Looking at job at Ft. Bragg
- Thread starter pcnorton
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I live about 1.5 hours drive from Ft Bragg. I can offer some general info. The weather in NC can be pretty unpredictable sometimes. For the most part winters here are mild. Don't be surprized if the temp in the winter is 65 one day and 3" of snow the next. But in reality that part of NC dosen't get snow as much as the central part does( that's where I am). The old joke around here is that it only snows on one side of the major hwys( meaning I-40, I-85 and I-95). Summers are usually mild, but we do get a few very hot days every summer. Hummity is usually high which makes it feel hotter than it actually is. That part of the state is called the "sandhills". That's because of the sandy soil there, which seems to make it warmer.
The PROs about that part of the state:
*close the beach
*plenty of things to do there( bars, restaurants, shopping, lots of pawn shops)
*Guns shops are everwhere and some have in-door shooting ranges, Jim's Pawn shop has my fav in-door range.
*Less snow fall than the rest of the state.
The CONS:
*High crime rate
*traffic
*slightly warmer winters than the rest of the state.
If I remember correctly there are a few BF members that live in that area. They may be able to offer more. I'd be happy to answer any other question if I can.
The PROs about that part of the state:
*close the beach
*plenty of things to do there( bars, restaurants, shopping, lots of pawn shops)
*Guns shops are everwhere and some have in-door shooting ranges, Jim's Pawn shop has my fav in-door range.
*Less snow fall than the rest of the state.
The CONS:
*High crime rate
*traffic
*slightly warmer winters than the rest of the state.
If I remember correctly there are a few BF members that live in that area. They may be able to offer more. I'd be happy to answer any other question if I can.
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- Nov 19, 1999
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- 251
pcnorton said:
Paul,
Just came off a tour there. Mixed feelings...love Fort Bragg and the mission, but Fayetteville/Fort Bragg is "in the center of it all", not near anything
That said, my wife (as a school teacher in Cumberland County) and I did three years there and we are no worse for wear. Geography: Sandhills are what the area is called...probably my biggest complaint (I just like mountains) because the area is very gently rolling/flat. More on things to do/get away in a sec.
Post: Bragg of course is "rather" large. Good post with pretty darn good facilities--you may or may not know much about it...recommend DOD's SITES (comes up in google if not familiar) website for that side of general info. Pretty good medical facilities (new Womack, etc)...I expect you can get a better skinny on that side via your professional contacts than what I could give you from my non-medical perspective
Will not belabor the point further.Fayetteville (formerly known as "Fayettenam" et al): Place is continuing to get better all the time. Downtown is cleaned up and is trying to be revitalized (shops still have a hard go at it down there)...Airborne & Special Ops museum, Cape Fear Theater (live productions--done rather well), the Highlander...great little pub (kinda feels like a Scottish or English pub) next to the Theater, Hilltop House (restaurant--love the Sunday brunch), Husk Hardware House (nice microbrewery/restaurant) and the main branch of the Cumberland County Library--call me a nerd if you want
. Skibo (Mall/Bestbuy/Circuit City/Wal-Mart/restaurants), MacPherson Church (Barnes and Noble--your reprieve /Restaurants) and Sycamore Dairy Road (Mash House--another nice microbrew/restaurant and the majority of the new "chain" sit-down restaurants are found in this vicinity) areas have some rather nice commericial areas starting to populate. For living off-post (don't know what your plan is), there are some rather nice areas along the Methodist College on Hwy 401), along Raeford Road area (one of the next boom areas--just built a new Wal-Mart SuperCenter out there) and Hwy 186? coming out of North Fort Bragg towards Sanford. Rough side is Bragg Blvd and the Murch (HWY 210) at night. Never went to the bars down there, so honestly didn't see much of it. I must say that there are more economically depressed areas (Springlake, areas of Fayetteville) than there are nice areas, but you CAN make do just fine At least the area is getting better instead of worse.Weather as stated: rather mild--post closes down one to three days a year (people up north wouldn't blink at the same weather, but the Highway Dept just isn't equipped the same as a "snow area").
To get away (we did alot of road trips):
Pinehurst (western side of Fort Bragg--cantonment area is on the east side). I don't like golf. That said, Pinehurst is nice area for daytrips and getting away. If you like golf...your quality of life just improved significantly. Worldclass golfing area/community over there.
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill (UNC gives the place a great college feel/shopping area). Hour to an hour and a half depending on where you are going. We spent alot of time going to Raleigh on the weekends...just to see something besides Fayetteville (you'll see what I mean).
Wilmington (hour and half to two hours depending on what side of Fayetteville your driving from) to the southeast. Nice downtown, some beach plus your getting very close to Myrtle Beach if you feel the need for tourism.
