Bainbridge has added new businesses and has seen steady growth downtown over the past five years, but the people who live there say what makes the city special isn’t the new buildings or storefronts it’s the people inside them and a sense of home that has lasted for generations.
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Bainbridge neighbors say community connection defines the city as it grows and welcomes new faces
For sixth-generation Bainbridge neighbor Olivia Free, that distinction matters. Coming from a military family, Free has lived in communities across the country and experienced different cultures and ways of life. She says Bainbridge stands out for the intentionality behind how neighbors connect with each other.
“I have lived everywhere and gotten to experience so many different cultures. And I would pick Bainbridge,” Free said.
Free says that sense of connection shows up in everyday moments.
“People acknowledge each other and enjoy company and talk. And you can start a random conversation on the street. And having lived in big cities like Boston, it’s a big change. And I just I appreciate the community here,” Free said.
That view comes at a time of change, as new housing developments and restaurants continue to move into Bainbridge. Free says the city’s growth hasn’t come at the expense of its sense of community. For her, Bainbridge offers something that’s becoming harder to find a place where strangers still stop and talk and neighbors know each other’s names.
Neighbor Joshua Cooper echoed that sentiment, saying the city’s expansion hasn’t pulled it away from what it has always been.
“Even though we’re getting bigger we’re not straying away from our original roots,” Cooper said.
That community atmosphere is also what drew neighbor Ami Batson to Bainbridge. Batson says she fell in love with the city while visiting with family and saw potential for her family to grow there.
“There were opportunities here for our kids to grow and our careers to grow while still being connected to the community,” Batson said.
Local business owner Ashley Sheffield says she works to reflect that same spirit inside her shop, The Farmer’s Wife.
“I’ve always said when I open this up that I wanted people to feel like they came home, they were coming home. When you come in the door here, that’s how I want you to feel,” Sheffield said.
As Bainbridge continues to grow, neighbors say its greatest strength is simply creating a place where residents feel connected and visitors feel right at home.
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