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We had a great time over the weekend and manages to cram as much as we could into the short time we were at SJP.
We started off flying into Wilmington at the peak of the thunderstorm. I must say that was the roughest flight I can recall having in a long time.
We decided to grab lunch at the brewery in town and tried out the local BBQ. We were impressed with how friendly everyone was, from the waitress in the restaurant to the attendant at the parking deck.
We checked in and picked up the welcome packet - we were in a condo at harbor watch. The place was nice, but not a floor plan we liked and there was no real view of anything.
We took the rest of the night to drive over to the beach club and try some local sea food. It was dark by this time so our site seeing was a bit limited. The was thing we noticed was from the harbor, it took us about 10 or so minutes to get to the front gate and another 20 minutes to get to the beach club.
Sat was our big day. We started going through our tour at 9am. Based on our issues of wanting low maintenance, we were shown houses in SeaSide and Regency Lakes. The units were all very nice and my wife picked out her favorite pretty quick. Though I was surprised that non of the ones we saw had a tub in the master bath.
For us the one of the disappointments was, none of them really had much of a view. A couple had a small pound behind them, but nothing that wowed us. If either of us played golf I'm sure over looking a fairway might have meant more.
We looked at the fitness club. The equipment was nice but we were surprised at how small it was considering the number of units and we were told they have to use a signup system to wait for machines when they are busy. Also because of the season all of the outdoor pools were closed.
We visited the ocean club again trying a different exit out to Middleton street but it still took us about 30 minutes to get there. (Maybe I just drive slow)
The beach club was closed but we still walked around, it looked nice but looked like it could get pretty crowded during summer as it's not that large. We did the 15 minute walk along the beach to the fishing pier but that was closed for repairs.
We had dinner at the Players Club which was nice but it seemed a little pricy.
Over all we thought it was a great community but not right for us. Mostly because we don't golf so the 81 holes or so didn't do much for us. We are more about the water and beach which didn't seem very convenient.
We spent the rest of our time driving up and down the coast looking at houses and condos (nothing jumped out there either)
Sadly I think we will be crossing SJP off our list but only because it wasn't a match for us.
Lots of "Plantations" down the line that may be a better fit. As I said in an earlier posting Sea Trail is the closest to the "beach" in that area only a mile or so from the sand. You might want to give that a look. Good luck in your search.
We are finishing up a full month of visiting the area. My wife and I are both 58 and we’re lookingfor the next phase. Being earlyretirees, we looking for the near term. Werented a condo in St James and we spent the last month visiting communitiesfrom Hamstead to Ocean Ridge. At this point we like SJP more than anything elsein the area. Wilmington is too crowdedand the past financial troubles of Ocean Ridge are concerning.
Sooooo, we love the homes in St James. But itisn’t just about a nice new house. The Woodlands seem like a very nice neighborhood. But we are just not feeling compelled to makethe move. We’re not golfers but we understandthere are many other attractions to the region. I guess what’s making us hesitant are the demographics and maybe someonecan help us with this. Everyone we’ve methas been very nice but most seem to be in their mid 70’s or order. We would be more encouraged if we met a fewfolks in their mid to late 50’s. Anycomments or insights would be much welcomed.
Last edited by VirginiaJim; 02-26-2014 at 09:55 AM..
Reason: content
We are 62 and plan to be down full time this year, although not at SJP. Although we have been down only 2to 3 aweeks at a time, we have met lots of younger people out and about, at the fishing piers,wine club, library activities and volunteering locations and of course the churches. Yes, there may be a preponderance of oldsters, but I found so much going on in the larger community and a variety of ages. If you are looking for big city type clubbing though, this may not be the area for you.
We had a great time over the weekend and manages to cram as much as we could into the short time we were at SJP.
We started off flying into Wilmington at the peak of the thunderstorm. I must say that was the roughest flight I can recall having in a long time.
We decided to grab lunch at the brewery in town and tried out the local BBQ. We were impressed with how friendly everyone was, from the waitress in the restaurant to the attendant at the parking deck.
We checked in and picked up the welcome packet - we were in a condo at harbor watch. The place was nice, but not a floor plan we liked and there was no real view of anything.
We took the rest of the night to drive over to the beach club and try some local sea food. It was dark by this time so our site seeing was a bit limited. The was thing we noticed was from the harbor, it took us about 10 or so minutes to get to the front gate and another 20 minutes to get to the beach club.
Sat was our big day. We started going through our tour at 9am. Based on our issues of wanting low maintenance, we were shown houses in SeaSide and Regency Lakes. The units were all very nice and my wife picked out her favorite pretty quick. Though I was surprised that non of the ones we saw had a tub in the master bath.
