Pros/Cons Wilmington Beach Area (Charlotte, Raleigh: 2011, car insurance, crime)

[joedahl26]

Hi - - I am a college student from the midwest graduating soon. I am looking into the Wilmington area to possibly move to. What are some pros and cons of the beach life/housing/lifestyle/expensive? Thanks for you help and enjoy the summer.

[thefinalsay]

high cost of living and no jobs. if you can get a job here, it's not a terrible place to live.

[InformationPlease]

I think the cost of living is reasonable and def cheaper than other parts of the state (charlotte/chapel hill) but agree completely about the jobs.

Pros: lots of people your age, beach, always something to do with friends, beach, beach, beach

Cons: too many people in too small space causes traffic issues, frequent accidents, too many cars on roads, transitory...lots of the young people you will befriend will move away, crime against the youngin's... i think families manage to avoid it but almost every non-native 20-soemthing I know has experienced a crime against them durign their time in Ilm

Neutral: higher girl to guy ratio, not sure if you are chick/dude but it def benefits the guys more, weather issues (frequent flooding in certain parts of town), cost of living -- I think it's acceptable and there are some nicer, newer places, no jobs -- there really aren't too many jobs anywhere... Wilm is a bit harder though because it's isolated a few hours in either direction

[macjr82]

Though it is cheaper than Charlotte, the Wilmington area is the 2nd most expensive in the state. It may be cheaper than Chapel Hill specifically, but not Raleigh and the Triangle as a whole.

Originally Posted by InformationPlease

I think the cost of living is reasonable and def cheaper than other parts of the state (charlotte/chapel hill) but agree completely about the jobs.

Pros: lots of people your age, beach, always something to do with friends, beach, beach, beach

Cons: too many people in too small space causes traffic issues, frequent accidents, too many cars on roads, transitory...lots of the young people you will befriend will move away, crime against the youngin's... i think families manage to avoid it but almost every non-native 20-soemthing I know has experienced a crime against them durign their time in Ilm

Neutral: higher girl to guy ratio, not sure if you are chick/dude but it def benefits the guys more, weather issues (frequent flooding in certain parts of town), cost of living -- I think it's acceptable and there are some nicer, newer places, no jobs -- there really aren't too many jobs anywhere... Wilm is a bit harder though because it's isolated a few hours in either direction

[robma44541]

This is a college town, I believe some 12,000 plus students at UNCW every year, probably 4,000-5,000 moving out and the same moving in every year, these numbers make it transient in itself, and on a lesser scale the same at CFCC. Therefor there is a large population of people your age here, and therefor a lot of college grads applying for a handful of good jobs, its a very tough job market and its not recommended you come here without one. I have a 21 year old son here and he enjoys the downtown area, lots of bars and a few clubs, gets pretty busy on Friday and Saturday night. The beaches are always crowded in the summer with a lot of students and grads.
As for the cost of living, you can get a reasonable rental, and gas and food prices are not much different than anywhere else.
Traffic is crazy especially near the university, where they built most of the retail too, so car insurance is high, the ILM airport is OK and its easy to get to, and the raleigh/durham airport is about 100+ miles north of here for international travel.
Like any city of this size there is crime, a lot of it in the area just outside the down town area, and so common sense would tell you not to go into that area after 2 am.
Because Wilmington is so close to the coast, where everyone wants to live, and its still affordable here, there are a lot of people coming to the area and with the economy the way it is who knows if it'll stay that way.
Good luck to you in your search.

[rubber_factory]

Originally Posted by macjr82

Though it is cheaper than Charlotte, the Wilmington area is the 2nd most expensive in the state. It may be cheaper than Chapel Hill specifically, but not Raleigh and the Triangle as a whole.

I'm sure it depends on what source you're using.

I recall that when I moved here in 2007, a study was released that said Wilmington had the 2nd highest cost of living of any city in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia combined. Higher than Raleigh, Asheville, Charlotte, Charleston and the DC suburbs. #1 was Richmond.

[movedtothecoast]

note that wilmington is not located on the beach ,hence there is not such thing as wilmington beach.
wilmington is located on the cape fear river about ten miles from wrigthsville beach.

[rubber_factory]

^ there is an old community called "Wilmington Beach", between Kure and Carolina Beaches.

[movedtothecoast]

yeah , that was true , now it is part of carolina beach,
we used to live in the little neighborhood next to wilmington beach , called hanby beach , now part of kure beach.

[cathyde]

Originally Posted by movedtothecoast

yeah , that was true , now it is part of carolina beach,
we used to live in the little neighborhood next to wilmington beach , called hanby beach , now part of kure beach.

Just out of curiosity, when did all the name changes take place? We've been going to Carolina Beach for 15 years now (ever since my brother moved to Wilmington) and I had never heard of the other names. TIA!