moving from NY to leland or wilmington (Carolina Beach, Welcome: apartment, mortgage)

[opalpc]

Go up towards the Northwest area in Leland on Mt. Misery Road. They are removing unsightly homes on the way up and putting in very affordable homes as opposed to Magnolia Green/Waterford. Now that the landfill issue is not a problem, the company just announced it will not try to build here, due to the many highly intelligent and determined citizens in this area fighting it for the past several years. It is an easy communte to Wilmington (less time than Hampstead into Wilmington). In the area that I am speaking about there are many stores coming in by the 17, which is great, you are still are close enough to shop but far enough away to be peaceful.

Most of that area also has been zoned residential no less then 1/2 acre and no mobile or modular allowed to be placed on property.

We do have childeren in North Brunswick High School who are on top of things and very one on one with families and students. The other two commute to Cape Fear Community, and University Of Wilmington and find it to be an easy drive.

[nitneylion]

I hate people who used to live in the area years ago making comments about how Wilmington and the surrounding areas are now. Leland has many very good housing areas, the only problem is that the cost is rising. Hampstead is growing but the drive to Wilmington during rush hours is horrendous.

Wilmington is still a good choice.....

[neighbor_nancy]

My understanding from other posts on this board is that Leland used to be a trailer park haven, but with installation of public sewer system (and subsequent increases in taxes), programs for free removal of old trailers and the like, the area has been experiencing a lot of growth. My husband and I might move to the area (his job), and I've found several nice homes with reasonable property size in Leland for under $350,000 - at least found online (I haven't been there yet!). My realtor is suggesting Burgaw, but that is a bit far for job in Wilmington.

MY question is still - how can you find out if houses/neighborhoods are out of the typical hurricane paths? Likely to be dry?

[anonymous]

Have fun crossing the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge every day. That alone would prevent me from living west of the Cape Fear River. IMO, it is a serious impediment to this area's growth. There are talks of building another bridge farther south, but the funding isn't there, and the road won't open until at least 2015, if ever.

As far as your question about being "Out of the typical hurricane path" - I'm not even sure what that means. The entire area is susceptible, with areas directly on the coast being the most susceptible.

[roxors]

Nowhere in the Wilmington area, much less houses or neighborhoods, is out of the typical hurricane path, because there are no typical hurricane paths. Some areas may be less prone to flood. When a tropical storm or hurricane nears the coast, expect wind and heavy rains for a period of many hours, if not a couple days. I went through 5 of them in the area between 1997 and 2002.

[NCSC]

Like others have said, there is no typical hurricane path, but you are more likelly to get some flooding if you live near a marsh, creek, stream, pond, etc. or a designated flood zone. Also, if you can, check out the area after a heavy rain. There is an area on Oleander near Greenville Loop Road that floods heavily after a big rain, or a couple of days of rain, but you don't know that until you live through it.
If you work in Wilmington, I would suggest living in Wilmington, b/c like others have pointed out, traffic bottlenecks in morning and afternoon from Leland to the bridge and it is getting worse every day. Also, you'll be coming to Wilmington all the time, anyway, for other things like shopping, restaurants, etc. Leland does have some nice communities, though. Good luck!

[Watts4]

Leland is up and coming, lots of new restaurants, businesses and shopping areas popping up, so you won't have to cross the bridge for everything.
Brunswick County is the 14th fastest growing county in the country.
If you're going to be working in Wilmington on a daily basis, you will end up despising the bridges (especially if it's a 9-5 job, peak traffic).
Almost all of the hurricanes we've had have been Category 1 or 2 (Fran in '97 was a 3). Rain and flooding have been the biggest problems from these hurricanes, so be sure to check flood maps for any area you consider.

[Stephen Crager]

Great neighborhood! My wife & I moved to the other side of 17 into Jefferson Landing but we loved Waterford.

I think the people who are critical of Leland have not been through the new communities. I think they're as nice if not nicer than anything in Wilmington or other surrounding towns.

Good luck if you choose to move there. We be neighbors.

Steve

[neighbor_nancy]

Thanks for all your input. The bridge would not really have been an issue for us - we're coming from NY where we cross much busier bridges daily. Since my dearly beloved will be working for GE, we ended up purchasing a lovely new home in Rocky Point. I will be joining him there in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the input and looking forward to meeting all my new neighbors in July!

Nancy

[southernlady5464]

Hi Nancy, my husband also works for GE. I got here before he did. We moved here from MI but are originally from the south. He did a stint out in San Jose right after they hired him and he just got here yesterday. I got here 6 weeks ago. PM me and I will give you my email address. We are over off Hwy 133 between the river and WalMart in the Belville area. Liz