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I think the easier access (looks like) to the Crystal Coast areas might be nice for us too.
We don't mind crowds or busy areas, really, and we don't need anything fancy, but we would like to avoid the grungier areas--seems like in other coastal areas we've visited there are always those beach towns that are pretty sketchy and not particularly tidy, generally not "nice" to hang around in--as I mentioned before, lots of open drug use is a real turn off for me in addition to making property crimes more likely...but other than that we are all for down to earth. We just want to have fun, enjoy the (clean) beach and other areas, and not feel like we are unsafe (exercising common sense, of course). That's pretty much it. A view of the ocean from the house would be awesome though, and will be high on our list when we start looking.hat
That's been my main worry, that basing our initial visit on home prices from Realtor.com and the very broad descriptions on travel sites that we'll end up in an unsuitable spot that any local could have told us should be avoided. I'm feeling a little pressure to make the right choices from the get-go as the truth is that affordable coastal properties are dwindling, and the more time it takes us to get this right the less likely I am to get my beach house (my dream!).
The surfing is best on the "east" facing beaches...so the Crystal Coast and Brunswick County has the worst surfing in NC. Pender County is ok, but New Hanover County is better. The Outer Banks is good, but as has been said, it is much more isolated and the water is much colder.
So, IMO, if surfing is a priority, you have limited it to the Outer Banks or Pender/New Hanover County. South Carolina, BTW, doesnt have very good surfing at all. I know a lot of people that moved to the Wilmington area because it was not as isolated as the Outer Banks AND has good enough surfing.
I don't know of any areas of the NC coast that have a big drug culture. I'm sure there is some of that stuff out there, but in general NC beaches are very family friendly.
What kind of beaches do you usually go to that have the lots of "open drug use" you keep talking about? That seems very odd to me. Never seen open drug use at any east coast beach personally.
What kind of beaches do you usually go to that have the lots of "open drug use" you keep talking about? That seems very odd to me. Never seen open drug use at any east coast beach personally.
The OP was speaking about California and Maui. I agree with others that I have never seen open drug use of the beaches in NC. Most people are just families enjoying the clean, fresh air and water.
Well, I don't mean to "keep talking about it," but yes it's a factor I want to know about in deciding where to land. Since I'm looking at homes on the low end of the price range close to the beach, I want to be aware of any factors that are creating that lower price point, and higher crime rates, drug use, etc. would factor into that. Then too just wanting to relax and enjoy the beach means we're not really interested in being around the heavy party crowd which often includes drug activity too. When we go to beaches that have that sort of vibe, we know we're on the wrong one for what we like, and we'll usually find out quickly where the families prefer to hang out.
I have never noticed anything drug related at the Jersey Shore either (we go to a state park beach usually), except maybe around the boardwalks occasionally, and usually what we see there is a lot of drinking. (Which I suppose we'd also like to avoid a ton of that; just looking for pretty laid back, safe areas with a pleasant and happy vibe--we are not too wild, lol). We have only been to Florida beaches adjacent to hotels and never had the issue there either, though friends have steered us away from certain beach areas around Miami and Daytona.
At public beaches in Maui we often see open use/exchange of pot and we see needles laying around in parking lots etc. I guess "often" for me is two or more people/groups obviously using drugs in public during a single visit to a beach, if I have to quantify it.... Not that everyone on the beach is doing it. The North Shore is pretty well known as having lots of drugs around, and it shows in certain towns; there are beaches we would not ever go back to for all the drug related trash & activities going on--not being Puritanical, it's just not what I want to see when I'm relaxing at the beach, and not something I want to be constantly explaining to my kids, though I do so as needed. It's not usually a whole bunch of people, just a few being rather obvious about it.
For absentee homeowners the other obvious layer is the increase in property crime that accompanies drug activity. So that's why I ask though it is NOT the focus of my search.
Same in California--usually a few people being open about it and right near other beachgoers. Though our last visit was MUCH different with the legalization of medical marijuana. Teenage kids openly vaping *something* literally 15 feet from my family and another at Newport Beach, which we always think of as pretty family friendly!--that was a new one on me. There's always been a lingering scent of pot around Venice Beach, but it's at a whole other level these days and the behavior we got to witness has really been kicked up a notch. Which is saying something. Fun a for a little bit of people-watching, but not for an every day vacation destination. Anyway, at every beach there's a homeless drunk or addict or 5 laying on the ground, and always a few people clustered around a particular car...that's what I'd say is "normal." It's just part of the deal, doesn't wreck our fun, but if we have to see/smell it all day long and put up with some of the resulting behavior it kind of does.
Sorry. Since we haven't spent time in NC, we have no idea if its more like what we've seen in NJ or whether there are beaches that are all about the party scene.
