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I have noticed a lot of people on this forum are interested in moving to Wilmington but I don't think everyone understands the "dangers and risks" of moving there.
Wilmington has and will always be a big retiree destination. All of the rich retirees from up North move down to Wilmington to build million dollar homes in upscale neighborhoods like Landfall. The city itself pretty much caters to the retiree population.
Wilmington has a large disparity between the rich and poor. You are either filthy rich or you are on welfare living in section eight housing. There really isn't much of a middle class population in Wilmington. Throughout the state of NC, Wilmington has the highest percentage of people living in section eight housing.
The cost of living in Wilmington is high and it is actually higher than the Raleigh area. Even though the cost of living is rather high, the average wages in the area are low, I mean LOW unless you are working in a professional field like medicine, law, or you have your own business.
Don't expect to move to Wilmington without a job lined up and find work ASAP. If you are lucky, and I will reiterate lucky, you will most likely find a job that pays $8/hr and you will fight with with your co-workers to get a 40 hr work week. You can forget about any type of benefits.
Yes, are a few and let me reiterate that again, a FEW, high paying jobs in the Wilmington area, but unless you have "connections" and you have 25 yrs of experience and a Masters or PhD, you won't be able to land one of those high paying jobs.
Although there are some nice sections of Wilmington, the city itself is not paradise. There are some run-down ugly looking sections of the city and the crime rate is high too.
Wilmington is also a "backwards" city. There are some educated folks in the area, especially around UNCW, but for the most part a lot of people are not really that educated and do not like outsiders.
So to sum up what I just said, don't move to Wilmington unless you have a decent paying job lined up!!!! If you don't, you will regret it. Let me say that again since a lot of you think Wilmington has so many jobs waiting to be filled. DO NOT MOVE TO WILMINGTON UNLESS YOU HAVE A DECENT PAYING JOB LINED UP!!
That goes for anywhere in NC; do NOT relocate without a job here unless you can support yourself for at least a year or more without one. So many people come here thinking it is Utopia ... not so. Do some serious homework!
it is a good idea to have a job before coming but
to state that there are only two classes of people in wilmington is
just a plain LIE.[/quote]
No, it's not a lie. You are either rich or poor.
Wilmington is OVERRATED! It's nothing more than some southern coastal city that doesn't have much to offer other than the beach bum lifestyle. The city and area does have some potential, but for the most part the local government doesn't want to change anything.
For example, the county and city gov't should be up in Raleigh lobbying for a better, more advanced seaport. If you improve the seaport, you will most likely attach companies and industries to the area which will in turn create more jobs. But then again, with the state budget deficit, I doubt anything will happen, if ever.
Corruption is also a big problem in Wilmington. I guess it's not as bad as the corruption in places like NYC and NJ, but it's alive and well in good ole Wilmington. When I was in Wilmington I didn't trust the mayor or any of his cronies at city hall.
Please don't misunderstand me. If you want to move to Wilmington, then go ahead and move. I don't have a problem with anyone that wants to move there. I just want everyone to know what they should expect when they arrive there.
Wilmington is definately NOT a retirement city for northerners. Wilmington is defined by the beach and the University. There is a HUGE middle class here and it is by far the most culturally diverse and tolerant coastal city in NC. The only part of your speech that was accurate is the dificulty in finding a good, high wage job here and that is because there is a huge competition among highly educated college students who relocate to Wilmington for school, then graduate and want to stay here because it's a great place to live. Yea we have some uneducated trailer park trash just like every other city in the nation but there is a reason Wilmington has grown so much over so little time....
People want to live here.
The best part about not liking Wilmington is that you are free to pack your bags and move on and it'll help to cut down on the murderous 5:00 traffic.
Just want to throw my hat into the ring, as one of the middle class citizens of Wilmington who apparently doesn't exist. Nevertheless, here I am. Anyone looking to move to a new area should certainly do their homework, definitely have a job lined up and shouldn't make any decision based on some romanticized version of the truth. However, in my observation Wilmington has a greater diversity in age, culture and economic status than many other southern cities.
I've never heard of a retirement community centered around a university. Think about it for a minute...how do you even rationalize that. Obviously, there are a good deal of young people in the area. I have two young children. Between school, sports and recreational activities, there sure seem to be A LOT of families here.
Wilmington is a great city which, like any other city has it's pros and cons. Yes, the cost of living here is higher than other parts of the state, yet people are still coming (and staying) here. That, to me, should be evidence enough that there is something here people like.
Lower middle class is generally defined as those households earning from $50k to $100k a year. Upper middle class may be from $65k to $166,200. There is an overlap due mostly to education. A freshman lawyer or resident doctor will sit higher on the social scale than a well paid carpenter.
the gap between haves and have nots does feel greater in wilmington than in other places. this area does not have very high wages, but it attracts people who are very wealthy.
however, there are a lot of military retirees, or average joe retirees who live on a fixed income, who are living here but are not wealthy. they may not be poor, but they aren't living in landfall. it isn't fair to paint all retirees as 'wealthy'.
you have the Cape Fear and UNCW crowd. People who go to UNCW (Many from NY, NJ, PA, MD, VA), and stick around after they graduate, growing into the younger middle class and young families. You have a fair amount of UNC and NCSU graduates who come down here as well, and i see alumni stickers from schools all over the south atlantic, the midwest, and the northeast. you also have workers who relocate here for Corning, GE Nuclear, PPD, who are brought in to work specialized jobs where talent is not locally abundant. these two groups (industry and academics) have brought young, educated people to wilmington, which creates competition for jobs.
Last edited by le roi; 01-04-2011 at 07:04 AM..
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