Sanford area questions (relocation) (Raleigh, Durham: low income, transplants, rentals)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello! We are looking to potentially buy in the Sanford area but find a lot of conflicting reports online related to 1. Drugs 2. Crime 3. School Quality 4. Vibe
1. Is this a high drug/crime area and if so, where are those places located within the town? I want to avoid these area like the plague (coming from Asheville area - where this issue has gotten out of control).
2. Schools look like they perform very low and that the income levels of the families in the school are mostly low income. Nothing wrong with that per se, but we've found in previous city that it comes with a whole host of other issues that impact education. How are the schools in the area? Are they getting better?
3. Vibe - we love a small town vibe with little coffeeshops and just quaint vibes. How is this going in the Sanford area.
Any advice on areas to AVOID in this town would be appreciated. We have been literally traumatized by our experience in the last few years in Asheville.
I unfortunately can't post any links to "competing sites", but if you Google "sanford,nc crime rate", you will get several sites with statistics and crime maps.
It's so sad that such a nice place like Asheville is being affected so negatively by crime - so much that people are looking to leave.
I unfortunately can't post any links to "competing sites", but if you Google "sanford,nc crime rate", you will get several sites with statistics and crime maps.
It's so sad that such a nice place like Asheville is being affected so negatively by crime - so much that people are looking to leave.
Asheville has the same problems a lot of touristy mountain towns have. The economy is seasonal and driven by low-wage tourism and hospitality jobs. Wealthy retirees, summer homes, and Airbnb's have made housing unaffordable for long time locals. It is also a magnet for homeless people given the never-ending supply of gullible tourists. Asheville PD at one point stopped responding to a broad spectrum of emergency calls due to lack of officers.
Sanford doesn't have much going on in downtown for sizeable town so even if it is dangerous, you won't be going there for much. There are some violent crime problems there but I'm not sure what drives it. Perhaps gang violence?
Asheville has the same problems a lot of touristy mountain towns have. The economy is seasonal and driven by low-wage tourism and hospitality jobs. Wealthy retirees, summer homes, and Airbnb's have made housing unaffordable for long time locals. It is also a magnet for homeless people given the never-ending supply of gullible tourists. Asheville PD at one point stopped responding to a broad spectrum of emergency calls due to lack of officers.
Curious to see if the OP agrees with that statement. Looking at other NC mountain tourist towns (using Boone as an example), I don't see the same levels of crime, but I admittedly don't know a ton about any other those towns other than visiting.
I do know that crime in Asheville has increased considerably over the past few years. It actually has made national news:
OP, look a bit to the north in Pittsboro. It much more closely matches your criteria for schools, safety, demographics and a quaint downtown. https://pittsboronc.gov/261/About-Pittsboro
Tourists and mountains don't drive homelessness and crime, else these towns would have ALWAYS been bad places to live and do business. Same with the big cities that are experiencing these things. They all have one thing in common. Every last one.
Can't speak to Sanford, but it doesn't sound like you, OP, want to wait around for things to get better so maybe cast a wider net if it's not currently what you're looking for.
Sanford doesn't have much going on in downtown for sizeable town so even if it is dangerous, you won't be going there for much. There are some violent crime problems there but I'm not sure what drives it. Perhaps gang violence?
I lived in Sanford from around 1997 to 2011, and I'm an avid cyclist, beer drinker, music lover and mountain lover, so Asheville is one of my favorite destinations for all those reasons.
Sanford is NOTHING like Asheville. It may be the antithesis of it.
On the good side, I think that it is "up and coming". While it doesn't have "much" going for it downtown, it has been getting more and more. There are a few good restaurants (Pizza place in the old Post office, and a few others I can't recall the name), a cool coffee place, and several old-time places that still honor the history of small town NC. (Yarboroughs Ice Cream, Fairview Dairy Bar to name a few)
It is a growing suburb (ish) of the Raleigh Durham area, and with improved highways I think it will only improve in every way. They are getting more and more stores, amenities and better roads.
On the downside, there is still a very small-town vibe. Some of the biggest employers have either pulled out, shut down, or downsized. Farming in the area is on the decline, and what is left is trending more toward consolidation (meaning the family farm is going away, and the people that ran them don't have work anymore). Drug problems are pretty bad, but also are kept to the affected neighborhoods. I can't tell you which ones are safe and which are not, a good realtor probably can direct you, even though they have to be careful what they are allowed to say. I would say DO NOT buy a place without visiting the neighborhood in day or night. Pay attention to the upkeep, and who is walking around.
Sanford has some nice parks, and if you love Mexican food, it has GREAT restaurants and grocers to support that. It is close enough to Raleigh to avail yourself of the benefits (Shopping, dining, entertainment, airports, etc.) and far enough to avoid most of the traffic.
1. Is this a high drug/crime area and if so, where are those places located within the town? I want to avoid these area like the plague (coming from Asheville area - where this issue has gotten out of control).
Any advice on areas to AVOID in this town would be appreciated. We have been literally traumatized by our experience in the last few years in Asheville.
I answered in the post above, but I am not aware of a huge crime problem in Asheville. Every time I go, it's a great hippy vibe, and the biggest crime I see is someone smoking weed in public. Not a crime IMO. Maybe I'm missing it, but to that point, I feel a LOT safer in the few parts of Asheville that I've seen, compared to almost anywhere in Sanford.
As for places to avoid, I answered that too, but just be SURE to see the place you choose in day and night, and if your budget is enough to get a nicer area, that will take care of a lot of it (sadly).
A good exercise if you want to see what Sanford is all about, just spend a couple hours in their Walmart. Start observing from the Parking lot, to the store, to the cleanliness and management, to the clientelle, and so-forth.
Again, Sanford is growing on me, and I think it will steadily improve (not get worse), but Walmart is a pretty good indicator, and all I can say is "Sanford ain't no Asheville".
You might also look to some of the surrounding rural areas.
Also, just about any part of Sanford is going to be infinitely more conservative than Asheville. Weather that is good or bad probably comes down to personal preference.
What put Sanford on your maybe relocate place? Is it a job, family/friends in the area, housing prices, etc?
I've been in the downtown Sanford area and it has a lot of murals and some cute shops. Is that enough of a vibe? I'd look at parks-and-rec programs and availability, library services and things like that for the vibe over a coffee shop.
Curious to see if the OP agrees with that statement. Looking at other NC mountain tourist towns (using Boone as an example), I don't see the same levels of crime, but I admittedly don't know a ton about any other those towns other than visiting.
I do know that crime in Asheville has increased considerably over the past few years. It actually has made national news:
Homelessness is a big problem in Asheville. People camping out/living in the woods for the maximum allowable time before moving onto another campground and then commuting into the city to panhandle. Some people do manage to hold down stable employment, but it is difficult. I saw a lot of the same things travelling through Colorado, but they've long been dealing with this problem. Ski towns have it worse.
The problem is when housing becomes unaffordable or unavailable due to large changes in the market. I mentioned this previously but its very difficult to find affordable rentals in Asheville, and its become a problem throughout our many of our small mountain towns. All of the growth we are seeing here, and all along the I-85 corridor, is putting immense strain on these communities. Affordable rentals have been turned into Airbnb's. All those transplants in the Piedmont need somewhere to go on the weekends after all! The housing stock for locals - the people who work, live, and raise a family - is almost non-existent. Most of what is developed is targeted towards wealthy retirees or mountain rental cabins.
g
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
