a little help with POSSIBLE relocation (Wilmington, Jacksonville: real estate, renting, loan)

[Mike409]

I have a few friends that live on the outerbanks. I'am not able to afford the banks. What would be some nice areas on the mainland?? Maybe, you can give me something to work with. Price range would be up to $240000., however, I'm thinking of possibly renting at first. THANK YOU!

[PortCity08]

Mike,
Have you checked out Wilmington? It's not exactly close to the O.B, but very cool in its own rite. If you're into the coastal lifestyle but don't want to be isolated (especially in the off season) look into Wilmington.

I'm 31, moved from Colorado 8 years ago and lived in So. Cal. before that. I'm in real estate here in Wilmington and honestly like living here. There are a lot of naysayers on this site, but if you just want to browse listings, visit my homepage and use the search tool. Good luck to you!

[SunnyKayak]

Try looking into Manteo and Wanchese unless you go across the sound and the next biggest area is Columbia NC but I would not recommend living there the economy of that are is very sluggish.

I seen many posters choose the inner banks area around Washington, NC and Oriental NC

[jmarquise]

question mike, would you have to have a job or are you coming to retire or what is the story? it will help us get a better feel for what your needs are.

[dsobotta]

Finding a home in eastern NC near the Outer Banks is a very personal thing.

I cannot think of a better way than spending a week driving down the coast.

There are hundreds of homes in a variety of areas that meet your pricing needs.

North Carolina has beautiful areas all up and down the coast. The most important thing is for you to find one that you like.

If you really want to move, take the time to go get qualified for a loan.

Do some research in City Data on the areas that have tweaked your interest and then go visit them.

What I like and what you like could be two totally different things.

I always suggest that people write down factors that are important to them in deciding where to live. Try to assign points to them and then rate a few places according to your own scale.

How you assign points and value things might change after you have looked at some homes.

Remember that visiting a place and living in a place are two very different things. Emerald Isle which has a fair number of people in the summer is pretty empty in the winter but it has more people than many areas do in the winter. Over on the shore lots of places are full of people living there all year.

Aside from Wilmington (75,838) and New Bern (27,650) there are no cities of any size along the NC coast.

Manteo is estimated at 1,290 people and Morehead City has 9,263 according to City-Data.

There are plenty of small towns, like Cape Carteret, (1,460) which are close to the beaches. All have their own personalities.

Along the Crystal Coast which is roughly Beaufort to Swansboro, you have the choice of anything from the history of Beaufort to beaches in Emerald Isle to the fishing village of Swansboro, but all of the towns are small and jobs outside the military bases are mostly service oriented though lots of people start their own small businesses.

Carteret County which has most of the Crystal Coast has easy access to the beaches and a ferry to Ocracoke. It also has the whole Core Banks stretching up from Cape Lookout which to my mind is one of NC's most precious resources.

If you want to check out what attracted me to Carteret County read my post, Ten ways Carteret County met our needs.

I spent a lot of time on the Northern Outer Banks and decided it was too crowded in the summer and too isolated in the winter for me.

The four years we have been wandering or living near the Southern Outer Banks (Crystal Coast) have been some of the best times of my life.

I would not live anywhere else, and now is a fantastic time to be looking for a new place to live.

Here's the official Crystal Coast/Southern Outer Banks travel guide.

[Ebediel]

Hey I would check out Grandy, NC it's on the mainland and about 10-15 mins from the the OBX. You could probably find something in your price range there. It's not a booming metropolis but it is adequate. You could find housing anywhere between Grandy and the OBX and most of the people there work and shop at the beach.

[Ces1]

Please do not forget Jacksonville NC. We moved here six years ago from Arlington VA due to high cost of living, planes smacking into the Pentagon, having to shovel snow and we had friends in JVille, cost of houses ever so much cheaper, warmer weather, more informal and since we are retired Marine Corps, close to the base along with beaches. Yes, somethings are not avail, no 3 story malls,theatres,five star restaurants, however found that I do not need as much stuff as I thought I did and we are loving it.