Guide to Off-Post Living Near Ft. Bragg, NC

Fayetteville, North Carolina is located right outside of the military base Ft. Bragg and is home to many active duty soldiers. Fayetteville's population is nearing 200,000 and is surrounded by three suburban cities; Hope Mills, Spring Lake and Raeford.

Ft. Bragg was the first base I lived near and had the pleasure of finding a place to live without actually visiting the city first. If you find yourself in a similar situation; I hope that this guide will help you to find a safe and pleasant community to live in.

Fayetteville

In Fayetteville there is a main road called Skibo (which turns into Pamalee and then into Country Club Drive). This street is the hub of all activity in Fayetteville because everything is located off of this street. It is always heavy with traffic and a street I learned to stay away from if possible. When choosing your home, make sure you Map Quest the directions you will need to travel frequently, and keep in mind that if you have to take Skibo, the driving time will increase considerably depending on the time of day you plan to travel (increasing mainly during early morning and rush hour traffic).

Raeford Road

There are a lot of nice communities located off of Raeford Road; especially where it intersects with Robeson Street near Branson Creek and Highland Country Club. Aaron Lake is also located off Raeford and Bunce; which is the community I lived in for about six months. Raeford and 71st School Road also has nice housing and is starting to get further from the city scene. From Raeford Road, the All-American gate onto base is about 15-20 minutes.

If you continue South on Raeford Road you will hit the town of Raeford, NC (Southwest of Fayetteville), also home to many soldiers serving at Ft. Bragg.

Cliffdale Road

When I first moved to Fayetteville, it seemed that all of our friends lived off of Cliffdale Road. Cliffdale has an abundance of apartment communities, and I would highly suggest this area for apartment living. Cliffdale and Rim Road is the intersection of a very nice housing community with decently priced homes and is conveniently located near the Riley gate onto Ft. Bragg.

Ramsey Street

My first apartment in Fayetteville was located off Ramsey Street near the Methodist University (Ramsey and Stacey Weaver). It wasn't a bad area to live in, however there were a lot more college students in this area than soldiers. Also, it is important to stay in the Methodist University area if you are going to choose to live off of Ramsey Street. If you take Ramsey Street South, you will hit downtown which is an area to stay away from. The intersection of Ramsey and Andrews is also a nice area to live in; however this area seems to be a bit more pricey than the other areas I have mentioned.

From Ramsey Street, it is about a 20-25 minute drive to the All-American gate and about a 15 minute drive to the Honeycutt gate to get on post.

Areas to Stay Away From

I would personally not choose to live on or immediately off these streets: Bragg Blvd., Murchison Road, Grove Street, Rowan Street, Gillespie Street, Green Street, Southern Ave., and Cedar Creek Road (the last six are all located near downtown).

Hope Mills

Hope Mills is a small town south of Fayetteville with a population of approximately 15,000 people. I am not too familiar with the Hope Mills area, however I did have a friend that owned a house off of Rockfish Road. It was a nice, affordable house in a safe neighborhood.

Hope Mills has a small, hometown feeling; and I would highly recommend living there if you want a quiet, country setting.

Raeford

Raeford is a very small town Southwest of Fayetteville with a population of about 4,000 people. Raeford has new sub-divisions popping up all over and looks like a very promising place to live if you want to be involved in a growing community.

All of the friends I knew that lived in or near Raeford all had very nice, brand new homes that were affordable and conveniently located to Ft. Bragg.

Spring Lake

Spring Lake is located right next to Pope Air Force Base with a population of approximately 10,000 people. Spring Lake is located right off of Bragg Blvd and is a town I would prefer not to live in. All of the houses I have seen in this area look run down, though quite a bit cheaper, do not seem to be located in very safe communities.

I do not know the area of Spring Lake very well so I am only basing my assumptions off of what I have seen in this area. I do, however, know that Spring Lake is minutes away from hunting, fishing and camping grounds. I suppose it is all in what you would prefer to be near and would frequent often.