If you want to live in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and want to know what it’s like, then you should read this article!
Fayetteville is close enough to many other towns but stands alone and has over 200,000 citizens with a continually expanding population.
The city is full of historical museums and monuments and is most known for being the location of Fort Bragg, a significant Army station. The Civil War, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil Rights Movement all imprinted on the city’s heritage.
If you want to relocate to a thriving, historic-looking town on North Carolina’s east coast, consider Fayetteville. Before you commit to living in this city, check our summary of the pros and cons of city life, which we have gathered for your convenience.
Let’s examine the pros and cons of living in Fayetteville, North Carolina, without further ado.
List of Contents
Is Fayetteville a Good Place To Live In? – A Flourishing Town With a Growing Downtown
The Good Side
The City Is a Wonderland for Adventurers
Fayetteville offers a variety of outdoor recreations, including biking, hiking, fishing, and camping.
The city’s natural resources make it a fascinating location. If you are bored, there are numerous things in the town to fill your time.
You can visit the area’s preserves, greenways, and parks if you appreciate nature and stay active. Along the scenic Cape Fear River, the Cape Fear River Trail is a beautiful place to stroll with your four-legged friend while enjoying the area’s natural beauty.
You can also visit the 80-acre Cape Fear River Botanical Garden, a nonprofit botanical garden and an ideal spot to relax outside and read a book. Zipquest offers waterfall and treetop zip line and rope courses if you are a thrill-seeker.
Due to the city’s rich history, numerous landmarks are worth visiting. Since Fort Bragg is in the vicinity, there are countless military museums to explore. To admire the military history of this area, you should visit The US Army Airborne and Special Operations Museum.
The Edgar Allan Poe House is an additional destination worth visiting. This mansion was the Poe family’s home in Fayetteville, where Edgar Allan Poe grew up. You can also tour the house to learn about the Poe family and the era you visit.
Not an outdoor enthusiast? No problem! The city is brimming with activities to do for those who don’t want to go outside.
Its world-class performing arts complex offers numerous entertainment options. It also boasts a variety of live music venues and a thriving festival scene.
If you choose this area to call home, you could live and play here with all you could ever need or desire.
It Is Community-oriented
The city of Fayetteville places a strong emphasis on community.
Being a resident here opens various doors for participation in multiple aspects of the neighborhood’s cultural and civic life.
If you are interested, the city is home to many volunteer and charitable organizations in which you could become engaged.
Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County, The Salvation Army – Community Services, Women’s Center of Fayetteville, Fayetteville Area Habitat for Humanity, and BRON CDC (Bringing Restoration and Opportunity Now) are just a few of these organizations.
Fayetteville Offers Delicious Cuisine
Numerous restaurants in the city deserve recognition, even though the cuisine here is not as widely praised. As a city in the South, Fayetteville offers exceptional traditional southern cuisine and barbecue.
Due to its cultural richness, there are numerous additional traditional and authentic tastes, from classic Southern cuisine to contemporary farm-to-table fare to a range of Asian restaurants.
With this wide variety of options, you can choose many restaurants while picking where to eat in this city.
Check out these top dining establishments in the city:
Circa 1800: This upscale eatery lies in downtown Fayetteville. Everything here is locally made; growers, producers, and craftspeople in North Carolina supply all the ingredients. The Southern Egg Rolls and the Jalapeno Bourbon Julep are popular choices here. This restaurant has a make-your-own bloody mary bar as well.
Fowler’s Southern Gourmet: What started as a food truck has become a brick-and-mortar. Everything, including ketchup, is prepared on-site. Here, there is an enormous selection of beer and wine. As the name suggests, they also serve exquisite Southern Culinary classics such as the North Carolina barbeque.
Vicky’s: It’s called Vicky’s Famous Chicken and Biscuit for a reason! This eatery is a must if you’re seeking a brunch spot. Here, you can choose a filling for the buttery biscuit, such as country ham or smoked sausage. There are also fried chicken and brunch plates available in this eatery.
The Place Boasts a Diverse Community
Fayetteville is a highly diversified city due to the large number of people attracted by Fort Bragg. The military contributes about $9.8 billion to the regional and local economy.
This city is where people from various cultures, ethnicities, customs, and skill sets come together, contributing to the expansion of the surrounding region.
The local population comprises 40.3% Black people, 39.1% White people, and 2.8% Asians.
Therefore, if the presence of a diverse population is the essential factor for you to consider when looking for a city to settle down, Fayetteville is an excellent option.
The Bad Side
It Is a Military Town
The community is known as a military town due to its proximity to Fort Bragg. However, although many consider the city’s military presence part of its allure, the military can be pretty noisy.
If you live in this area, you will frequently be able to hear explosions, aircraft flying overhead, and artillery fire coming from the neighboring military sites.
Therefore, if you are seeking a spot where you can find peace, you should consider this because this city is not the right location for you, given the noise level here.
