From NY to Fayetteville....please help! (Charlotte, Raleigh: real estate, apartment, rent)

[erycalin]

Hi all!

I am moving to Fayetteville in 2 weeks from a hippie college town about an hour north of nyc. I have a very close friend who has lived there for a while, and she just happens to need a roomate. She lives on Hay st downtown... I have recently been having a rough time. I was in the mortgage business and we all know what happened there, currently and for the past 6 months I have been selling insurance. I do not like it at all. I will be moving really to clear my head and just LIVE for a while. I was planning on just getting a waitress/bartender job to pay the bills (which are much lower than they are here) and seeing where it takes me. I already gave up my apartment and my job....after reading all the posts on here about Fayetteville I'm starting to get nervous that I may have made the wrong choice....Can somebody tell me anything good about the area..pleeease!!!..lol

[LRoyal10900]

Don't let these naysayers scare you off. I've lived here my entire life and wouldn't live anywhere else in NC (and yes, I've left town limits before ). Downtown Hay Street has been totally revitalized, with new restaurants/pubs, boutiques, and coffee shops. It's quite nice down there now. As well as the Airborne & Special Ops Museum, and the Museum of the Cape Fear. And there's Festival Park where they have concerts and festivals.

And living in a military town--there's plenty of drinkers!

Traffic in town is crazy--after Thanksgiving, I try not to venture near the mall.

Now, we're not a "hippie college town", although we do have 2 universities and a community college. But there's still plenty of "culture" and things to do if you just bother to look for it.

Crime---just like anywhere else.

Fayetteville is NOT a bad place to live---there ARE places worse!

[stayathomehero]

Fayetteville is um..fayetteville. haha. My hubby was military so thats why we were there. We were there for 3 years. I miss it. There are a lot of resturants in the area. There are good and bad areas..just like anywhere else! STAY AWAY FROM MURCHISON! It's definately one road in Fayetteville you will want to avoid living and driving! We lived on Ramsey and that was okay, we lived on Cliffdale and that was okay. The mall is nice and it is only less than 2 hours to Raleigh if you want more "big city" life. Fayetteville is not what your used to thats for sure! Its not NY! There is a $3 theater on the other side of town if your bored. Hay st. has a few nice restuarants. I love Huske Hardware house (name could be a little off..sorry). They have a website. They have great food at good prices. They also have their own brewery. So if your looking for a job that might be a good place to try. They have only adults after 10. There are some coffee places, chocolate shop (awesome by the way) and some other cool stores on Hay street. I have walked there at night and felt safe! Hopefully my response helps in some way! Feel free to message me with any other questions you might have!

[LRoyal10900]

The chocolate shop has closed and moved to Stedman, but there is an awesome bakery on Hay Street now.

Originally Posted by stayathomehero

Fayetteville is um..fayetteville. haha. My hubby was military so thats why we were there. We were there for 3 years. I miss it. There are a lot of resturants in the area. There are good and bad areas..just like anywhere else! STAY AWAY FROM MURCHISON! It's definately one road in Fayetteville you will want to avoid living and driving! We lived on Ramsey and that was okay, we lived on Cliffdale and that was okay. The mall is nice and it is only less than 2 hours to Raleigh if you want more "big city" life. Fayetteville is not what your used to thats for sure! Its not NY! There is a $3 theater on the other side of town if your bored. Hay st. has a few nice restuarants. I love Huske Hardware house (name could be a little off..sorry). They have a website. They have great food at good prices. They also have their own brewery. So if your looking for a job that might be a good place to try. They have only adults after 10. There are some coffee places, chocolate shop (awesome by the way) and some other cool stores on Hay street. I have walked there at night and felt safe! Hopefully my response helps in some way! Feel free to message me with any other questions you might have!

[ladybug07]

I like it here. Anywhere you go to its going to be what you make of it.
The downtown area is nice too. They are really building it up. Your about an hour- 1 1/2 hours to Wilmington Beach. About 4 hours from Asheville, 5-6 hours from DC. Honestly out of all the places we could be stationed at with the military, I am glad we are here.

