Fayetteville is a great place to raise a military family. Not only is it known as a military town, it was also named the “World’s First Sanctuary for Soldiers and Their Families” in 2008. This means that, within the county, soldiers are to be provided with local services, ranging from free childcare to job placement for soldiers’ spouses. There may not be a ton to do, but activities in Fayetteville can be enjoyed by the entire family. If your family likes being outdoors, check out the Cape Fear River Trail or the Cape Fear River Botanical Garden. There are also a ton of festivals to enjoy in the summer and the beaches are only an hour and a half drive away!


Pro-Military

Best Part About Fayetteville 

Looking at the statistics, the crime rate in Fayetteville cannot be ignored. Violent crime rates in Fayetteville are double both the North Carolina and National Median. You’ll hear a very divided view of Fayetteville from both current residents and past residents. Some people swear up and down it’s the worst place they’ve lived, while the current residents seem to have a more rational view. If you talk to a local, they’ll tell you to take steps like making sure to lock your doors at night and not to leave any valuables in your car. Overall, the sentiment seems to be that things are getting better, but the numbers are still something to consider.

Local's pov on Fayetteville:
*Having lived in NYC about half of my life, far east of the city on Long Island for most of the rest of it, and Fayetteville for half a decade, I can’t see anything here that’s worse than anywhere else in the US. Do we have loads of strip clubs? Sure, but didn’t it take decades for NYC to clean up the sex-in-the-street trade? Parts of Long Island are even worse.

About the only thing Fayetteville has that most other cities don’t is the US Army. But that doesn’t change anything - some cities that have never seen a soldier are worse. And who cares if a customer in Walmart is wearing fatigues?*

 Crime

Worst Part About Fayetteville 

Fayetteville is, above all else, a military town. A high proportion of residents work for defense, at either Fort Bragg or Pope Army Airfield. With such a high proportion of residents enlisted, it makes sense that it would seep into the everyday life of the city. It’s a very diverse city with a focus on family and family-friendly activities. The median age of residents is 30 years old and, yes, the military also affects the dating pool. Most of the people you find on dating apps or *gasp* in person will either be involved with the military or moved to the city for someone who is. 

If you want to see what happens in Fayetteville check out the calendar of events: https://www.distinctlyfayettevillenc.com/events/?bounds=false&view=list&sort=date


Lifestyle of Fayetteville

Fort Bragg is the backbone of the local economy, being the top employer ahead of Cape Fear Valley Health System and Cumberland County Public School System. Besides Fort Bragg, there are 8 of the top 10 defense contractors located in the area including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Gruman, and others. The military brings in an almost unbelievable amount of money to the city and, by design, it is a huge retail destination. 


Workstyle of Fayetteville

Fayetteville is a great place for currently enlisted or military veterans to call home. It has a small town feel and a lot of family-friendly activities to enjoy. There are plenty of neighborhoods that cater to different families' needs, whether you work on base and want a short commute, or you want to be near the action of downtown, there’s a space in Fayetteville you’ll be happy to call home.


Military Families

Why You Should Move Here Now? 

Young professionals looking to work and life in Fayetteville will have an easy time finding houses to rent if you want the extra space. If not, there are apartments in almost every neighborhood that will be close to amenities and the available nightlife.
- Downtown
- Hope Mills


Young Professionals

Downtown

Young Families will love the low cost of living and the peaceful feel of the city. These neighborhoods feature great homes, a close location to amenities and/or the base, as well as good schools.
- Hope Mills
- Spring Lake
- Raeford


Young Families

Hope Mills

Families have their pick of great neighborhoods in Fayetteville. You’ll definitely want to map out these neighborhoods for your commute, but all are spacious, diverse, and have decent schools for the growing brood. Rockfish is a good example of these neighborhoods/suburbs. With a blend of suburban and rural vibe it works for those who want to be on big land and feel apart from the city. 
- Rockfish
- Eastover
- Arran Hills
- Westover


Established Families

Rockfish

Fayetteville

**What is it like to live in Fayetteville, North Carolina?**

Well. I live in Fayetteville North Carolina. You can get all 4 seasons in one week. Summer is hot and muggy. Winter is usually mild and wet. Spring and fall are perfect. Depending on where you live in fayetteville it can be a challenge. It can be very overwhelming at times. So many different people because of Ft Bragg. There is plenty to do if you have never lived here. As with all cities there are placea you want to stay away from. It really depends on your budget. I recommend staying out of city limits like Eastover or Grays Creek. Other than that its not too bad.



