Pittsboro reaches a crossroads: Can it appeal to a younger generation?

Pittsboro has always had its positives and negatives, just like any other small town. Some people love Pittsboro because it is a small and quiet town with not much excitement, but other people prefer a more exciting life.

In some ways Pittsboro is just a place to pass through on the way to somewhere more exciting like Cary, Chapel Hill, or Durham. This raises a question about Pittsboro and whether it is going uphill or downhill in the future. What does Pittsboro possess that will keep the future generations wanting to be a part of this small and quiet community?

It is no doubt that Pittsboro has a great high school, but after the high school years are over there is really nothing in Pittsboro that entices people to stay here besides family, which is a big thing. There are restaurants, banks and grocery stores to work at but as generations pass, people are realizing that better jobs are going to be needed to survive besides just bagging groceries. Pittsboro is a historic town and does have a small community charm in its own way, but this is not enough to keep people coming here and living here if there are no careers to pursue. In other words, Pittsboro is going to downgrade quickly if there are not more opportunities for people.

On the bright side, there are new businesses and buildings opening here such as the newly renovated courthouse, which is a great site to look at. At the same time, the old and burned down courthouse that sits in the middle of the traffic circle is not a site that attracts people to live here, besides knowing that they live in a place where a courthouse burned down. Unfortunately, Pittsboro is going to have to grow economically at a much faster rate by incorporating new businesses and more fun activities or it may run the risk of just being a pass through town to bigger and better places.

Pittsboro has all the essentials, but so does every other place. The negatives of Pittsboro seem to be outweighing the positives for the younger generations of people who want to go to college and pursue a career. Pittsboro has a lot of work to do to get on track with the current economic times as well as catching up with all the exciting places that surround it.

–By Kiada Capel