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I know that I cannot afford to live right on the beach. I would also prefer to rent an apartment as opposed to buying right away.
I am looking for a small community that affords you the ability to do every day errands on foot rather than drive. I have been searching Edenton, Beaufort, Swansboro, Carolina Beach and Kinston. I was advised against Kinston. I have not had much luck in finding apartments in these areas. Would appreciate any information on which of these areas would be an ideal retirement location
I have not had much luck in finding apartments in these areas. Would appreciate any information on which of these areas would be an ideal retirement location
I have also looked for apartments where I could walk to shopping if I could not drive, and they are extremely few, perhaps non-existent. This is a very spread-out and car-dependent area.
Swansboro has an occasional rental in a upstairs part of the waterfront building, but you are not near a grocery store. Perhaps Beaufort and Southport also have small house rentals.
There is a condo building (not a rental place) called the Gateway Condos in Surf City, which is across the street from a doctor, grocery store, pharmacy and post office, and close to a few restaurants and a Wal-Mart. That would be my choice if I could not drive or chose not to drive. Prices are in the $130K to $150K range. You might also find a nearby mobile home rental in Surf City.
The other option to explore is Wilmington which has half-way decent bus service which you could use from an apartment building. Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach may be on the same WAVE bus system.
Last edited by goldenage1; 07-27-2014 at 01:09 PM..
I would also prefer to rent an apartment as opposed to buying right away.
I am looking for a small community that affords you the ability to do every day errands on foot rather than drive.....
I think you will find it more productive to look for houses for rent, rather than apartments. Anyway, I found these rentals in Washington, Chocowinity and Burgaw, and all are within a mile of a grocery store and other conveniences like banks and drug stores.
Kinston is near particularly close to the beach nor a place anyone is moving INTO.
But, New Bern (about halfway between Kinston and the coast) should be on your list. I understand the retiree population there is growing quite nicely, and it's on the river, which would have a lot of "beach" feel but then you could still go to the actual beach within an hour.
BTW, if you have to pronounce it, the accent is on "New", not "Bern"--an anomaly for a "New ___" town.
Sunset Beach has a fairly good-sized shopping area with a Food Lion, 2 drug stores, an ABC store, a gas station/convenience store , and several nice restaurants. In addition there are also a number of boutique shops.These are next to 2 nice, newer condominiums, some of which are occasionally for rent.
The beach itself is about 2 miles away, with a fishing pier and a snack bar. One downer - the beach is usually pretty well packed on the average summer day. It's also very hard to find a spot in the free parking lot unless you get there before 10AM or after 3-4 PM.
If you want to come down here and rent a place while you look, there are tons of houses and apts in beach communities that will do off-season rentals. You can get a feel for the area and where you'd like to be. They come furnished, so you can put your stuff in storage 'til you're ready.
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