There are positive and negative things to be said about living in any country, state, city, or town in the world. It can be difficult to decide where to live, and it takes time to understand what things are the most important to you and what bad things you can tolerate without being miserable.
Generally, it is rather simple to find good things about a city. It is considerably more difficult, however, to find the negative aspects of living somewhere. This article will discuss reasons why moving to Fayetteville, North Carolina may not be the best decision for you.
1. Military Town
Fort Bragg is an army base located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The city relies heavily on the base, and more than half of the city’s residents are in the army. Overall, Fayetteville consists almost entirely of military personnel, and those who are not in the military practically worship soldiers.
Long story short, anyone who is not a soldier will be an outsider. This is a military town through and through, and because the town relies so heavily on the military base, that will not be changing any time soon. If this doesn’t bother you, Fayetteville is the perfect place for you and your family to live.
2. “Fayettenam”
This happens to be an old nickname for the town that is actually still used today by some locals. It originated from protestors back in the 1960s who opposed the shipping of US troops to Vietnam from Fort Bragg. In their opposition, the nickname “Fayettenam” became a popular way to refer to the city.
3. Lots of Golfing
There are a total of 5 golf courses in the city
, all of which were made by famous designers. Another 7 golf courses are located within only 20 miles of the city. The longest course is Anderson Creek club, with a total of 7,180 yards! Fort Bragg Stryker Golf Course is the oldest in the area and is also considered to be the best golf course in the city! With the availability of so many golf courses, you can imagine how many golf lovers are drawn to the city.
In fact, there will be plenty of golfers filling restaurants around the city, especially when the weather is good. So, even if you aren’t a golfer yourself, the sport’s influence will most definitely reach you when living in Fayetteville.
4. Brutal Summer
When in Fayetteville during the summer, be prepared to sweat. The high/low temperatures in the summer months are incredibly high. During the summer, the temperature ranges from 66 degrees Fahrenheit to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. When combined with the humidity levels found in the area, this type of heat can be brutal when outdoors, especially during the middle of the day.
Over the course of the entire year, the temperature typically varies from 35 degrees Fahrenheit to 91 degrees Fahrenheit and rarely leaves the range of 22-97 degrees.
5. Bad Traffic
Despite being a rather small town, Fayetteville somehow manages to have traffic anyway. There is no large freeway or interstate to alleviate some of that congestion on the roads, so everyone is forced to drive more slowly than they would like. Locals complain about sitting in hot cars, completely unable to move. It can be incredibly difficult to get stuck in traffic, especially when trying to get to an event by a specific time or you are running late for work. This is something to keep in mind when looking to move to Fayetteville.
6. Small Job Market
Because nearly the entire town is reliant on and based around the military base, the majority of employment options are as military personnel. Other job availabilities in the city are limited almost entirely to retail. There is an incredible lack of job opportunities for educated individuals, especially those with college degrees. This is normally a positive factor while job hunting, but that is not the case in Fayetteville.
Several people have commented that they moved to Fayetteville with a doctorate or other forms of advanced education and were unable to find a good-paying job, so they were forced to leave the city and move elsewhere! If you do not have a good-paying job secured in the city before moving and you are not a military official, it is not recommended that you make the move to Fayetteville. You will likely have to lower your standards in order to get a job or be forced to move elsewhere.
7. War Sounds
As a military town, Fayetteville has Fort Braggs located very nearby. For those who do not know what this is like, let me enlighten you. There will be so many loud noises at all hours that will make it hard for you to sleep. This may include, but is not limited to, noise from jets flying overhead, landing, or taking off, missiles being launched or exploding, and even artillery fire during drills, practices, and in shooting ranges!
Aside from the obvious annoyances that these noises bring to adults, they can really impact children, babies, and animals. If you thought your dog had a rough time on the 4th of July, you will be surprised at how miserable they will regularly be. The 4th of July will be a piece of cake compared to these war sounds echoing all day in its ears, and there will be no relief to be found. Babies are likely to wake up to these noises, and small children will be scared to death and need help to calm down.
Peace and quiet are definitely absent in this city, and those searching for it should stay far away from Fayetteville, North Carolina.
8. High Crime Rates
Fayetteville is recorded to only be safer than a mere 6% of US cities, which is truly concerning, especially when you consider how close the army base is, as you would think the army base would make the city safer than others in the area. That means that the city is more dangerous than the remaining 94% of US cities! In the entire state of North Carolina, you have a 1 in 235 chance of being the victim of a violent crime, but residents of Fayetteville have a 1 in 100 chance of being the victim of a violent crime.
