Vacation in Wrightsville Beach?? (low crime, college, live in)

[toriskori]

So, I am originally from CA. I currently live in Wisconsin, and I am looking for somewhere to move to soon. Ive been doing some research, and so far I like what I see. However, before I move there I would like to visit, and heres what Im looking for:
Beaches(fun, warm, and friendly)
Fun places to go
Affordibality
low crime rate

So for my vacation for work, I was thinking about visiting NC. I hear Wrightsville Beach is a great place to go snorkeling and kayaking.....Im probably going to be visiting late March early April, is it going to be warm? Is it "beach appropriate" if I go that early; I know in CA the ocean is extremely cold that time of year(45-50s)...But I also hear the Atlantic Ocean is a lot warmer in general...

Also from any current residents, do you love it? Is North Carolina all that I keep hearing it is? I love the idea of it all, I just haven't really heard too much from people who actually physicaly live there. Any information, advice, or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks-
Victoria

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[historychic09]

The ocean is going to still be cold in march and april. Last year people were still swimming/surfing in full wetsuits, but most people can't really get into the water until around june. Even then it's pretty darn cold. The upshot is that it tends to stay warm through most of October.

I lived on the beach for a very short period of time and enjoyed it a lot, although many people that live there tend to party a lot. (not that this is a bad thing, just not my cup of tea) if you're looking to move to a beach, they're all pretty crowded from mid june to mid august. But I think that Kure and Carolina are much more low-key, and thus enjoyable, if you're looking for a place to be a beach bum. They are, however, farther away from downtown.

Rent is also always higher at wrightsville than at the other beaches, but all the beaches have significantly less crime than the dt/college area.