Need advice on the Plymouth, NC area (to rent, closing)

[LittleDolphin]

I think Plymouth is a cute town. Yes, it needs an economic boost.

The Dolphin thinks it would be a perfect little frugal retirement town. The waterfront downtown is crying out for small locally-owned shops, once more population with a bit of $$ is there to support them.

Plymouth's a neat place for canoeing, kayaking, and small craft sailing. Nice for bicycling--it's pretty flat.

And good for birders. Perhaps fishing.

Check it out, it's peaceful and has so much potential.

Plymouth could be the answer to those retiring on a shoestring who have an entrepreneurial spirit and enjoy civic involvement. The canvas is there ready for your color.

[MrBojangles]

If Virginia Beach is running out of room, which it sounds like it is, I would be 100% behind moving NAS Oceana to NE North Carolina. Like other posters said, we are/were getting the crap end of the stick. Bring the whole base, I'm sure we could find some prime real estate on the Inner Banks. They would still be close to the other Naval bases in VB as well.

[macjr82]

Well that OLF would've helped to ensure that additonal planes would be based in Eastern NC. And before anybody says since the majority of the econiic impact would be in Craven/Carteret county, the land was offered up, but rejected by the Navy for environmental reasons. Much of the open land in theose counties is part of the Croatan anyway. The plans to base Hornet Squadrons at Cherry Point was delayed (really scrapped) specualtively because of the absence of the OLF.
http://www.enctoday.com/news/point-62766-jdn-cherry-squadrons.html (broken link)
There has been talk about Oceana closing down all together and the Squadrons moving to Cherry Point, that may happen in a future BRAC. There will be additional planes coming to Cherry Pint as a result of replacing it's current fleet with the F-35. Though this is much different than previous proposal of moving actual Navy Squadrons to Cherry Point.
http://www.newbernsj.com/news/point-87777-base-prefers.html (broken link)
I can't see a full base being built in N. Eastern NC, b/c of the lack of infrastructure to support it. The biggest thing is that there are no major roads. The only feasible location would be somewhere along the US 64 corridor.

[LLN]

I'll wager the F-35 is gonna be a bust.

Here is first sentence from the linked article:

"Senate appropriators are blasting the Pentagon’s highest profile program, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, calling it “disturbing.” "

Senate appropriators call the Pentagon's F-35 jet fighter program 'disturbing' - TheHill.com

The military/acquisition press was full of this stuff last week.

Methinks, the thing is to expensive and by the time it has an adversary, if ever, that justifies its cost, the technology will be too old. Now you have politicians spending money in their districts that the DoD does not want/need spent on the plane.

This is never a good sign. Having stated that, Cherry Point is certainly the likely beneficiary of any F-35 basing, but I severely doubt it is gonna be the boon that many have been led to believe.

[LLN]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

I think Plymouth is a cute town. Yes, it needs an economic boost.

The Dolphin thinks it would be a perfect little frugal retirement town. The waterfront downtown is crying out for small locally-owned shops, once more population with a bit of $$ is there to support them.

Plymouth's a neat place for canoeing, kayaking, and small craft sailing. Nice for bicycling--it's pretty flat.

And good for birders. Perhaps fishing.

Check it out, it's peaceful and has so much potential.

Plymouth could be the answer to those retiring on a shoestring who have an entrepreneurial spirit and enjoy civic involvement. The canvas is there ready for your color.

Very good and intuitive post. Could not give points, need to spread them around. Sorry.

[macjr82]

The F-35s will only add a little over 1000 personnel to the area. I don't think the impact will be that great. I acts as more as insurance on maintaining the bases presence.

Originally Posted by LLN

I'll wager the F-35 is gonna be a bust.

Here is first sentence from the linked article:

"Senate appropriators are blasting the Pentagon’s highest profile program, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, calling it “disturbing.” "

Senate appropriators call the Pentagon's F-35 jet fighter program 'disturbing' - TheHill.com

The military/acquisition press was full of this stuff last week.

Methinks, the thing is to expensive and by the time it has an adversary, if ever, that justifies its cost, the technology will be too old. Now you have politicians spending money in their districts that the DoD does not want/need spent on the plane.

This is never a good sign. Having stated that, Cherry Point is certainly the likely beneficiary of any F-35 basing, but I severely doubt it is gonna be the boon that many have been led to believe.

[Richard Martin]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

Plymouth could be the answer to those retiring on a shoestring who have an entrepreneurial spirit and enjoy civic involvement. The canvas is there ready for your color.

This I KNOW. You can forget civic involvement. Unless you do it by yourself. Lack of community spirit is deep, wide and far reaching in Eastern Carolina. This is part of the reason it remains stuck in the 1940s. It is virtually impossible to get anybody organized to do anything. I have tried. On more than one occassion. I'm a damn yankee and that's all I'll ever be to the locals.

[macjr82]

I think you should be more specific as far as that mentality is prevalent in in Eastern NC from the border to as far south as Greenville. You don't see it as much in the down east area (unless you get way down east in Eastern Carteret. Though it is that way just south and east of Wilmington as well. It has nothing to do with being a Yankee as being not from there. Someone could move to those communities from elsewhere in NC and get the same reaction.

[LittleDolphin]

Originally Posted by Richard Martin

This I KNOW. You can forget civic involvement. Unless you do it by yourself. Lack of community spirit is deep, wide and far reaching in Eastern Carolina. This is part of the reason it remains stuck in the 1940s. It is virtually impossible to get anybody organized to do anything. I have tried. On more than one occassion. I'm a damn yankee and that's all I'll ever be to the locals.

Hmmm, I've had the opposite experience--'course I wasn't organizing but participating in social activism. And my gosh, my small Eastern NC town has all sorts of clubs and organizations that do all sorts of good projects for the town and its citizens.

I've found my small town to be very 'giving' even when people were not of the means to give very much.

Maybe look within...it takes a glass half full optimism and a giving spirit to get things done. I'm not a native of my town, either.

[Richard Martin]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

Maybe look within...it takes a glass half full optimism and a giving spirit to get things done. I'm not a native of my town, either.

Yeah.. I was just trying to help some of my less fortunate neighbors out. I was told that's the way it's always been and to mind my own business. Whatever. If you want to live in the dark ages for the next 100 years that's fine with me.