**What is your opinion of Fayetteville NC?**

I am one of those “townies” that are originally from the fayetteville and surrounding counties. Yes my mom did 26 years in military and grandparents served (including many family members). The difference of people complaining non stop about family is they OWN NOTHING. if you do not own your home, own some land, own a business, OWN SOMETHING, all you can do is complain and feel like your money or voice has no say. The key in fayetteville NC is the parks, the businesses, volunteering, the people. If your life has purpose and meaning you can enjoy fayetteville more. the key is many house wives are lonely, bored or come to town with no friends. This adds to the complaints about fayetteville. We have 3 colleges in the city and many of those students are looking for things to do, so they do complain a bunch as well. I enjoy being in a city full of soldiers, brave people, interesting minorities from all over the world, thai, french, cuba, mexican, chinese, japanese and korean restaurants. The international day is fun. the second part is do you travel outside your city? north carolina has beaches and mountains, ski resorts, 300 plus waterfalls, and huge colleges in raleigh about 45 minutes away. The key to fayetteville is getting out and getting invested in the city. Boring people make a place boring, so become interesting and enjoy the city. check out this article i think it does a great job https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-things-fayetteville-nc/

**Is Fayetteville NC the worst place to live in America?**

Having lived in NYC about half of my life, far east of the city on Long Island for most of the rest of it, and Fayetteville for half a decade, I can’t see anything here that’s worse than anywhere else in the US. Do we have loads of strip clubs? Sure, but didn’t it take decades for NYC to clean up the sex-in-the-street trade? Parts of Long Island are even worse.

About the only thing Fayetteville has that most other cities don’t is the US Army. But that doesn’t change anything - some cities that have never seen a soldier are worse. And who cares if a customer in Walmart is wearing fatigues?

Try northern New York, where you can’t get out the 2nd floor windows sometimes, because the snow reaches the top of the window. Or some places in the interior northwest, where it reaches -20°F or lower during the winter. Or Detroit, with a violent crime rate of almost 2,000/100,000 population (the highest in the US - 2%).

There are many places worse, in some way, than Fayetteville. It’s not perfect, but it’s far from worst.

**Is Fayetteville NC the worst place to live in America?**

Ok ok enough on everone beating on Fayetteville come now if some of y'all yeah i said y'all lol but anyway get off your phones and on your feet Fayetteville has been my home all of my life and i love it here but if your wondering what is so great about Fayetteville? Frist of u you should put your right hand over your heart and salute the flag the next time you see one ok Fayetteville NC is home to Fort Bragg and Special Operations. the biggest army base in the US think about it how many soldiers you think we're trained here to protect our asses? Go to the Special operations Museum (downtown) it will bring tears to your eyes to see how many hometown men and women died protecting us there home town. Well if that aint enough theres allways the museum's and believe me theres a alot of them aound do some research there not hard to find.oh yeah. Lets not forget about the parks!! The Bicentennial Gardens located right out of the downtown area one of the most beautiful places in the spring time and lets not forget about Arnette Park beautiful park also with lots of places to cookout private gazebos for you and other or maybe just the family it really nice trust me my kids love it. enough about that everybody allways talking about the Asian food around here but if your looking for some good food remember we are in the south and theres is some good soul food around for instance kinlaw's Strickland's Buddy's BBQ lots of places not to Mention the barbecue Hut .

Some of y'all probably remember Vicks it was one of my favorite places to eat too good soul food but anyways the night life is excellent weather your into country or rap it really doesn't matter form the Big apple or the Cadillac Ranch or something eles you'll find something that fits you somewhere in between the two. I could go on an on about my town but please before you bash my town think about one thing your freedom how many men and woman didnt didnt home to Fayetteville NC or the ones that where trained here like my grandfather sergeant major Donald Sova all the men and women that were either from here or train here and that alone should be enough and i would like to thank each and ever one of them for there service and lets lets not forget about all the little mom and pops businesses out there like Danny odom and son roofing or DEI, or grays creek bar grill Capefear well and pump, kinlaw's thats just a drop in bucket folks they also been keeping this town up in going thank you for helping us keep food on the table and the lights on yeah we might be called Fayettnam a hole in the wall town but you best believe we stand United as one under god and Liberty just like we all should. Like motel 6 use to we'll keepna light on for you.Now folks thats southern hospitality!!!

Fayetteville, North Carolina

The Ville

Looklyloo Score: 63

We're on it!