Swansboro or Emerald Isle? (Wilmington, Jacksonville: sales, real estate, condo)

[chepet007]

Hi all, Hubby and I are moving to NC very soon. He will need to work at a large hospital and hopefully the commute isn't too long. Which hospital should I send his resume to? Also how far is the commute from Swansboro? We're looking for a small house no more than $165,000. Its just the 2 of us now, and we dont want to live on top of our next door neighbor. Ideally 1/3 to 1/2 of an acre would be great.
Any help would really be appreciated! New Jersey is killing us with taxes so everyone is running South!
Thanks for any help
Chepet

[dsobotta]

Originally Posted by chepet007

Hi all, Hubby and I are moving to NC very soon. He will need to work at a large hospital and hopefully the commute isn't too long. Which hospital should I send his resume to? Also how far is the commute from Swansboro? We're looking for a small house no more than $165,000. Its just the 2 of us now, and we dont want to live on top of our next door neighbor. Ideally 1/3 to 1/2 of an acre would be great.
Any help would really be appreciated! New Jersey is killing us with taxes so everyone is running South!
Thanks for any help
Chepet

From Swansboro the nearest hospital would be Onslow Memorial. Depending where you live in the area you are looking at 20 to 25 minutes to commute.

You will not find a home in Emerald Isle for $165K, but you could find one in the Cape Carteret area just across the bridge from Emerald Isle. Then the closest hospital would be Carteret General Hospital. The distance is about 18 miles and would take 25 minutes or so from Cape Carteret.

Homes in Carteret County often have one third to one half acre lots due to the need for septic fields.

You will find taxes much lower in Carteret County compared to NJ.

Good luck with the move. I would be gald to answer other questions since I live not far from Cape Carteret. This map might help you with the area and services. Just zoom in until you can see the streets.

[chepet007]

Thanks Dsbotta, I've heard a lot of good things about your area and further South in Southport. I'm going to come down late Sept. and decide.

Thanks again chepet007

[eadams2]

I personally wouldn't live on Emerald Isle full time. My fiance lives there so I've spent a good deal of time over there the last 3-4 years. It's really a pain in the butt to go and come in the summer time with the tourists. They get in the way It can cramp your day to day activities trying to deal with them. Otherwise, during the off season, it's fine. I live in Swansboro and it's much easier to deal with the tourists on the mainland than on the island. Just my two cents But yes the Cape Carteret area is nice and you'd be fine to go either way to Morehead City (Carteret General) or Jacksonville (Onslow Memorial) from this general area. The trip is about the same once you factor in traffic/stoplights/etc.

[Bill Hitchcock]

eadams2 is so very correct with their observations.
The average sold price for a residential property in Swansboro for the year is $262K, which is 2% more than last year. Sales are down by 25%.
The past 30 days has seen the average price at $216K with a 13 month supply of inventory.
Emerald isle average annual sold price for a residential property (not condo) is at $539K which is 14% less than last year. Sales are off by 23%.
The past 30 days has the average price at $571K with a 22 month supply of inventory.
Hope this helps.
Bill

[chepet007]

Dsobotta, eadams2, and bill hitchcock . Thanks for all the info. What do you all think about Southport?

[dsobotta]

Originally Posted by chepet007

Dsobotta, eadams2, and bill hitchcock . Thanks for all the info. What do you all think about Southport?

Bald Head Island used to be one of my favorite spots until it got very pricey. When were deciding where to live on the coast in 2003, we visited Southport in 2004 and took these pictures.

It was a sleepy little coastal town, but I understand there has been plenty of development since then. The roads weren't great back then so I would check on those.

I did hear some concern from real estate people about the new Superport that is on the drawing board for the area. I don't know the impact. Someone that lives there can probably give you the scoop.

For some reason, Wilmington and south news rarely filters up our way.