Cumberland County’s crime rates have been dropping recently, but the county’s overall crime rates are still 150% higher than the average crime rate in the rest of North Carolina! In 2020, the county had an overall crime rate of 4,2000 per 100,000 people. This is alarmingly high for any area. If you want to be safe while walking on the street, don’t move to Fayetteville.
9. Small Town
Fayetteville is in an awkward place in terms of size. It is not large enough to host the array of lights, nightlife, social opportunities, and entertainment options found in more populated areas. Unfortunately, the city is also a bit too large to have the cozy small-town type feel that many other people prefer. It evades the benefits of both sides and sits as a medium and boring city.
10. Bad Reputation
When speaking to anyone who lives in cities or areas nearby Fayetteville, opinions show strength in unity for what they lack in kindness or good favor. In fact, most of the residents don’t have any favorable things to say about Fayetteville. Many feel that it is too small, the people are rude, there are too many bars and strip clubs, and there isn’t enough entertainment.
In conclusion, you will deal with harsh outside judgment for choosing to live in Fayetteville when speaking to outsiders. This may not bother some people, but it is definitely something that should be considered when deciding whether to move to the city or not.
11. Nothing to Do
Many Fayetteville residents complain that there is nothing to do in the city. Aside from a large array of restaurant options and the plethora of golf courses, this is rather true. There are several bars and strip clubs, but there isn’t much else to do. Clearly, the area is not exactly catered toward families or kids, which means that if you have kids and don’t want to be surrounded by bars and strip clubs, you shouldn’t move to this city.
12. Wildfires
Fayetteville is at a high risk of forest fires and the damage these disasters can cause. In fact, there were 8 wildfires that burned through approximately 68.3 acres of both state and private lands on July 28th of 2022. In March of 2022, a wildfire grew to 900 acres over the course of more than 4 days, despite firefighters’ consistent efforts to slow and eliminate the threat. Smoke filled the city and the air in surrounding areas as well. If you don’t want to deal with smoke in the air because of nearby wildfires, don’t move to Fayetteville.
13. Flooding
Partially because Fayetteville is near the Cape Fear River, it is prone to flooding. If you don’t want to have to get really good flood insurance or don’t want to potentially deal with cleaning up and removing water damage in your home, you shouldn’t move to Fayetteville, North Carolina.
14. Tornadoes
The risk of tornado damage in Fayetteville, North Carolina is alarmingly high. In fact, the area has a higher risk than the state average for all of North Carolina and higher than the risk of the United States average. The city of Fayetteville, in general, is considered and declared to be a high-risk area for tornadoes. On average, 2 people die every year in Fayetteville because of tornadoes.
Schools will prepare children for a tornado emergency, and residents should have a storm cellar or another underground location to use in the case of a tornado occurrence. However, if you don’t want to periodically seek shelter in your storm shelter or basement so you don’t get hurt because of a tornado, you shouldn’t move to Fayetteville, North Carolina.
15. Bugs
There are so many bugs that are found in North Carolina, and many of them cause issues for houses and property regularly. Some of the most commonly seen bugs in the state include many types of ants, cockroaches, wood ticks, Asian beetles, box elder bugs, mosquitos, and termites. These bugs are present year-round. In fact, they will be especially persistent in their efforts to enter your home during winter months, when they seek shelter and warmth from the cooling temperatures outside.
If you don’t want to have to deal with lots of bugs regularly, you shouldn’t move to Fayetteville.
16. Humidity
For anyone not accustomed to humid areas, Fayetteville will most likely come as a shock. The moisture sits thickly in the air and makes hot days seem far hotter. Throughout the year, the lowest average humidity is around 71% and goes up to 75% when calculated by month.
Humidity impacts many aspects of everyday life and makes you feel wet and sweaty every time you walk outside. For one thing, humidity makes mold grow more quickly, so you will need to wipe off surfaces more often and keep food properly stored to avoid throwing it away because it has mold on it. This also impacts the way that food is cooked or baked, and recipes created in dry areas will most likely require adjustments in order to be made correctly.
17. Confederate Flags
For anyone who isn’t from the south, seeing a Confederate flag will most likely strike you as odd. There will most definitely be confederate flags waving in Fayetteville, North Carolina if you move there. For some people in the south, the flag is a reminder and a sign of respect for the history of their state.
Others, however, may still believe that the north was out of line when they invaded the southern states and changed their way of life. If this is something that will leave you feeling unsettled, Fayetteville is not the place for you.
Overall, many residents currently don’t like living in Fayetteville, North Carolina, so you likely won’t enjoy living there if you choose to move to the city.
