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Which coastal communities are the best for year round living? A beach community with lots of shopping, doctors and stuff for your everyday needs. Also with low crime.
Which coastal communities are the best for year round living? A beach community with lots of shopping, doctors and stuff for your everyday needs. Also with low crime.
Thanks, Roma
You just have to decide how small or big you want to go.
How much beach you want and what kind of services.
Wilmington has everything but also has traffic.
Emerald Isle has great beaches, is a year round community but has smaller shops.
Cape Carteret is getting a few larger stores, but most people still depend on Morehead City for the bigger stores.
Beaches from Morehead City, Cape Carteret, and Beaufort require a car or boat ride. Cape Carteret is very close to the Emerald Isle beaches. Morehead City is reasonably close to Fort Macon State Park Beach. The best beach access in Beaufort is by boat.
Beaufort is a wonderful place but certain areas get pretty empty during the week.
The best way is make a list of what you want and come for a visit. You'll likely find something you love. No place is perfect, but I don't think you can go very wrong.
We live on the White Oak River near Cape Carteret. It, like the whole Crystal Coast, is a big boating area. We're just starting to enjoy that. It opens up a whole new world.
Yesterday was a perfect beach and water day. We went 67 miles in the boat from our home up Bogue Sound by Morehead City and Beaufort to Shackleford Banks. (http://tinyurl.com/32fjy2 - broken link) (zoom in some on Beaufort and you will see the Banks)
Shackleford Banks (http://coastalnc.org/shacklefordbanks - broken link) are really neat, complete with ponies.
I have a basic website that will give you some local links.
You always give such great information. Love the pictures too!!!! I'm so jealous. It looks like you are really enjoying yourself there along the coast.
We looked at Emerald Isle, the Outer Banks area and now we are going to look into the Wilmington area. All of them seem wonderful. It's just finding the perfect beach spot for us.
I am orignally from california and lived here on Oak Island for 2 year and LOOOOOve it. Yes it gets crowded during the summer season but not as crowded as it get in the Bay area of California. You have the beach all to yourself in the Spring and Fall and of course winter time. One thing I like about this area is that it is family oriented and lots of new homes for retirement folks too. Another I like about living on this Island is that you can walk your dog on the beach and even let them swim in the ocean. You can not have dogs off leash during the peak season but in the winter,spring and fall they will let you slide.Don't forget to grab a poopy bag before you enter the beach. Good luck finding a beach place for you. I am on vacation everyday I am here and kids enjoy this place too. Oh yeah it is also a great place to ride bikes and golf carts too.
Oh Yeah I forgot a couple of things yes we get flooding from heavy rain but since this island is on sand it quicklyabsorb it in the ground and runs out to the beach or intra coastal water when the rain stops. Yes you will have to leave if you get a Category 5 or more but if it is less than that. You sit back a wait it out in your home because it is very hard to get back on the island due to flooding off the island. I would get a home on pilings because of flooding and so you can have a enclosed garage or have it open. I hope I help some.
Yes you will have to leave if you get a Category 5 or more but if it is less than that. You sit back a wait it out in your home because it is very hard to get back on the island due to flooding off the island.
You may want to re-think that strategy. If I lived on the beach, I might wait out a Category 2. Probably not a category 3, and absolutely not a 4.
Hurricane Hugo was a category 4; I would recommend checking out the damage that it did to Sullivans Island and McLellanville, SC. You might change your mind.
So many variables with a hurricane-so, so many variables.
Blanket statements about them are often futile. Are you on the ocean or the sound-Are you a east/west beach or a north/south beach. Which direction will the wind come from-That will determine if it's blowing the water up on you or away from you. Was there heavy rain before the hurricane that can loosen the soil so when the hurricane comes the tree's will uproot easier, etc., etc, etc.
And if a hurricane makes landfall-where is it going after that-Where the heck do you evacuate too?? Remember Hurricane Hugo really put a hurtin' on cities 100's of miles inland like Charlotte.
I've been on the NC coast for the past 25 years and for every storm. My first career was a few decades in television and film production. Do to proximity I (and my company) did alot of storm coverage for the networks.
This I can tell you without a doubt.
1) Storms are fickle. The closer they come to the coast the more eratic they act and indecisive they become.
2) Never under estimate the power of water in motion.
3) Beware of media sensationalism.
We are now looking in the Outer Banks area. Manteo and Kitty Hawk sound front to start. There seems to be a lot of shopping and vets and stuff to do.
There is so much waterfront in North Carolina along the coast it's hard to pin point on where to start.
Are there any cities in the northern coastal area that have amenities such as downtown shopping and public transportation, as well as job opportunities?
Location: Ellicott City, MD soon to be New Bern, NC
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We were in a similar position a couple of years ago.My husband has two retirements and decided not to wait for Social Security to retire. We spent 4 years in NC with the Air Force, and I am from Va Beach, so spent a lot of time in Coastal Carolina while growing up. This area has exploded with development, and will continue to do so. We travel to the OBX every summer, and I don't think I could stand living there in the summer. My folks owned a place in what is now Southern Shores and we rarely went there in the summer because of the crowds. We ended up driving to Oriental because my husband is a sailor and they claim to be the sailing capital of NC. The town turned out to be quaint, but much too isolated - no Home Depot was my husband's complaint--- We drove up-river and stayed in New Bern for a couple of days so we could explore. NewBern turned out to be a pleasant surprise and the perfect town for us. We are moving in 3 weeks. I am not ready to retire and because I am a nurse, I had no trouble finding a job. What I'm trying to say is you need to just do a little exploring until you find a "feel good" place, then do a little research. I love Coastal Carolina, the people are so friendly and it is not as backwater as some people think. I am looking forward to trading the Baltimore-Washington madness for a little peace and quiet.
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We love Emerald Isle-Cape Carteret-Cedar Point
