Quote:
Originally Posted by marber
Thanks for the replies. I know of Oriental's reputation as a sailing community and I've been considering it for that reason. I am looking for a somewhat larger town though. The Beaufort/Morehead City area seems perfect as far as size & services are concerned but I had doubts about it as a sailing area. Elizabeth City is another town I've read about that may work for us.
At this point we are trying to identify those areas we need to visit before moving in a few years. We're looking for a Town large enough to have stores to supply all of the daily needs, an area with good boating, good birding, reasonably close to good medical facilities (within 30-45 minutes) & low crime rate. We want to live in a tourist dependant area where the community has an incentive to pick up litter and keep their environment clean. Want to live above the 100 year tidal surge. Living on the water is not a requirement but ideally we would be within 1.5 miles of our marina. We should have 300-350K to put into a home. Desire 3 bedroom ranch with 2 baths. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks again. Marc
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Marc,
We have many sailboats passing through the area. There are often several sailboats moored in Taylor's Creek in Beaufort.
The Intracoastal Waterway which passes right by Beaufort is plenty deep so you can cruise on it and use a place like Beaufort or Morehead City as your harbor. I am not certain that meets your day trip needs.
One of things I often tell people is don't try to view the area as a single town. The towns in the area area complement each other nicely.
It works that way because it takes less than 35 minutes to go from Swansboro to Beaufort. Probably 10-15 minutes of that is getting through Morehead City.
It is not unusual to see someone docking a boat in Morehead City and living in the western part of the county.
As to your other requirements, the birding seems great, we enjoy a wide variety of feathered friends.
The biggest challenge you will have is that development on the Carolina coast is mixed.
Some towns like Emerald Isle (and Beaufort inside the historic district) are very dependent on tourism so they work really hard at keeping things neat, but Emerald is not the right spot for you as far as a marina would go.
Morehead City and nearby areas have housing in the price range you want.
There are hospitals in Morehead City, New Bern, and Jacksonville.
I have a tidal surge map of the area that I would be glad to send you if you want to send me a private message.
In general Carteret County goes downhill from west to east. The farther east you get the more likely you are to see water around your home at some point.
The smaller towns tend to have the lowest crime rates. You can check those out on
City-Data's profiles. There is a list of the towns at the bottom of the article.
There's also a regional sailing magazine, but the name escapes me at the moment. I'll try to dig it up.
We often see someone anchor their sailboat for the night in Swansboro harbor, but certainly Bogue Sound except for the Intracoastal is much more suited to skiffs and bay boats.
All these marshes and shallow water areas filled with oysters do help us keep our water in pretty good shape.
Hopefully you can find a spot in the area that meets your needs. It is a great area.
Here is a picture I took over at the Beaufort Town dock last week.
http://coastalnc.org/beaufortdocks.jpg (broken link)
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