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My husband is in the Navy and got orders to Camp Legune. We are moving in February and have been on the hunt for affordable housing outside of the Jacksonville area. He wants a place where he could come home and not be surrounded by military life and I need a place close to a school so I can finish up my bachelors. He would also prefer an apartment (because he thinks it would be better for me when he is deployed) but I have never really been a fan of apartments. We made a deal that if I could find a decent/affordable house that we could do that instead. So I have been scouring Zillow and Realator.com and have found a handful of decent looking places. Most of them were in the rural areas surrounding Wilmington and Hampstead but there is one little house that I think would be perfect, I just do not know what the area is like. It is in a little cove off of Market street and is about 10 minutes away from UNC Wilmington's campus. I did the whole Google streetview thing and it seemed ok but I am from Memphis and I think I might be desensitized to bad neighborhoods lol
It is just me, my husband, and our dog so I'm not really concerned with the school district or anything just curious about the overall safety of the area. Is it prone to break ins? Would it be safe to take my dog on walk etc. etc. Also while I am on here, there were quite a few very affordable/nice housing options in the Topsail area. Why is that? Is the area prone to flooding or something? Thanks in advance!
market street is long ; if you could be more specific i could give you a better answer.
in general there is only one housing project in Wilmington that you REALLY don't want to live near, and it's just north of Market street.
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Also while I am on here, there were quite a few very affordable/nice housing options in the Topsail area. Why is that? Is the area prone to flooding or something? Thanks in advance!
the job market there is poor, and it is too far from wilmington to be convenient. heading into Wilmington via Market street every day is a complete nightmare. It's just not an easy place to live AND work.
I think it depends on what you are used to. We're retiring to Topsail Beach next year and my wife plans to continue working. From our perspective the commute to Wilmington isn't any worse than what we're used to in the DC area. And I hope to do some part-time training on Camp LeJeune.
So if you get a house hunting trip, take a look at the place you've found and also look at the Topsail area.
The main problem with living in Wilmington would be the commute to Camp Lejeune for your husband. Depending on where he works it could be a 45 mile commute. I'd suggest living in the Topsail Island area, which would give him a shorter commute and also be away from the military environment. The rents are more reasonable because it is off-season at the beach. There is minimal risk of flooding if you are 2-3 miles away from the beach.
while you might not want to give us the excact address how about
defining the area where this house is a little better? is it downtown market str.
or up towards ogden?
I, for one, could never live in Topsail area , too far from what I enjoy in life and in winter it is
rather desolate. this might be why the rentals are so affordable.
Hampstead is about the farthest I could ever live from Wilmington, you have to consider that
if he deploys . you would need friends close by.
Thank you everyone for the responses! I believe it is on the Northern-ish part of Market, near Ogden Park. The commute for my husband seems like it has been more of a concern to me than it is to him.... I'm sure he will reconsider once we actually get there. He knew that he wanted to live closer to Wilmington than Jacksonville just based on his coworkers' stories of Jacksonville when they were stationed there. Hampstead is the ideal area we want to live but so far we have only found one place in our price range. What was weird is that his commute (according to Google Maps) is just about the same from the Hampstead property as it is from the Wilmington one. I'm sure traffic would be a factor as well, though. From what you guys are saying I think we might look more into Topsail. Are there any other hidden gem areas that you guys would recommend looking into?
Thank you everyone for the responses! I believe it is on the Northern-ish part of Market, near Ogden Park.
ok. that's a pretty safe area. technically not in wilmington, but just outside of it.
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He knew that he wanted to live closer to Wilmington than Jacksonville just based on his coworkers' stories of Jacksonville when they were stationed there.
Commuting to Wilmington from Topsail via Market Street is just stupid; there's a much easier way in to UNCW. If you take the 17 bypass to I 40, it takes you right to College Ave at Martin Luther King. It's straight ahead to UNCW or turn right on MLK to downtown or the airport. It's crazy how empty the bypass is; all the lemmings head down Market Street.
Thank you everyone for the responses! I believe it is on the Northern-ish part of Market, near Ogden Park. The commute for my husband seems like it has been more of a concern to me than it is to him.... I'm sure he will reconsider once we actually get there.
The commute from Ogden Park to the main gate of Camp Lejeune is 57.7 miles and 1 hour and 14 minutes. The traffic on 17 is not bad, but there are lines getting in the main gate. If you can use the "back gate" on 172, the traffic is said to be easier.
Regardless, I'd consider that an un-acceptably long commute to Camp Lejeune. I'd look at living in Hampstead, Surf City/Topsail or Holly Ridge. There are probably other military families living in each of these areas.
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