North Carolina

Union County, North Carolina, USA (North America) – December 2018 — I live in the town of Monroe, NC. This town is thirty minutes from the big city Charlotte, NC. In this town we have small mall to shop with a Belks, and a Roses. There is italian, mexican, american, and many fast food places. We are convenient to grocery stores and the famous Walmart, Target and Big Lots and many other stores to shop. If you love coffee Starbucks is inside of the Target and across the street beside Olive Garden. We also have Dunkin Doughnuts We have great christian schools around us and private schools. The public school system around us in my opinion is not one of the best. In this town we have a lot of country roads that is out with that beautiful country scenery. Then if you like the city living just right around the corner from the mall is your etire living room arrangements. This can be from a apartment to one story house living. This town is beautiful and a lot of friendly people. There is also the bad part of town that is not where you need to go by yourself. When you ride thru it you will know it. The town has a park that is not in a safe place. That is sad, especially if you have children that loves to go to the park. You have to go outside of the town to take them to a safe park.

Wake County, North Carolina, USA (North America) – December 2018 — I live in Cary, North Carolina which is a bedroom community located within The Triangle. I predominately feel the town is wonderfully safe, secure and places a high value on outdoor recreational activities. Downtown has numerous pubs, restaurants, galleries, boutique shops, a theater and an arts center. Festivals are year-round, and we have amazing parks to hike, bike, or merely stroll through. Our schools are excellent with a focus on STEM in middle school while high schools have a proper balance of arts and sciences. The diversity here is what most people find unique given the fact we are smack dab in the middle of The Bible Belt. From Indian to European, we have more color and flavor than a bag of Skittles that live together quite peacefully and is the exact opposite of racial and cultural tensions depicted in mainstream media. We are centrally located near numerous global powerhouses in both healthcare and IT, which attracts stable, top notch talent who have a strong desire to make this town their permanent Home. The cost of living is relative to the area and has a wide variety of income and education levels. I have lived here almost three years and my only sincere complaint is the lack of water activities. I moved from a beach town and truly miss sunbathing and swimming. There are numerous public and private pools however it is just not the same as the beach! The growth rate of the town is amazing. The desire to bulldown charming Sears Craftsman and mid-century classic Southern homes to build 3-5 modern townhomes on one lot for $350k/ea is mind boggling. Cary is a fantastic town to raise children in however, once mine are grown it will be time to downsize and move near saltwater.

Cumberland County, North Carolina, USA (North America) – March 2018 — The city in which I reside is Fayetteville, which is located in the Sandhills section of North Carolina. Fayetteville is a very diverse place-as it has been nominated over three times as an all American city. The history behind Fayetteville is very long and mysterious. Fayetteville was once the capital of North Carolina. However, due to fires that occurred during the civil war, the location was moved. One of the areas that visitors long to see when visiting Fayetteville, is The Dogwood Trail, which is a walking trail that runs into another historical place I’ll mention- Haymount. Haymount is also known for historical homes that are designed in a unique, multicultural architectural structure that reflects the cities’ rich culture of historical English, French, Irish, and traditional American designs. Some things I like about my city Fayetteville, is the diversity that prevails. Another thing that I like, is the fact that there are many option to shop due to the construction of major retail outlets. These retail outlets aims to capture consumers that have many vital options to choose from-ranging from stores that provides the latest technology of electronics, to exquisite dining options. However, one thing that I do not like, is the military presence there. A neighboring town, called Fort Bragg, is a military base close to Fayetteville. I do not have a problem with the soldiers. However, the occasional practicing of the soldiers in the fields with cannons, big gunshots and aircraft testing can be heard throughout particular parts of the city. Fayetteville has many beautiful areas to discover. I would urge anyone who wants to visit a well rounded and diverse area while traveling through North Carolina, should stop in Fayetteville and get their cameras ready to capture some of the historical landmarks, the beautiful Haymount historical homes, and definitely trail the Dogwood Trail. It’s worth the while!

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, USA – March 2018 — I have been living in Charlotte for eight years and the town has changed a lot in those eight years. More industries have moved their headquarters to Charlotte recently which has increased the number of people moving to Charlotte, as well as shifted the demographics. I would say that the average age of people in Charlotte is 40. I love how beautiful the city is and how many good restaurants, bars, and breweries there are. I don’t like how, as the city has grown, the focus has been on building expensive luxury apartment buildings and not affordable houses. There are a lot of things for people to do like watching professional sports or hiking and whitewater rafting at the White Water Center. The city is currently working on expanding our light rail system, which I think is a great idea. The road infrastructure is not the best and expanding easy public transportation out to the suburbs will hopefully help with that issue. I plan on staying in Charlotte for a while and it’s a beautiful place to live. Another benefit is that Charlotte is only a few hours drive away from the beach and a few hours drive away from the mountains. It’s perfectly situated in my opinion.

Wayne County, North Carolina, USA — January 2018 — I was born in Goldsboro, NC in 1970. During the 70s it was a smaller rural town with lots of farmers and small country businesses. As I grew, I watched it become a larger city with the Air Force Base and then the mall being established there. When i was a teenager I liked that I could get on my bike and ride anywhere and feel safe. I used to ride and walk for miles. I lived in the inner city, right across the street from the Boys Club, and I was never afraid to be out after dark or walk to school. I didn’t like that it was so small that poverty was a big thing sometimes, and many families, if they were not associated with the base or a higher paying profession like a doctor or professor, were poor. I liked that the city was pretty racially diverse and people of all colors hung out and were friends. I didn’t like that as time went on and the city grew, the economic situation did not change a lot.

I moved and came back to Goldsboro, NC several times in my adulthood and just recently, November 2017, left it again. I do not plan on moving back. It has family and friends, great churches, and so much potential, but it has definitely changed. There are still not a lot of well paying jobs and the inner city is now riddled with murder, assault, and gang violence nightly. The area I used to live is not safe for anyone to walk, ride bikes, or even drive through at certain times. That said, there is also positive change as the downtown area is being built up and many small businesses are being opened and established in that area. But, that is just a few blocks of the city that the town is investing so much in. The mall has become a sad casing of what it used to be, the base is still there, but it remains pretty much an entity of its own. The schools are not what they should be and they are infested with violence and drugs, as most schools are these days. I miss it, what it used to be, I miss the people, family, friends who still live there. I miss the Goldsboro I grew up in.