Sign outside a tea shop in Fayetteville, NC.
Like my own home town of Norwalk, CT, many smaller towns and cities in the east are trying to revive their historic downtown areas. This isn't an easy task, it links public and private money together to try to draw folks to their once flourishing downtowns (killed in the 1970's or so with malls, now being killed by Amazon).
I braved the frigid weather and took Choochi for a walk in Fayetteville NC's historic district. It was very charming. But like so many other towns, one peek down an intersecting road shows barren storefronts and disrepair.
Fayetteville has a ton of history and there are some pretty beautiful buildings and obviously young energy coming in.
Oooo...... Chakras! my favorite!
So I'm realizing that these shop folks, real estate renovators and preservationists are really the new homesteaders. They come to a place that is an economic wasteland and try to make something grow. It's a pretty big risk and can take decades of perseverance. One great success story I'm aware of is Hudson NY and now is quite the chic and posh world class travel destination it once was in the 1800's.
I needed to find a place to sleep, ended up here, and found Fayetteville. It's the way I love to travel. And I'm liking traveling alone quite a lot! Well, not totally alone, I got the pup. She's a great travel companion.
The "Market House" site where North Carolina ratified the US Constitution in 1789.
Cool downtown theatre.
Fun groovy coffee joints.
Next to not so cool and groovy side streets.
More beauty that is coming alive.
Fayetteville statistics.
With an estimated population in 2013 of 210,533 people,[7] the Fayetteville metropolitan area is the largest in southeastern North Carolina, and the fifth-largest in the state.
Fort Bragg is the backbone of the county's economy. Fort Bragg and Pope Field pump about $4.5 billion a year into the region's economy,[24] making Fayetteville one of the best retail markets in the country. Fayetteville serves as the region's hub for shops, restaurants, services, lodging, health care and entertainment. Fayetteville boasts a low unemployment rate with a large labor pool of trained professionals.
The racial composition of the city was 45.7% White, 41.9% Black or African American, 2.6% Asian American, 1.1% Native American, 0.4% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 3.3% some other race, and 4.9% two or more races. 10.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[19]
As of the census of 2010, there were 200,564 people. There were 78,274 households, out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were headed by married couples living together, 19.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45, and the average family size was 3.02.[19]
On September 5, 2008, Cumberland County announced it was the "World's First Sanctuary for Soldiers and Their Families"; it marked major roads with blue and white "Sanctuary" signage. Within the county, soldiers were to be provided with local services, ranging from free childcare to job placement for soldiers' spouses.[15]
Five hundred volunteers have signed up to watch over military families. They were recruited to offer one-to-one services; member businesses will also offer discounts and preferential treatments. Time magazine recognized Fayetteville for its support of military families and identified it as "America's Most Pro-Military Town".[16]
The city is built on the Cape Fear River, a 202-mile-long (325 km) river that originates in Haywood and empties into the Atlantic Ocean
Fayetteville is located in the humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) zone, with mostly moderate temperatures year round. Winters are mild, but can get cool with snow occurring a few days per year. Summers are hot with levels of humidity which can cause spontaneous thunderstorms and rain showers.
| [hide]Climate data for Fayetteville, North Carolina (1981–2010 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 81 (27) | 85 (29) | 97 (36) | 96 (36) | 102 (39) | 105 (41) | 107 (42) | 110 (43) | 106 (41) | 101 (38) | 88 (31) | 86 (30) | 110 (43) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 52.7 (11.5) | 56.4 (13.6) | 64.4 (18) | 73.5 (23.1) | 80.5 (26.9) | 87.4 (30.8) | 90.3 (32.4) | 88.2 (31.2) | 82.8 (28.2) | 73.7 (23.2) | 65.3 (18.5) | 55.6 (13.1) | 72.6 (22.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 41.6 (5.3) | 44.6 (7) | 51.7 (10.9) | 60.3 (15.7) | 68.5 (20.3) | 76.7 (24.8) | 80.3 (26.8) | 78.6 (25.9) | 72.5 (22.5) | 61.9 (16.6) | 52.9 (11.6) | 44.3 (6.8) | 61.2 (16.2) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 30.5 (−0.8) | 32.8 (0.4) | 39.0 (3.9) | 47.2 (8.4) | 56.6 (13.7) | 66.1 (18.9) | 70.4 (21.3) | 69.0 (20.6) | 62.2 (16.8) | 50.0 (10) | 40.5 (4.7) | 33.0 (0.6) | 49.8 (9.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −2 (−19) | −5 (−21) | 14 (−10) | 20 (−7) | 32 (0) | 40 (4) | 51 (11) | 46 (8) | 28 (−2) | 21 (−6) | 15 (−9) | 2 (−17) | −5 (−21) |
| Average precipitationinches (mm) | 3.64 (92.5) | 3.16 (80.3) | 3.83 (97.3) | 3.06 (77.7) | 3.32 (84.3) | 4.42 (112.3) | 5.37 (136.4) | 5.56 (141.2) | 4.13 (104.9) | 3.03 (77) | 2.94 (74.7) | 2.96 (75.2) | 45.42 (1,153.7) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.4 (1) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 0.2 (0.5) | 1.0 (2.5) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 10.8 | 9.2 | 9.5 | 8.0 | 8.9 | 9.8 | 11.6 | 10.8 | 8.2 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 9.8 | 111.3 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Source: NOAA[17] | |||||||||||||
What a cool~looking town! I just ate at the best raw food restaurant in Ashland, OR. In Fresno now. Glad you got out ok Laura. I’ve been thinking about you. Pamela
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