How is Sanford NC (Raleigh, Durham: buying a house, neighborhoods, buying) - Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary - North Carolina -The Triangle Area - City-Data Forum

redhawk87 · 12-31-2021, 07:52 PM

We are looking at a house in Sanford near Oldhams lake. We are from wake county, but do not know much about Sanford except for a few articles I have read about growth. We have driven around Sanford, but wanted to know about this area specifically. Is it a nice area? How are the schools? Is there much growth coming to that area? Looks like a lot of the new neighborhoods are northern sanford

builder24car · 12-31-2021, 08:34 PM

I've lived in Sanford my entire 61 plus years and it's fine by me.
I don't keep up with the schools, but I turned out ok from attending
them.

You are correct on the growth, it is beyond stupid how fast
it's growing. That's the only downside for me. Good luck wherever you call home.

goldenage1 · 12-31-2021, 09:57 PM

Houses near Oldhams Lake area appear to be on large lots, attractive and uncrowded. The Lee County schools range from good to below average. There are alternative schools like an Early College HS.

The businesses in downtown Sanford are getting more sophisticated.

The downside to living in Sanford whould be having to commute to the Triangle.

redhawk87 · 01-01-2022, 10:58 AM

Thanks for y’all’s insights. Goodenage1, do you live in Sanford? Is downtown growing and being revitalized? When driving around, I thought it looked a bit older, but tons of potential.

Archer705 · 01-01-2022, 02:19 PM

I've spent a pretty decent amount of time in Sanford over the last 5 or so years. It's definitely a fast growing city with quite a bit to offer for its size. It is a part of the Fayetteville CSA, so most of the growth in Lee County is likely along NC-87 in the southern end, which is an often congested highway that goes directly into downtown Fayetteville. I've actually considered buying a house in Lee County a few years back and commuting into Fayetteville (as I know of several that do), simply because it is (or was) incredibly cheaper than both Cumberland and Harnett Counties if you look in the right areas. There are a ton of nice neighborhoods around Sanford for great prices (at least 4 years ago that was true), and it's proximity to both Fayetteville and Raleigh-Durham makes it far from boring if you're willing to drive about 35-40 minutes.

There's some pretty promising looking developments along US-1 that I think will really shape Sanford.

As far as downtown goes, I've never thought of downtown Sanford as being anything special, although there is a really nice Homemade Ice Cream shop down there I enjoy going to that also sells burgers. There's also a really nice nature park with nice trails in the southern end of Sanford that I think runs along some sort of body of water.

goldenage1 · 01-01-2022, 05:12 PM

We visit relatives in Sanford frequently. The wine and beer bar called "Libations 139" is one of the more sophisticated options in the old downtown. They have a small plates with lobster rolls and other creative things. There are several more nightspots like it and a brewery.

builder24car · 01-02-2022, 07:20 PM

I commuted from Sanford to Raleigh (New Hope Road) for 11
years and it never bothered me. It was an easy 45 minute drive
in the morning. The afternoon was worse however. Now I'm working
in Fayetteville with the commute times almost equal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by goldenage1

The downside to living in Sanford would be having to commute to the Triangle.