Thoughts on New Bern NC? (Havelock, Fairfield Harbour: houses, crime, businesses)

[Elizakehs]

When do you think you'll be moving? I live in NJ, right outside of Philadelphia and have lived here my whole life. I'm looking for a change and thought New Bern looked like a great little town. Please continue to post any new info you find out about the town and the progress your family is making towards the move. I too have school aged children and am concerned about them more so than my husband and I.

[Madonna Inn]

Have you ever read any of Nicolas Spark's books? Just about all (if not all) are written about New Bern. I'm not sure if he grew up there (I think he did), or if he picked that town to write about. I'd move there based on his books alone- if any of it were true!

[Bill Hitchcock]

Here's a great video on New Bern from the New Bern visitor center: http://www.visitnewbern.com/video_tour.htm

If you want to keep up with all of the news/events along coastal NC: http://www.nccoastalnews.com.

I own a Real Estate Agency in the area-Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.
Bill

[marc515]

Just one thing to be awere of are the covenants/restrictions in some developments. For example, Carolina Colours and Taberna allows fences, but you can only put then 1/2 way back on your property, so if your lot is 200" deep, you can only put your fence back 100', and that is a turn off for us. So make sure you read the covenants good.

We're going down this week to look around as we haven't locked in NB yet. We want to look at the Newport, Hubert and Richlands areas too.

Another concern is hurricanes. We have lived a few miles from the coast in NJ all our lives and have not had any severe hurricane damage. However, NC bears the brunt of a lot of hurricanes.

Regards,....marc

[Beffrey2]

Here is another New Bern site to ask questions


http://forums.enctoday.com/index.cfm...rum&forumID=26

[miamicunarder]

Don't let the advertising fool you, the place is terrible. A 297 year old town that never went anywhere due to its terrible location. The town lacks a good nightlife. Restaurant options are limited. Its "downtown" area is composed of a couple of blocks of mostly 19th century brick buildings with a drop of its earlier 18th century buildings. This I should point out, is the town's only interesting lure along with the rather plain looking replica of the British colonial governor's (and 1st government building) home which is regarded as a palace and named after the 2nd to last colonial governor, William Tryon. The miniscule "downtown" area is basically the city's facade. This small area has been reborn as a tourist catch with antique shops, boutiques and small private eateries, all of which appear to be privately owned and have odd hours of operation (i.e. closed on Sundays etc.)
The rest of the town surrounding the tiny "downtown" area is composed of old rotting neighborhoods w' a considerable low class black population which you'll always see walking around the streets like a scene out of a 3rd world country. (Warning: not a place to venture around at night)
And as for the waterways, coming from S Fl, what a contrast: dark, murky and shallow tea colored waters (no chance of swimming here). The summers are hotter than S Fl (past 100 F), stale with no breeze. Expect a coating of yellow pollen on everything during the outbreak of spring. During this time, it doesn't pay to wash your vehicle since it'll receive a nice fresh coating of the yellow stuff as soon as you've finished ringing the towel. For those with allergies, you have been warned.
Winters aren't so bad. However, the worst aspect of living here, again if you like this sort of thing, is the feeling of isolation from the outside world as nothing really ever happens here. Its ideal for those retirees and others that seek such a lifestyle but beware, I was one of those seeking such a rift from the big city but after more than a year of living here, I'm counting the days until I leave this Godforsaken place. As one neighbor said to me before she moved away a few weeks ago after having spent 9 months here, "this place was sucking the life out of me".

[NC man]

Wow, Hate to say it but you are dead on with everything you said, my dad has vacation home in Fairfield Harbor, the whole town is like 90 years old. I have to run my boat an hour down the river to get to good water. Strange city really.

[nuts4nc]

Wow! My father and all of his siblings have lived in or near New Bern for more than 30 years. If you're looking for excitement and constant entertainment, you'll need to move to somewhere else.

As far as the downtown streets being safe at night. They are very safe. My husband and I, have walked all around the waterfront and downtown streets, at night, just taking in the view.

I find just the opposite about New Bern. I find that it totally refreshes me. This is the one place that I love to come each summer to become rejuvenated for the year. It has real charm as to do many of the residents of this area. The way of life there is calming. Not loud and alarming.

Lots of history, and fun stuff do if you know what you want and where to find it. Ask the locals, they're very helpful.

If I could pick somewhere to move tomorrow. I'd pick New Bern or a town close to it. Great place for retirees. Cost of living is much cheaper than Indiana.

Close to the interstate if you want to drive into Jacksonville or Wilmington.

Easy to get around too.

Sorry, to hear you've not enjoyed yourself. However, I'm nuts for the place!

Good luck to you!

[Cattknap]

We visited New Bern a few years ago - wanted to see Taberna and the town of New Bern...we stayed for 2 nights. We noticed that police cars were parked throughout Taberna and finally stopped and asked a police officer in town why there were so many police cars parked in Taberna. He told us it was a deterrent against crime - that police parked their cars there between shifts.

Tryon Palace is an amazing historic site - but it is located right next to low-income, crime-ridden housing - projects.

If you look up the crime rate, it is very high. We would not walk down town at night - scary place.

As much as we liked the area, we said "no" to New Bern - too many negatives.

[silty1]

We are moving to Carolina Colours in 3 weeks, and I can't wait. The town is so friendly and really has a lot to offer, so much to do within a 2 hour radius. CC will have its own elementary school eventually, they have already dedicated the land, and they've cleared the land for the high school at the entrance to the development. It is going to be fun to watch this neighborhood evolve from the forrest.