[thomaswharmanjr26]

Don't worry... I was feeling the same way when I moved to North Carolina from Virginia Tech 2 months ago and now I really love it here. There are plenty of things to do, I live in Rocky Mount which isn't that far from where your moving to but houses are cheap here for one thing. To give you better help, are you married? Do you have any children. ("Just asking b/c I am married with 1 little girl and depending on your situation will depend on my advice. I used to give advice to people for a column in Blacksburg, 1 mile from Virginia Tech.

Anyways, if you would like to email me at thomaswharmanjr28@yahoo.com then I can give you better answers. I wish someone would have helped me out with information like I'm offering to help you. Enough about that though, the area I'm in I was told after signing with my company is number one in the state for crime, two is terrible everywhere within 50 mile radius for schools, and C the entire area is poor.

Well I haven't seen much crime but if you don't go looking for it, then you'll be fine. Your from NY, so you've probably seen more than what the entire state has to offer. Also, there are great schools for children of all ages, you just have to look for them. The third part is someone correct for my area b/c of the lack of technology but Rocky Mount has so much to offer and is a great little city so I'm sure Fayetville is one as well.. I don't think I spelled it correctly but you get my point I hope.

Again, please email me and I can help as much as I know how if you need it....

Sincerely,

Ace of the Deck,

[carolinakrez]

Fayetteville is a military town made up of two main classes of people and two small classes that influence city living. Two main groups of people are the working class and military personell stationed for a short term of living. These groups are seen abundantly travelling about, but most have closed their door to community life nearest to the heart of downtown Fayetteville. The military has put more restriction on traveling since 9-11 and now has a locked down base where civilians seemed unwelcomed. Family and friends consist of natives born in this city as military wives and ex-military coexist in the single crowd. The other two small classes consist of those in poverty raised in harsh areas of Fayetteville where police has had internal problems for years. Another class is the wealthiest of Fayetteville who have battle for real estate property, commercial businesses, and controlled development of specific regions. People from outskirts of the city give life to many simple entertainment events and locations. The city host a dogwood festival, october fest carnival, concerts at collesium, and has been known for violence in night clubs. Your comfort in living is determined where you live, what you do for fun, and if you depend on social interaction for pleasure. Travelling is the best option while living here as the city is 30 minutes to hour to real inner city life. Its 2hrs and some from beach and 45 min from south carolina country side. Fayetteville has a community college in a nice secluded area and university (FSU)that resides on a rough part of the city. This city is a stopping point for many different types of people as it lies on interstate 95, in between NY and Florida. Hopefully, the newly reassigned troops of nearly 30,000 will raise the economy and mingle more with Fayetteville citizens. Personally, I came from Philadelphia and life here is slow and from my keen observation, I do not recomment as final resting community and may recoomend it for clearing ya mind. Rent is still higher than the average pay rate making it difficult to manage compared to other cities such as Greensboro, Raleigh, Charlotte, Wilmingtion, which may have better homes for your money when renting. Hope this gives you exactly what your looking for.

[aphorista]

It sounds like you are on your way to Fayetteville from New Paltz maybe? I have lived in both and can tell you that there is a huge difference between the two ie. military town versus college town. It is a fairly conservative area due to the military presence which is huge here and getting bigger. Most people are passing through due to the military or a contract job at Bragg, however, natives to the area are generally friendly. Real estate is not very expensive compared to NY but unfortunately, I see nice neighborhoods go down quickly if there is no active homeowners association. Many people rent out their homes here. I don't know if it is the times or what, but I have never lived in an area where I have heard about race as much as I did in Fayetteville. On the plus side for your situation is that there are many restaurants and clubs here so you would have your choice of jobs, I imagine. Good luck on your move.

[erycalin]

Thank you everybody for the advice! Aphorista that is really funny that you guessed that because yes I am moving from New Paltz!
I'm sure it will help alot that I have a friend there so I wont be going in totally blind. I'm being optimistic and am actually getting a little excited.
Ladybus it absolutley is what you make of it...I will just have to remember to keep that in mind!...lol
thanks all!!!