Fayetteville Has Widespread Rates of Crime
Even though this city is a military town, there is still a significant amount of criminal activity in this city.
Although the city is making progress, the rate of violent crime and property crime is significantly higher than the national average.
The violent crime rate in Fayetteville, including robbery, rape, assault, and murder, is 39.1, higher than the national average of 22.7. Furthermore, the city’s property crime rate of 69.4, which includes burglary, robbery, and auto theft, is above the national average of 35.
If you live in this neighborhood, you should avoid walking alone at night.
The Place Has Severe Summertime Heat
If you live in this city during the summer months, you will have to contend with weather that includes thunderstorms, tornadoes, and even hurricanes due to the high humidity and severe heat.
Fayetteville has one of the highest average temperatures in North Carolina, coming in at 90.6° in July, making it one of the hottest areas in the south and one of the scorching places in North Carolina.
It’s not only that the city experiences exceptional highs in temperature that the people hate in the area. People in this city have a strong aversion to the city’s consistently high levels of humidity.
Consider yourself fortunate if you’ve never had to deal with the humidity in the southern United States. When you analyze the pros and cons of living in this city, you should remember that the heat and humidity are both significant drawbacks.
What Is the Cost of Living in Fayetteville? – The Nation’s Top Real Estate Markets
The Good Side
Fayetteville’s Real Estate Market Is Highly Robust
The housing market in Fayetteville has one of the best conditions for prospective purchasers among all markets in the United States. This city’s housing market came in at number three on the list of the most affordable housing markets in the country.
The median cost of a home in the city is $148,621, which compares favorably to the US average but is relatively low for North Carolina.
Despite the relatively low property costs, the area has a homeownership percentage of only 44.2%. To fund the purchase of most homes, people here are still using a mortgage.
On the other side, 55.8% of the population rents their homes, and the average monthly rent of $764 is lower than the average rent across the nation.
Living in Fayetteville is an excellent decision if you want to increase the money you save each month due to the city’s affordable housing options.
It’s Cheap To Live Here
Compared to the rest of the United States, the cost of living in Fayetteville is significantly lower. The overall cost of living in this area is 7% less expensive than the average throughout the country.
The cost of utilities in this region is 4% less than the average cost across the nation, and the cost of transportation, including bus fares and gas prices, is 2% less than the average cost across the country.
Also, Fayetteville’s grocery prices are 3% cheaper than the national average, while the city’s healthcare costs are the sole factor that is 5% more than the national average.
If you choose to make this city your home, the overall cost of living will be lower than in most countries.
The Bad Side
The City Has a Competitive Housing Market
The demand for homes is increasing rapidly across the state of North Carolina, particularly in the real estate market in Fayetteville. The city has one of the nation’s five hottest real estate markets.
Aside from that, the entire state of North Carolina has also seen a significant increase in the cost of rent; Fayetteville is not an exception to this rule.
The demand for rental property, partly driven by military personnel from Fort Bragg, has contributed 13% to the town’s average monthly rent over the past year.
Because of this, the market in the area is highly competitive, whether it comes to purchasing a home or locating a rental property.
Living here, you can find many things for purchase, but it could be challenging to find a good deal.
Why Work in Fayetteville? – It Houses the World’s Largest Military Installation!
The Good Side
The City Offers Employment Prospects, Particularly in the Defense Sector
The military town’s most prominent defense industry employs Fayetteville people. However, the region’s retail trade, manufacturing, and educational services are also significant.
Fort Bragg is a significant employer in the metropolitan area of Fayetteville, with a daily economic effect of around $31 million. More than 275,000 individuals are supporting this military installation, resulting in the military making an annual contribution of over $11 billion to the surrounding area’s economy.
Other significant employers include the Department of Defense, Cape Fear Valley Health System, and Cumberland County Schools.
The majority of the highest-paying jobs in this city are highly specialized, with professional, scientific, and technological positions at the top of the wage scale.
Therefore, if you work in the same industry mentioned above, this location is an excellent choice to advance your professional career.
The Bad Side
The City’s Job Expansion Is Sluggish
The job growth rate in Fayetteville is disappointingly slow, hovering slightly at about 1% annually. As a direct result of this factor, it ranks as one of the worst places in the country to look for work.
In addition, the unemployment rate here is 7.1%, significantly higher than the average unemployment rate of 6.0% in the United States. The city is also expecting to experience a job growth rate of only 30.2% over the next ten years, which is also lower than the US average of 33.5%.
Compared to the national average yearly salary of $28,555, the median wage for workers in Fayetteville, which is $23,843, is slightly lower. On the other side, the annual income of the typical household in this city is $44,514, which places it significantly lower than the average income in the United States, which is $53,482 a year.
When making your verdict on whether or not to live in this city, you should keep this job growth in mind.
If you’re considering relocating to North Carolina, Fayetteville is an excellent area. It is the ideal blend of history and modernity, with numerous museums and locations relating to its historical past.
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