looking to relocate to coastal NC or SC (Raleigh, Wilmington: real estate, homes)

[occhic]

Hello. I am looking to relocate my family close to the beach. I am looking to be no further away than a 40 minute drive. My husband is a marble and granite fabricator but can also do vinyl siding and other home improvements. I am a medical assistant. We Have 3 children. I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on some good places to check out. Thanks for your help.

[dsobotta]

Originally Posted by occhic

Hello. I am looking to relocate my family close to the beach. I am looking to be no further away than a 40 minute drive. My husband is a marble and granite fabricator but can also do vinyl siding and other home improvements. I am a medical assistant. We Have 3 children. I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on some good places to check out. Thanks for your help.

Carteret County is a wonderful place to live. The schools are great. Croatan, the High School for the western part of the county, has won an award two years running as one of the best schools in the country from US News and World Report.

We moved here about four years ago after looking up and down the coast for four years. We wanted an area with good year around services, friendly people, and great access to water. Carteret County is hard to beat in those areas. It's just far enough off the beaten path to be less crowded than some of the more well known beach area. It also has the lowest property taxes in the state and a wonderful temperate climate.

Having grown up in NC, I have been coming to the Morehead City area for close to sixty years. I just love the whole area from Down East to the White Oak. You can go from the roadside produce stands where they remember your name to getting shrimp and fish right off the boats. This is a remarkable place where you can walk beautiful trails in Croatan National Forest or enjoy beach walks that are just as private as you want them to be.

We live on one of the very special coastal rivers, the White Oak which has the benefit of having no cities on it. I often catch fish a few hundred yards from my dock or I can be down to Swansboro by the Intracoastal Waterway in ten minutes. From there you can be out fishing in Bogue Inlet and in the ocean in another ten minutes. As a boater and fisherman, I find it a paradise.

In spite of being one of the last areas of true small towns along the beaches of North Carolina, we have great access to modern services. We're less than twenty minutes from the shopping area of Morehead City. In the last year or two, Best Buy, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Panera Bread, TJ Maxx, and many of the national chains have moved to the western side of Morehead City. We are only missing a Target and a Barnes & Noble. Both of those are in Jacksonville about 30 minutes away.

There are three area hospitals, one in Morehead City (25 minutes), Jacksonville (35 minutes) and New Bern (45 minutes- its a regional center.)

We also have plenty to enjoy with visitors. Beaufort is a wonderful place to walk the docks or enjoy the Maritime Museum. There is a great state Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores, and I love Cape Lookout National Seashore and Tryon Palace in New Bern.

The area also has a number of festivals from church lobster dinners and the Mullet Festival in the fall to Emerald Isle's Saint Patrick's Day Festival and the Swansboro Oyster Festival in the spring. I love the local Christmas parades where there are almost as many people in the parade as there are watching.

Though the area is going through a down turn like much of the country, there are signs of life even in the real estate world. I am confident this will be a great place to be in the future.

It is a wonderful place to be now. I feel blessed to be living here among such natural beauty and friendly people.

You can check out my site with lots of pictures of the area and an index of posts that I have done about moving to the area. You can find almost daily local information at this site.

[Francois]

You might look in Brunswick county, whose beaches are more "unspoiled" than many places such as Carolina/Wrightsville Beach or Emerald Isle. also, you'd be halfway between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, two decent-sized cities. Wilmington is the only "city" on the coast of NC; the rest are mostly smaller beach towns with largely tourist economies (though Morehead City is a port). At least one of you should definitely line up a job before moving, regardless, but this would give you two pretty large areas to consider in different directions.

[Ocean City]

I too am looking for a home along the coast in NC, north or south of Wilmington. It would be a summer part time home as I am a resident of Florida. I have looked at the larger advertized country clubs and am looking for something smaller that would still have housing, activities and social opportunities. Tennis and some golf would be nice. I have family in Raleigh and would like to have easy access to Rt. 40

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by Ocean City

I too am looking for a home along the coast in NC, north or south of Wilmington. It would be a summer part time home as I am a resident of Florida. I have looked at the larger advertized country clubs and am looking for something smaller that would still have housing, activities and social opportunities. Tennis and some golf would be nice. I have family in Raleigh and would like to have easy access to Rt. 40

Magnolia Greens is very nice, and has some smaller homes. Leland is a good area overall. Are you looking specifically for a beach house? Or are you more interested in a golf community? Posting your price range would help also, and whether you are willing to buy into a country club.

[Ocean City]

Thank you for your reply....I guess we can go up to $650,000. Water view would be nice, just so we are not looking at another rear yard. I will check Magnolia Greens. I do play tennis and occasional golf. We would buy into a country club if reasonable.