brunswick county, the good, the bad, and the ugly (Cary: real estate market, rent)

[jmarquise]

this thread is for people who want to share what they like/dislike, about brunswick county. fire away. also, if you want information about brunswick county, feel free to post. I know a lot of people are relocating here. if you have questions about specific neighborhoods or towns, perhaps someone can help you!

[ybarizona]

Are there good schools here (high school) and if not, what are good schools within an hour commute from Glynco?

[nikkak]

We are relocating from Michigan, and my husband will work in Little River, SC. We'd like to live in NC, within a 45 minute commute. The school system is the #1 factor in where we will live, I don't care if we have to live in a shack to afford it. Any suggestions? At first I thought the Brunswick Cty schools would be good, based on info from schoolmatters.com, but after reading posts here I'm not so sure. We're not wealthy and can't afford to live in a seaside-resort town (shack or not).

[CrimsonDregs]

What can you afford? Currently you could negotiate given the real estate market. It's a buyers market.

[nikkak]

We'll rent the first year anyway - I just want to move to a good school district within commuting distance (45 mins) to Little River, SC. We cannot afford private school for 3 kids. What are the best districts? I heard NC was better for education than SC, but it was just hearsay. Is this true?

[rubber_factory]

Originally Posted by nikkak

We'll rent the first year anyway - I just want to move to a good school district within commuting distance (45 mins) to Little River, SC. We cannot afford private school for 3 kids. What are the best districts? I heard NC was better for education than SC, but it was just hearsay. Is this true?

Insofar as higher education is concerned, yes. UNC, Duke, and Wake are all of a higher caliber than South Carolina's best universities - and I say that as a graduate of a large, public university in SC.

However, if you don't take advantage of one of those three universities, I would say it is a draw.

[dixiecup]

All Brunswick County schools achieved satisfactory and or exemplary growth on their end-or-grade test, which are state mandated, except, three. These were Shallotte Middle, West Brunswick High Sch., and one other which I forget. Shallotte Middle draws from a vast area, is the county's largest middle school and suffered from lack of instructional leadership. Similarly, there is little support at the county level for this school. However, I'm not sure how Little River, Myrtle Bch., area compares. Both areas are suffering from growing pains...too many people moving in and out, space limitations, teacher-student ratios that exceed legal limits and constant faculty turnover. South Brunswick (Southport area) gets more funding, has more space, less students, and tends to look better on all measures of student performance. I'll bet you can guess what I used to do for a living and it wasn't real estate...though I did work in it in the summer years ago. This is a beautiful area. Southern Brunswick county (Calabash, Ocean Isle Bch. Sunset Bch.) has some of the most gorgeous vistas in the state. But it is no educational mecca. Maybe when the kids grow up....Seriously, this isn't the North. If you're happy with the schools there, you won't be happy here.

[dixiecup]

Forgot to add that the best school district in the state as judged by test scores is the Chapel Hill, Cary area. My dd college roommate made 2100 out of possible 2400 on the SAT. She's from Cary.