Quote:
Originally Posted by roterjo
This is a great forum and I have learned lots reading about the areas this week. Here is my issue and where I need some assistance
Are there 3 or 4 seasons?
My husband’s office closed and he works from home. He travels a lot so we would need to be near an airport. From the other posts I read I think we would need to live near Wilmington. Right now we are 60 minutes (40 miles) from the Atlanta airport so anywhere there is 60 min. or less from Wilmington or another airport would be fine.
We have a 6 week old and a 2.5 year old and I want to be able to enjoy being outside with them instead of us saying to our daughter - it's too hot. Schools are also a key issue. In Atlanta every county has pockets of great schools and then the not so great. You have to talk to locals to know which schools are good and which aren’t. I am hoping to narrow down a few areas to come and take a weeklong trip this summer to check them out but wanted to know where to start looking first.
Am I correct with these areas:
Outer Banks – (Northern Outer Banks )Kitty Hawk Bags Hea]
Cape Fear – Wilmington – Carolina Beach – Wrightsville
Crystal coast – (Southern Outer Banks) Atlantic Beach – Beaufort Morehead City
Is that the 3 areas of the coast?
Is there a difference in climate along these 3 areas? I was wondering if the more Northern coast is cooler? Is there an airport that way or would you need to go into Virginia?
Thank you for any and all help with this. My husband suggested living 1-2 hours away from the beach since it might be cooler. But I say if we are starting in a new place again let’s get as close to the beach as we can!
Thank you Kindly
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As long as you don't mind puddle jumpers or regional jets there are also airports in Jacksonville and New Bern.
Carteret County schools are
ranked highly in NC.
The one area that I saw missing in your list is probably Hamstead. It probably deserves a look, but that's not my area so I can't comment on schools.
Make sure you don't forget about the stretch of the Crystal Coast that runs west from Morehead down to Cape Carteret and Cedar Point.
It is my favorite section.
Climate is very complex along the coast.
I lived in Canada for many years so I only believe we have three seasons. Those who lived in Florida think we have four seasons.
In general the coastal areas warm up more slowly than the inland areas in the spring and we cool down more slowly in the fall. We also have much warmer winters.
Having said that where you live on the coast and how your home is situated in relation to the sun and water make a huge difference.
We are
on the water tucked in a small subdivision that is 3.5 miles by water from the Intracoastal and a total of about 5.5 miles from the ocean as a crow flies.
Our home has a lot of
south facing windows so in the winter we make very minimal use of heat. A lot of mornings all we need are a few minutes of the gas logs to take the chill off.
As some of the other writers said, temperatures and breezes are much better closer to the water. Last year we slept with our windows open pretty well from April through June. This year the early heat cut us off a few days into June.
I think the highest true temperature that I have seen at our home is 96. I saw that for the first time during this record breaking early heat this June. Last year we didn't get above 93. However, we can be very humid.
Still the weather for vast majority of the summer is pretty nice early in the morning until 10 or 11 am and after 4 pm. Usually you have coastal breezes to help with the heat. Being
near the water makes the climate nearly perfect for my tastes.
We also get more breaks from the heat because of the water and winds. In general, you might get a hot spell that last five or six days. Then you just get in the water.
The areas like Emerald Isle, Pine Knoll Shores, and Atlantic Beach warm up much more slowly in the spring because of the water. When we are looking at houses in the spring over on the shore there can be be 10-15 degrees difference from just a few miles inland.
Fall can be magnificient.
Actually living one to two hours from the beach will make your existence much hotter and much colder.
A good example is last week when we left
Cape Carteret. (buried under all the icons) and drove inland. I went and gassed up in Emerald Isle and it was 91 degrees. When I got back to our home about six miles from the beach it was 92 degrees.
When we got to Jacksonville it was 96 degrees and by the time we got to Raleigh it was 98 degrees. Last summer I can remember leaving home with the temperature at 91 and seeing it rise to over 100 degrees by the time we got to Raleigh 2.5 hours inland. We make that trip about once a month and have come to expect that temperature change during the summer.
In the winter the temperature change can be even more dramatic.
Our other home is in Roanoke, Va and you can read
this post on traveling to the coast to see some of the temperature changes we see in the winter.
As to enjoying the outside with your children, I think you will find the climate back just a few miles from the coast very hospitable to kids.
Our neighbors have grandchildren almost identical to the ages of yours. They are outside a lot. In the evenings we see lots of folks walking with their kids. The
swimming pool in our subdivision is popular during the late mornings and afternoon with the kids, but I often see kids riding their bikes in the evening or walking with their parents.
We're a small gated community so traffic isn't a problem.
I often get up ride laps on my bike for three miles down along the water. Sometimes I'll then swim some laps in the pool and then get in the kayak and paddle for half an hour or so.
Heat usually isn't the reason I usually try to finish before 10 or 11. It is because the kids getting to the pool around that time make it hard to swim laps.
As to being an area where people get together and have fun, that is one of the reasons that we live on the Crystal Coast. People are here year round and they love to get together. The outdoor festival season starts with the
Saint Patrick's Day Festival in Emerald Isle and really doesn't wind down until the Christmas Flotillas.
Our subdivision has an Easter Egg hunt, a Memorial Day party,
a fourth of Jully parade and celebration, a Halloween party, and a holiday party.
Part of the pictures in the 4th of July slide show are from Haywood Landing far up in the Croatan National on the upper reaches of the White Oak River.
We just had the
Swansboro Arts Festival. Next will be the
fireworks celebrations and then the
church Lobster suppers and the
Mullet Festival.
I think one of the events that I enjoy the most is the old fashioned
Christmas Parade on Emerald Isle.
You can get a good idea of the seasons by scrolling through
my diary of our first year along the coast. It even has a picture of ice along the gut behind our home.
That is the closest we got to winter.
If I missed anything, let me know and I will try to answer.
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Some answers to your school and climate questions
wilmywood