For us the one of the disappointments was, none of them really had much of a view. A couple had a small pound behind them, but nothing that wowed us. If either of us played golf I'm sure over looking a fairway might have meant more.
We looked at the fitness club. The equipment was nice but we were surprised at how small it was considering the number of units and we were told they have to use a signup system to wait for machines when they are busy. Also because of the season all of the outdoor pools were closed.
We visited the ocean club again trying a different exit out to Middleton street but it still took us about 30 minutes to get there. (Maybe I just drive slow)
The beach club was closed but we still walked around, it looked nice but looked like it could get pretty crowded during summer as it's not that large. We did the 15 minute walk along the beach to the fishing pier but that was closed for repairs.
We had dinner at the Players Club which was nice but it seemed a little pricy.
Over all we thought it was a great community but not right for us. Mostly because we don't golf so the 81 holes or so didn't do much for us. We are more about the water and beach which didn't seem very convenient.
We spent the rest of our time driving up and down the coast looking at houses and condos (nothing jumped out there either)
Sadly I think we will be crossing SJP off our list but only because it wasn't a match for us.
You may want to look at Ocean Ridge Plantation or Sea Trail Plantation in Sunset Beach. Less than 10 minute drive to Beach. Just a thought...
you are going to get a mix betwen 55 and 80 yrs old in every plantation you look at down here, especially if the place is over 10 years old..... you're going to find the very same mix here in St James.... I don't know where you were hanging out but just about everyone WE hang out / socialize with here in St James is between 55 - 65 yrs.
We've been visiting a few of the clubs, the marina and walking around. But mainly just watching from the sidelines so our perceptions are likely not valid. Thank you for your feedback--just the info I'm looking for to correct our experiences.
VirginiaJim, my husband and I bought a lot in the Ellington section of the Reserve near the Seaside gate and we are in our late 40s. We're hoping to build and move to SJP in the next couple years and we'll still be in our early 50s. We met one of our future neighbors and they're in their early 60s. So there's a good mix in SJP.
I have been reading all the messages about St. James with some frustration. My wife and I (50y.o.) looked up and down the coast for about a year before settling on a condo in St. James two years ago. We were initially thinking about something for investment purposes and an occassional get-away but liked it so much we didn't rent for over a year. We have since bought a home there (great price w/membership-too good to pass up) and rent that out to folks building until we can get there full-time. I mention this due to the thought some uninformed people seem to have that everyone in St James are rich and "uppity". Far from it. We are blue-collar hard working people who finally were able to get to a point where we could plan on our retirement. I cannot possibly begin to put into words are warm, friendly and welcoming people in St. James are. We met one person in the three years we have been coming down who complained about the place-and that was just the speed enforcement. I have no problem with it-keeps things safe and quiet. As far as the Wal-Mart rumor about somebody asking that they close it for a day a week just for St James people-we heard it was Food Lion. Someone from St James asked the Food Lion Manager and he said it was a rumor-never happened. Let's face it-even if one crack-pot did ask someone this should you lump everyone in St. James into that? Of course not. I do think some jealousy is involved-not so much with St James itself but there are still some folks in the south who stereotype all folks from the North and the fact that St James does have a lot of northerners probably adds to their dismay. This ignorance is no different than the misconception that people from the south are not as intelligent. For all you haters and misinformed let me finish with this to give you all an idea of St. James. An employee of St. James was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease a couple of years back. The folks of St. James raised approximately $85,000.00 dollars to assist him and his young family. Recently an anonymous donor got him and his wife two Super Bowl tickets-when a concern was raised over one of the SJP internal web-sites about cost for the trip on a Friday afternoon the person who posted this had $15,000.00 dropped off to his house by Sunday to assist. There was a traffic jam in St James from people driving to the home to donate. Sadly most people would rather obsess over one or two negatives than look at the many positives. Our tenants, who are building a large home in SJP (very nice by the way) were shopping recently for landscaping. They checked a local spot and the son of the owner (said he was about 20) greeted them by telling him how much he hated "Yankees" coming down here and wished they would all go back. And you wonder where some of the negativity and rumors about SJP comes from? These folks would have spent a lot of money there and given him more business-he just had to be decent and not stereotype. I'm done squawking about this-just wanted to give my real views on the area. It is heaven for us-my blood pressure goes down just going through the gate. You can do as much or as little as you want. Perfect for us. Excellent food inside the clubhouses and in Southport. Big city shopping? No. But there are spots in Wilmington that can assist if that's what you want. Thanks
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