Hope Mills is a small town in Cumberland County, it is completely surrounded by Fayetteville. I lived in Fayetteville, just outside of Hope Mills for 11 mos, just moved away 3 days ago. There was virtually no difference between living in Hope Mills and living in Fayetteville (except taxes). The few times I visited the Pinehurst/Aberdeen/Southern Pines area it appeared to be more upscale, with less to do (some small shops, strip malls, not tons to do, or restaurants, but they did have a Panera, a Harris Teeter--great grocery store--and a Fresh Market, another grocery store). That's not saying there's Tons to do in Fayetteville/Hope Mills either.
Why those two locations? Do you have job options there? Just curious, they really couldn't be much more different, and neither is probably what I'd choose if I were still in my 20s.
If you have any specific questions you can ask and I'll try to answer.
There were a couple of threads regarding these areas, check these out (mostly they mention Fayetteville, but, as I said, Hope Mills is surrounded by it, and was indistinguishable to me.)
//www.city-data.com/forum/north...lumberton.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/north...-mills-nc.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/north...ille-area.html