wilmington vs. Raleigh Help us decide!! (Charlotte, Asheville: insurance, crime rates, houses)

[anj]

We are from L I New York and know alot of New Yorkers are moving to NC. Why do you think so many people are going to Raleigh rather than Wilmington which is so close to the coast? Thanks for your input.

[Bethanytedder]

Well, let's explore the question. Wilmington is beautiful. A lot of history there and the beaches are great. How adventurous are you? Move to Wilmington and I can just about guarantee that you will be forced inland at least 4 times over the next 15 years when a major landfalling hurricane comes calling during hurricane season which last six months out of the year from June 1st- November 30th. And that might be the least of your problems. Wilmington has been hit many times in the past 50 years with total losses of property. If I wanted to live near the coast I would at least get inland a couple of counties. Not that it might save you from total losses or even having to evacuate but it might lessen the threat a little. We have entered an active Atlantic phrase of a lot of storms each year and most of them are stronger than they had been prior to 1989 when Hugo racked across Charleston, SC. If you move to Wilmington my advice is to at least take the time to educate yourself on North Carolina Hurricane history so when the weather service is telling you to evacuate you aren't standing there looking like what the heck is a hurricane. Although I have to warn you Raleigh is not totally immuned either. As a child in the 50's when we were threatened we headed inland to Burlington, NC. But when Hurricane Fran hit coming in at Wilmington in 1996, Raleigh was nearly as wrecked as the rest of the coastal plains and it is a good 175 miles from the actual coast. You have to remember a hurricane's landfall is plotted on the eye's point of entry. Which actually doesn't mean a thing if you are talking about a storm that has a wind field 100-150 wide. You can have the roof off your house a good 2-3 hours before the eye even gets anywhere near you. A lot of people live in Wilmington and I love it there. I have a BIL in nearby Rocky Point. But there is fine art to it. Take nothing for granted when they tell you to get the heck out and if you are not hurricane savvy, take the time to get that way. Believe me it doesn't take but one good storm to either educate you or kill you. Good luck and hope this helps. If you need some specifics, let me know. I can give you some links to the past fifty years of North Carolina hurricane history.

[salatheel]

I am from Connecticut. Originally I planned on moving to Wilmington. After doing a lot of research,3 visits,talking to realtors and seeing houses I am now going to buy in either a Charlotte suburb or Raleigh suburb. Reasons?
1-price to value. Things are much more expensive on the coast. We want at least 2 acres and thats out of the question on the coast.
2-Hurricanes. A real threat in Wilmington.
3-Flooding insurance. Much of the savings in taxes will be spent on flood insurance.
4-Crime. Much lower crime rates in towns in the suburbs of Charlotte and Raleigh.

[salatheel]

oops, I forgot #5-Jobs. Much more to choose from and of a higher quality.

[Bethanytedder]

Key word in her post, Hurricanes are a real threat to Wilmington. Since 1996, we have had Fran, Bertha, Bonnie, and Floyd. Fran and Floyd were by far the worse ones and they did major, major damage far inland from Wilmington. I would imagine that insurance is out of sight down there. I went to Wilmington after Fran hit and you would have thought I was on a Civil War Battle field it was that bad. Check out this site. That should keep you busy for a while.

http://www.hurricanecity.com/city/wilmington.htm

[I'minformed2]

Hurricanes. Wilmington gets hit by a hurricane one average every 1.7 years...... it's long past due now and hurricanes are getting more intense and prolific.

[roxors]

As was pointed out earlier, JOBS. I lived in Wilmington for five years. I was lucky enough to obtain a job in the software industry. The pay was lousy in general, compared to other areas in the state, but it was a good job for Wilmington. If I were to have lost my job there, I would have had nearly an impossible time finding another one at the same wage. I then took another job in Asheville in 2002, doing the same work. I made $10K per more a year in Asheville to start, and am now making over $25K more than I made in Wilmington, again for basically doing the same work. People move to Wilmington because they want to live by the beach. They take jobs that are beneath their desired pay scale, and beneath their talents, because they want to live by the beach. Employers know this and this is a big reason why pay is low there compared to other large cities in North Carolina.

My father is a mechanical engineer. He was forced out of his well paying job in Wilmington in 2004, as he was nearing retirement age (he had just turned 64). He could not find other work. He ended up bagging groceries at Food Lion for 9 months before he could find something halfway decent (and at less than half his salary as before).

Keep all this in mind if you are going to move to Wilmington. I like the area and still visit there often, so it's nothing like that that is tainting my opinion. I wouldn't advise people move to Asheville either, as it's basically a mountain version of Wilmington. If I were going to move here from out of state, I would look at the Raleigh area, the Charlotte area, and the Triad. The housing prices are lower in the Triad, but there aren't as many jobs there. I'll be moving there in about two years when my son graduates high school, and will be able to transfer there while staying with my current employer. You get a lot more house for the money in that area than you do in Asheville or Wilmington.

The hurricanes too are an issue. When I lived in Carolina Beach from 1997-2002, I had to evacuate four times. Luckily I never suffered any major damage. It's been relatively quiet in that area hurricane-wise for the last few years, but my guess is that they're overdue at this point.

[I'minformed2]

They're definitely overdue.... something tells me this is the year that we'll have another Fran...or worse. But I have to say I'm surprised that the Wilmington job market is that bad, especially if Asheville's is better! (no offense asheville)

[roxors]

Asheville is not much better jobwise. People move here because they want to live by the mountains. If I were to lose my job here I'd be in the same boat I would have been in in Wilmington. Since both cities are major tourist areas (our minor league baseball team is the Asheville Tourists!), there are a lot of service related jobs, most of which don't pay very well.

[Bethanytedder]

Originally Posted by i'minformed

They're definitely overdue.... something tells me this is the year that we'll have another Fran...or worse. But I have to say I'm surprised that the Wilmington job market is that bad, especially if Asheville's is better! (no offense asheville)

Oh I have the same feeling. There is a little something off the coast of Florida right now that they are saying is going to cause rip currents over the weekend off the coast of NC. And I swear I might not be a meterologist but this little something looks like the start of a tropical system to me. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens. But Wilmington is overdue. I was surprised after Floyd in 1999 that there wasn't more action than there was. But this like childhood will not last. And you can be sure it will be a humdinger when it does develop.