Moving to coastal area of NC (New Bern, Havelock: real estate, broker, buy)

[Violet1816]

Hi,
We are moving to the coastal area of NC next June. My husband has accepted a job at Cherry Point. I am trying to determine the best area for our family. We have a daughter who is 11 y. and a 3 y. as well as 2 older kids, who are 19 and 18. I have been thinking of Morehead City. I know this is a smaller community and was wondering if they are welcoming to newcomers. Does this area have lots of families or more retirees? I have read that the schools in the area are good. I currently live in a suburb of KC, population 100,000,so I do have some concerns about going from a large population to a smaller one. Basically, any information/opinions regarding this area would be highly appreciated. By the way, we love the beach!

Thanks so much!!

[Bill Hitchcock]

Violet1816,
I live in Morehead City. It is a great little town of approx. 8,000 people. Morehead is a year 'round town-Not a touristy-beachy place. Don't get me wrong! Morehead hosts events such as the NC Seafood Festival which will bring in over 100K people!
But we are first and foremost a town in of ourselves. A friendly, family oriented little city.
Our county-Carteret County has a population of approx. 80,000 people. Cartert County is basically a pennisula with several barrier islands. I believe our number one employer is still the base. If not then its the school system.
Bill

[LLN]

MHC has a lot going for it. It is getting some "big box" stores. I moved to New Bern 2 years ago. I work near Cherry Point. If I could do it again, I would move to MHC.

I know a lot of folks live in Newport. It is basically a stop light or two between Havelock (home of Cherry Point) and MHC. Some posters routinely put it down, but the folks that I know (6 or 7) that live there love it.

Oh, If you decide to live in Havelock, the schools in that area are pretty good, too.

Good luck.

lln

[Steven McCurdy]

Morehead City is nice, and checkout the other end of the county as well, Cape Carteret, Emerald Isle, Newport...Newport covers alot of area just by mailing address...all small towns...If you need info, just ask..

[ImWithTheBand]

You didn't say if you have already visited the area. You will enjoy a spring visit to look around. Be sure to see New Bern and everything east all the way to MHC and the beach.

[dsobotta]

We live on the western side of the county near the beaches of Emerald Isle. Morehead City is the "city" to us. We go there for some of the shopping and food that we do not have in our end of the county like Best Buy and Panera Bread.

You will find the people very friendly. It is a family oriented town. We bought our skiff from a family run boat dealer there, Boats Inc of MHC.

I love going to visit, since the place is run by a family of three plus two Labrador Retrievers. They are a typical Carteret County business, family run and family oriented.

There are lots of nice subdivisions in the area. I doubt the people are any different than the ones in our end of the county which means they are very accepting of new comers.

One of the things I enjoy most about Carteret County is that it is a real melting pot of new people and people who have always lived here. In our real estate office we have people who moved down here from New York twenty years ago, people like myself who were born in the western part of the state, and people who have always lived in the Cape Carteret area. We even have someone who shrimps part time.

Beach access and water access is fantastic in Carteret County. We live less than ten minutes by car from beach access in Emerald Isle so a walk on the beach is often our afternoon exercise. Having the Croatan National Forest around is also a great benefit. We especially enjoy the area's trails in the fall, winter, and spring.

The area also has lots of festivals that are smaller and more personal than the seafood festival. We tend to enjoy those. We are coming up to the annual Christmas parades. The holiday parade in Emerald Isle is one of my favorites. Sometimes there are almost as many people in the parade as there are watching it.

We enjoy going to visit the Maritime Museum in Beaufort and Fort Macon for some history. The Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores for a look undersea is another favorite of ours.

You can find links to a lot of pictures of the area and information about the area at my site which even has a map of area services.

I also have a blog with lots of articles about moving to and living in the area.

Yesterday morning sort of summarizes the reasons why I love the area. It was so warm when I got up that I went for a boat ride before I even got our morning paper. We then went to church where we had a great potluck lunch after the services.

There are not many places you can go for a boat ride before church.

This is an archive of the diary of our first year on the coast. Just click on the tags to read about different aspects of life here.

Good luck with your move, you are moving to one of the most scenic areas in the world, from Cape Lookout to Bogue Inlet, it is a wonderful spot with lots to offer.

[Violet1816]

I know that hurricanes are a threat to this area. Has there been many in this area with lots of damage and do you have to evacuate often? In the kc area we have tornadoes here, and have made many trips to our basement but we have been fortunate to have been spared.

Thank you for all the information everyone has provided me!

[Bill Hitchcock]

Violet1816,
Your best bet is to do a City data search on hurricanes. The topic is as big as the storm itself and has been covered ad nausem.
But one thing I'll tell you seeing as how you live in KC. Unlike tornados-Hurricanes do not just fall out of the sky with little or no warning.
As a real estate broker there is much we look for in a property before you purchase which can minimize the effects of a storm.
Bill