The mountains in the west (don't let anyone kid you...four to six hours depending on where your going). Asheville, Boone, Blowing Rock (and alot of others that I did not see) have great hiking/communities.
North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro (not the same as Asheville--the boro is much closer)...may or may not be into animals, but that is ONE COOL PARK. Highly recommend at least seeing it once--if you feel I wasted your time, have at me
Okay, must step away from the computer--hopefully that should get you started.
Glenmore
p.s. buy a map of Fayetteville...there isn't a straight road/master plan for the place. Betweeen my last sentence and road names changing (without changing roads) every couple of miles, it is hard to get around initially.
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Thanks a bunch this is helping. Now I'll probably rent and want to do this in a fairly decent neighborhood. Are there no go areas?
Any local bulletin boards to check in on? I found one but it wasn't all that great.
As for a map, well my Mini has an excellent Nav system. Which reminds me, High crime? what excactl? and WHere?
Paul
Any local bulletin boards to check in on? I found one but it wasn't all that great.
As for a map, well my Mini has an excellent Nav system. Which reminds me, High crime? what excactl? and WHere?
Paul
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- Jul 11, 2004
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- 1,830
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Native of Wilmington.N.C.
You got excellent information. When I was in service '51-'53 it was lovingly called FATALburg. In those days the jail was on LIBERTY street.Guess things changed in over 1/2 a century.
Been there, done that but was very lucky !
Uncle Alan
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Native of Wilmington.N.C.
You got excellent information. When I was in service '51-'53 it was lovingly called FATALburg. In those days the jail was on LIBERTY street.Guess things changed in over 1/2 a century.
Been there, done that but was very lucky !
Uncle Alan
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- Nov 19, 1999
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- 251
pcnorton said:
As far as no go areas...yes. Enough that I'll just say that you'll know them (visually)...no one specific side of Fayetteville is "the wrong side of the tracks"...sounds bleak doesn't it (probably not as bad as it sounds). Look at the places I mentioned above first (should find some neighborhoods that meet your criteria for a house). For apartments, look at Morganton Road (between Skibo and Reilly Rds) and Cliffdale (between the same two roads)...they have some new ones that are nice (gated/workout clubs, etc). Water's Edge (off Cliffdale Road) is midlevel community, but the homes are getting old...developed in the 70s/80s. Take a drive out Cliffdale (beyond Reilly Rd) and you'll start hitting the developments sprouting off Raeford Road.
I'm no help on the BBs (don't know of any because I never looked).
Your car should be fine (you even have a local BMW dealer to service it). If you live in the "slums", you'll have something to worry about... I have a G35 and never worried about it more than someone dinging it (didn't leave the keys in the car while it was running of course
Only "messed up" (concerning theft) story that I have in three years there was a friend had his Fatboy stolen from the local mall in broad daylight. Whomever the guy was, he was good (it was caught on the parking lot cameras). Got through a kryptonite lock (I've heard they aren't all that, anyway) and the ignition system in less than a minute. That is the ONLY one on my end though. Alot of fellow nice cars around anyway (between the Germany guys and gals bringing back the BMWs) and the local dealerships selling to the military (vast percentage of the Ville's disposable income).Your nav system should get a good workout in the first couple days...road design really is that messed up (something to do with Fayetteville actually NOT being allowed to annex communities/subdivisions until the 70s). Made for some GREAT planning.
One more thing on the crime. You should have access to the Post Housing office...they did have (3 and a half years ago at least) a local map with pins of reported crime in the last year (via the Fayetteville P.D.). Not knowing the local area, we started looking in areas without the red pins
However, the areas I mentioned in this and the last post will also put you in good stead.Glenmore
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pcnorton, Icarian has all the current info. I don't know where your from, or where you are now, but I loved Ft. Bragg. It's hard to believe it'll be 5 years since I've been there. There are plenty of decent neighborhoods to look at. You will definitely know which ones to stay away from. If you'd moved about 6 months ago, I would have advised you to check out my uncles house. It was on the market back in the summer, he passed away as a result of medical malpractice (beware of Cape Fear Medical Center) and my aunt just couldnt live there anymore after about 4 years, so she put it up for sale. I would have bought it myself, since i heard it was going for around 160k. (I live in California, 160k won't buy squat here). Anyways good luck.
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I'm planning on going down for a year, so I cannot buy. I will be looking to rent a small place. AQs for worrying about medical, I think I will be getting my care on base. I could be mistaken. It would be funny though as I am a Physician Assistant going to work in Troop Medical Clinic.
Paul
Paul