5 Reasons Millennials Love to Call Downtown Sanford Home

The Millennial generation may get a bad rap from older generations as being narcissistic and over-confident, but Gen Y is increasingly recognized as an accepting, loyal, genuine, and caring group of young adults– even if we are always on our phones. Our values are more traditional than you might think, and Downtown Sanford is the perfect place for us to explore our love of community, creativity, and diversity as we plunge into adulthood.

Here are the Top 5 Reasons Millennials Love to Call Downtown Sanford Home.

1) Our community equals our family.

The tight knit, small town vibe of Downtown Sanford is perfect for the super social Millennial set. You’ll see the same names and faces everywhere, whether it’s at the post office, cocktail hour or on social media. One of my favorite parts of living in Sanford is being surrounded by friends everywhere I go. Millennials thrive in an atmosphere of teamwork and community, so building friendships while planning events and fighting city hall is ideal.

2) Corporate America doesn’t live here.

It’s no secret that Gen Y eschews traditional materialism for local-made goods and family owned businesses. Just take a look up and down 1st Street or Sanford Avenue, and you’ll find small business owners selling hats, serving sausage, and brewing beer, with nary a big corporation in sight. We buy our coffee from Rabbitfoot, our cold cuts from Magnolia Square Market, and our produce from Bagg’s. Millennials value quality and having a connection with the folks from whom they purchase, and downtown Sanford is built on that idea.

3) Downtown is real.

All kinds of people flock to downtown Sanford, creating a unique mix of young and old, quiet and eccentric. Millennials not only accept diversity, we celebrate it. Sanfordites are genuine characters and it doesn’t get much more authentic than brick streets, historic homes, and giant oak trees.

Additionally, Sanford isn’t perfect. There are issues to fix and patches that are rough around the edges…just the way a city should be. Millennials appreciate people and places that keep things real and shy away from things they perceive as fake, making them a great match for Sanford’s emerging new persona.

4) It’s an artist’s haven.

Sanford is filled with artists and art enthusiasts, and it’s not hard to see why. Between the waterfront, architecture, and colorful history, Sanford is ripe with material for painters, photographers, musicians, and writers. Millennials love to create, and will find a great number of resources in town, including String Theory Creations, the Indie Craft Exchange, and the Jeanine Taylor Folk Art Gallery.

5) Sanford needs our optimism.

Often described as overconfident, Millennials are super optimistic about the life ahead of them. We believe that through dedication, conviction, and effort, that we have the ability to create change at a grassroots level. Older generations call this unrealistic…I call it just what the doctor ordered. Sanford is in a special place in its history, and it’s going to take a generation of spunky young people full of energy to turn that corner. Downtown Sanford is a place we can put our energy to true use.

So hey Gen Y kids, while you’re tweeting, graduating from college, and trying to figure out your lives, check out Downtown Sanford. Whether it’s a passing fling or a life-long commitment, it’s the perfect place for a Millennial’s here and now. See you out there!