CityView Magazine

FEATURE We Came, We Saw, We Life Magazine recently listed Fayetteville in its "100 Best Places to Raise a Family" list. Fayetteville was named an All-Amer- ican City in 1986, 2001 and 2011 and also last year The Daily Beast named Fayetteville the number one city for recent college graduates. Why all these loſty honors? Well, if you're already here then you probably already know F why, but just in case, here's a short list of some of Fayetteville's top strengths: cultural arts, affordability, a thriving economy, access to major highways, climate, hospitality, modern con- veniences and services, historical landmarks, a patriotic feel, the rumbles from Fort Bragg, racial diversity, reminders of the Civil War and all the wars our nation has fought, active civic and business clubs, international cuisine, well-known restau- rant chains and mom and pop shops, two minor league sports franchises, parks and recreational facilities, family values and venues, active night life, great educational institutions and nu- merous shopping options. Sounds a lot like a big city, right? Not quite. The population of Fayetteville is 200,564, the sixth largest in the state. Toss in the metropolitan area and the population swells to 366,363. With all of those amenties available in a place that still boasts small town charm, it's easy to wonder, what's not to love about this big/little city? All the reasons why more and more people are calling Fayetteville home BY MICHAEL JAENICKE or many years Fayetteville residents oſten found ourselves trying to convince others that our city was a great place to live. Now, it seems, the rest of the country is catching on. Best There's really no place like Fayetteville," said longtime WKML morning radio personality Don Chase. "It's has every- thing you need and marches to its own beat." But let's talk money first. Making Dollars, Making Sense Fayetteville's cost of living is 6 percent lower the U.S. aver- age. Its unemployment rate of 6.7 percent is below the national average of 9.1 percent. Fayetteville has a cost of living index of 90.2. The nationwide index is 100 percent. Housing is also af- fordable. Last year the price for one square foot of residential real estate in the city was $75, with a sale price of $119,000. Health care in the metropolitan area is 2.2 percent less than the nationwide average and utilities are 1.5 percent less. Residents even save on the "little stuff," such as groceries, which are 1.4 percent less than the U.S. average. Large employers include Goodyear/Kelly Springfield Tire Co., which employs about 3,500; Purolator, which produces automotive filters; Wal-Mart, which has a distribution center, a super center and two other retail merchandise stores in the county; and Miller Motte College. And that's without even mentioning Fort Bragg, which is by far the area's largest employer and which pumps about $3.5 billion a year into the region's economy, making ours one of the best retail markets in the country. Traffic & Weather — Or Not As anyone who works in real estate will tell you, location is CityViewNC.com | 59 STAYED

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