I'm really glad to hear you don't see it there. It's not our main concern, but obviously looking to make the smartest move we can here and trying to consider some typical issues in an area where seasonal populations move through every year, as well as the things that bug us most when we head to the beach.
As for surfing, which IS a bigger deal and something that is very hard to get a sense of without being there or getting first hand accounts, I know we're not talking about the best surfing conditions in the world. I'm just looking for our best chance of having some consistent waves for a beginner, where she's not sitting waiting for most of the day and getting discouraged. So I think I'm leaning toward starting our search around Surf City for now, and moving up from there. Looking more closely based on the feedback here, I would have to really LOVE an area like Corolla to justify the isolated location. And maybe I will...?! We'll see.
As long as I'm talking about things we'd like to avoid, I'd add to the list that beaches that are closed often, or more often than not, due to dangerous waters would likely take a location off our list. Doesn't matter to me since I just like to walk along the beach but my kids are active swimmers etc...I know some beaches are more prone than others to riptides, etc. Do you have jellyfish or algae blooms there that keep people out of the water? So much I don't know, that's why I'm here....Basically looking for those details I can't pick up elsewhere.
Thanks for the feedback so far, everyone! I am happy to hear that I can cross a major drug use problem off the list of stuff to look out for, lol.
Last edited by Montanama; 07-09-2014 at 12:42 PM..
So I think I'm leaning toward starting our search around Surf City for now, and moving up from there.....
As long as I'm talking about things we'd like to avoid, I'd add to the list that beaches that are closed often, or more often than not, due to dangerous waters would likely take a location off our list. Doesn't matter to me since I just like to walk along the beach but my kids are active swimmers etc...I know some beaches are more prone than others to riptides, etc. Do you have jellyfish or algae blooms there that keep people out of the water? So much I don't know, that's why I'm here....Basically looking for those details I can't pick up elsewhere.
There are riptides, per the North Topsail Beach police (NTB is adjacent to Surf City), but they issue warnings rather than close the beaches: North Topsail Beach Police
There were reports of jellyfish including box jellyfish, but they dated back to 2008. The numbers were higher along the mouth of the Cape Fear River, but not further north. I haven't seen any recent reports. There are occasional reports of shark sightings, but not attacks.
Surf City is probably a good choice, as they have lifeguards in the summer, while some other beaches do not.
Sorry, didn't realize you were coming from California. Never been to the beaches there...doesn't sound like somewhere I'd ever want to go though.
I'd say any of the beach communities in Eastern NC would be a breath of fresh air for you.
There are riptides, per the North Topsail Beach police (NTB is adjacent to Surf City), but they issue warnings rather than close the beaches: North Topsail Beach Police
There were reports of jellyfish including box jellyfish, but they dated back to 2008. The numbers were higher along the mouth of the Cape Fear River, but not further north. I haven't seen any recent reports. There are occasional reports of shark sightings, but not attacks.
Surf City is probably a good choice, as they have lifeguards in the summer, while some other beaches do not.
Thanks for the specifics. So, typical stuff. I do prefer a beach with a lifeguard, too, if we can get it--especially with the surfer girl out there.
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Sorry, didn't realize you were coming from California. Never been to the beaches there...doesn't sound like somewhere I'd ever want to go though.
I'd say any of the beach communities in Eastern NC would be a breath of fresh air for you.
We are actually coming from MT, so any and all beaches are pretty much paradise for me! We were just in California last week. I don't mean to paint California beaches as dens of iniquity--they are BEAUTIFUL, huge broad beaches, generally clean and friendly, and we love any chance we get to go there. They are definitely a different feel than NJ. But we are always aware of the "normal" amount of less savory activity, and we do try to choose family friendly beaches. We just have a vision of a beachy little town on the east coast as being something different than that, and we think that's more our speed than California. And actually maybe within our reach (for the lower price range we're talking about.)
We absolutely LOVE Maui as well and the beach we like to spend time on is very family friendly and relaxing. I just happen to notice when we're in other areas that, like all places, there's all sorts of folks around doing all sorts of stuff, you could say! I am not trying to paint an ugly picture, just describing what I mean when I say there's probably some beaches that we'd not want to live on or leave an empty house on.
From the descriptions so far, NC beaches sound like what I have imagined them to be, based on the photos, websites, friends' experiences, etc. I just didn't want to have this naive picture in my mind and end up wasting time and money because I didn't ask the right questions and started in the wrong spot.
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and the behavior we got to witness has really been kicked up a notch. Which is saying something. Fun a for a little bit of people-watching, but not for an every day vacation destination. Anyway, at every beach there's a homeless drunk or addict or 5 laying on the ground, and always a few people clustered around a particular car...that's what I'd say is "normal." It's just part of the deal, doesn't wreck our fun, but if we have to see/smell it all day long and put up with some of the resulting behavior it kind of does. 
