Beaufort or Morehead City? (Emerald Isle, Newport: hair salon, house, school)

[oceanmom]

Yes, there is a public library in Beaufort. It is has a great preschool children's program. Also, Check out the Carteret County Partnership for Children(they have a website) for their preschool programs. ALL FREE.
Smyrna is a nice, small, rural community about 10 minutes East of Beaufort down Hwy 70. There are not a lot of bike trails there but maybe on side roads through neighborhoods. Water is not far away. Can I ask where you guys are moving from?

[SadieAnn]

We are moving from Fort Myers, Fl once our house is sold. That all sounds great. I really hope to drive as little as possible, so we're not sure about way out in Smyrna but it sounds nice. Where did you all move from? Do you have an opinion about Morehead City or Newport? Thanks again for the information. We can't wait to get there.

[NANASIX]

I live about 7 miles outside Beaufort, headed toward "Downeast" and Smyrna.
The info you received about the prices of Real Estate in the area were correct. Newport is not a Marine town, but does have some military as Cherry Point Marine Base is nearby, but Havelock and Jacksonville are definitely the Military towns. I would suggest Beaufort or further downeast for buying and value increases. The school system is much smaller in Beaufort, and Smyrna, as Smyrna has it's own elementary school, as does Harkers Island. The entire Carteret County area is wonderful with very low crime rate, when compared to large cities. I've been here about 25 years and you couldn't pay me to move back to a large city. It's quiet, the people are basically kind and caring individuals. Historic Beaufort is a joy. Walking the waterfront, viewing the boats in the cut, and visiting the local shops is always a pleasure. Morehead has changed considerably the past 20 years, going more commercial, as required by growth. It all depends on what you want for your family, and the life style you would like to be a part of. You're close to the beaches anywhere in the county, with lots of great restaurants for dining. Hope you'll enjoy your move to our area, and love it the way I have. My mother was from Ocracoke Island, NC., her family moved to Beaufort in the late 30's, as a child born and raised in Portsmouth,Va., I enjoyed my many visits here as a child, and knew I always wanted to live here. Good luck to you in your endeavor

[LittleDolphin]

Hi, thought I'd chime in with some thoughts.

Downeast is lovely and you'll find it friendly. However you might want to think about shopping. You mentioned you didn't want to drive much. Well, most of the major shopping--Kmart, WalMart, Lowes, Staples and other big-box shopping are located a few miles outside of Morehead City. So most of your shopping there will involve a trip of 45 minutes or so. And grocery shopping is in Beaufort--the closet major grocery to Downeast Smyrna.

Something to keep in mind, even if you're not a big shopper, you will be driving to it. We settled in Beaufort about three years ago. I love it, pure and simple, I love it. We've found a great community here. And I bike most everywhere--to library, grocery store, drugstore, etc. Just got to stay off the major roads, the neighborhood streets are low traffic and we see many families/kids biking.

However, to be honest, Morehead is more centrally located to the beach and to shopping. It's a hard choice, really. Beaufort's still affordable if you locate outside of the historic district. Lots of upside potential as this town is so very charming.

For example, there's a cute, smaller, newer (1350 sq ft) 3/2 ranch-style house that just went on the market in my neighborhood for $189,000. Fenced yard, deck, vinyl exterior, front porch. Looks very tidy and is at the end of a cul de sac. Good biking to the waterfront and around the n'hood. It's a good buy, I think. Good smaller family house or an easy, upkeep retirement home. And no, I'm not a Realtor, just like seeing what's for sale and at what price.

Hope this helps. You'll like it here. The kids and their parents seem friendly. We know quite a few teachers and they are outstanding, caring people. The local high school puts on the most amazing plays...their Wizard of Oz was truly wonderful.

Hope your home in FLA sells quickly and you can move to our part of the world.

[Nancy Keener]

Was Just In The Area In Feb. 2007. Beaufort Is My Pick For A Cute Little Waterttown Of 4,000 Of So. They Are Redoing Alot Of The Run Down Streets And Houses And The Area S Very Pricey. Losts Of Parades, Music And Boating Festivals And Farmers Markets . Quite In The Winter, When We Were There , But Had Entertainment We Could Go To Each Week-end At The Civic Center Or The History Place. Also New Bern, Nc 40 Mi From Beaufort Is A Beautifull Place . On The River, 25,000 People. Geourgous Place. Very Old

[babynala1]

I'm orginally from Virginia, but I lived in NC for quite a while.I think Newport would probably be your best bet with children. Havelock is actually the military town. Newport is close enough to Morehead that there is still activies for the kids and job opportunities to do but you're away from the chaos of a bigger city. Beaufort, there's not much for the kids to do. I hope this helps some.

[malimea]

Sadie Ann,
You are in for some joy! We have three girls who loved Morehead until my husband got stationed in California! With regret we had to leave the area.
From our house in MC (just off of Highway 24 on the water side) it was a 7 minute commute to Atlantic Beach. We had a huge yard, a cul-de-sac and lots of privacy. From the community 500 ft pier we would picnic, swim, kayak, sail, boat, fish or hoist crab pots.
We are renting our home starting mid June (the renters bought property in our development.) The house is listed on Militarybyowner.com, along with many other properties which may suit you.
Also craigslist.com just started an Outer Banks section which I would like to see include Carteret County someday soon...
Goodluck!
Malimea

[malimea]

Regarding bicycling to Atlantic Beach --it would be much easier comuting from the Bogue Sound side of Morehead City. When we lived there, we had friends who would start near us in a housing development on water side of Highway 24, and ride a giant loop. Basically it went through Morehead accross to Atlantic Beach down the island to Emerald Island accross the bridge back to highway 24 and then back to Morehead City. They thought it was grand...
Malimea

[malimea]

Also regarding the library. Morehead doesn't have a public library but Morehead City elementary school has a gorgeous 11,000? volume library which the public is free to use (or was free to use two years ago.) It's children section is vastly superior to the local public libraries here in California.
Goodluck!
Malimea

[LittleDolphin]

Morehead doesn't have a public library but they do have a fabulous private library that anyone can use with a joining fee of a few bucks.

It's called the Webb Memorial Library and it's right down by the waterfront, housed in an historical building. In fact, the building just received a plaque noting its history.

If you've children, you--and they-- will adore the great children's room complete with some fine first editions...and offering story hours and such.

I like the Webb because it's got lots of easy chairs and couches and feels like a large library in a private home. Cozy, quaint and filled with fine volumes. Check it out!