Hi,
Sanford does indeed offer very affordable housing relative to Raleigh, Cary, etc... but also has everything from challenged neighborhoods to million $$ homes just as any mid-sized city has.
What type of neighborhood are you looking for? We have gated golf communities, rural farms, historic districts, and everything in-between.
But along with affordable housing, Sanford also benefits greatly from it's central location. It is almost equidistant from Raleigh/Durham/Cary, Fayetteville, and to some degree Greensboro. All are under an hour away, and in the case of Raleigh/Durham & Fayetteville are 20-40 minutes away depending on your destination.
With a population of around 30k, Sanford has most of everything one "needs" such as a Super Wal-Mart, chain and local restaurants, small malls, health care, etc... and if there is something someone "wants" that Sanford doesn't have, again the larger cities are just about 30 minutes away.
Although a mid-sized city, Sanford retains much of what is special about smaller towns though. And being just far enough away from the other cities, I think Sanford will retain a lot of that character for a long time. So, it isn't unusual here for the mayor and council to know you by name, or even personally give you a call or come by the house.
But at the same time, Sanford has seen a slow and steady investment in improving the city over the last decade. This is especially evident in our downtown and historic districts, as well as our commercial development along south 421/87. Along with the new Super Wal-Mart and accompanying mall, we are getting a new Cracker Barrel as well.
One of the benefits of the slow and steady investment is that Sanford hasn't suffered as badly as some areas from the housing bubble, and related effects. Housing has appreciated more gradually and reasonably, and the investment in the community has marched along in-step. So on the downside(matter of opinion) Sanford may not have had the explosive growth and resultant "shiny newness" of some other cities, but one can definitely see the individual steady improvements that are being made. And I personally think that this "smart growth" is a better and more sustainable option, although it does still leave some areas of improvement to be sure.
That being said, Sanford of course isn't perfect, and there are still a lot of opportunities or improvement. But I think the vision and community effort is there, which is what matters.
We moved here from California 3 years ago after a brief stint in Cary, and have never regretted our move. We've been able to get involved in local government, community, and have made more friends here in 3 short years than we did in a decade in San Jose.
If you have kids, come down on a Friday and take advantage of our free movie at Depot Park, and pick out some areas you are interested in checking out.
I continue to think Sanford is an oft overlooked destination, but is something of a "sleeper" that slowly will continue to surprise people. One day I bet people will look back and say "Wow I wish I had bought back in Sanford when...."
Here are some useful Sanford links:
City of Sanford, North Carolina | Official Government Website
Sanford Area Chamber of Commerce
Maps showing Sanford's relative position to other metros and attractions:
Live Well Centered.
And with the BRAC program, Sanford and the surrounding communities to Ft. Bragg are forecast to receive even more investment and growth opportunities. So the next few years may be very interesting for our area.
Good luck!
Al
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