North Carolina someday, or somewhere similar in the south because of the hospitible people and the weather, and the cultural diversity. The ice storms are annoying, but they don't last long. Southerners don't know how to drive on ice, though. They flip over on their vechicle roofs just because a little ice is on the road. Schools shut down at the sight of one snowflake! LOL! There's no mud, just sand, which is cool. I am from Ohio and hate snow and cold so that's why I loved the weather. Fayetteville is close to the coast, so beach access is wonderful. My favorite thing to do in Fayetteville is perform at open mics in coffeehouses and join writer's groups. I wouldn't want to live there ever again, but I do have friends there and wouldn't mind visiting. There are a lot of pawn shops there.[read more...]