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My wife has the VA, and a clinic is available in Wilmington. I have a liberal Medicare PPO. We're not considering the Triangle because, being Texans, the real estate prices are basically out of our price range. In any event, we will look at all three areas and decide for ourselves. She and I love the beach (Okracoke Island and the Outer Banks are favorite spots), which is why Wilmington appeals. We've lived near Galveston for more than 20 years, and it's very frustrating to be so close but not be able to go to the beach because it's so gross and unsafe
Meaning Medicare Advantage. Great - except you won't find any decent doctors who accept it in the Wilmington area. Nor is there a good hospital.
I know nothing about the VA services; but my neighbors include MANY people who moved here from eastern NC because of inadequate health care as well as military folks who wanted access to the Raleigh VA hospital (which I hear is good).
As far as home costs, I don't think you'll find that Asheville or Wilmington are going to be cheaper than The Triangle, unless you're looking at unappealing areas. Charlotte tends to be cheaper than the Triangle, though.
We visited Galveston some years ago, a few years before the last big hurricane. I thought the beaches were lovely and the area was reasonably safe, but maybe that's all changed since the hurricane. Wilmington is NOTHING like the Outer Banks. No comparison at all.
I looked for a similar thread but didn't see any. My wife and I are going on a 16 day trip to NC and SC next week. It's not really a vacation; we're visiting her mom in SC, then investigating a few NC cities to decide which city in North Carolina we want to relocate to in a couple of years. (We're choosing between the Asheville area, Charlotte, or Wilmington). We're on a tight budget, but there are several reasons going now is better than going later, despite our shortage of funds.
Check out rental houses. You save a huge amount over eating out three meals per day. And if you are a drinker, you save even more on alcohol.
Get a cooler for the trunk of your car. You can keep cold cuts, cheese, fruit, salad stuff, etc. good way to save money instead of eating out..
This, basically, assuming it's a car-friendly trip. We've found that carrying the basics on a car ride of any appreciable length is not only a money saver, but time and health saver too!
After college 4 friends and I did a 6 week XC trip of almost 10,000 miles IIRC, and we had food 'rules' we followed that saved us a ton.
1) Cooler idea above for all breakfasts.
2) if we were on a drive-only day (no stops for visiting) we'd do the same for lunch.
3) If we were at a destination we'd pick one meal at a special place emblematic to where we were and eat cheap for lunch.
Meaning Medicare Advantage. Great - except you won't find any decent doctors who accept it in the Wilmington area. Nor is there a good hospital.
I know nothing about the VA services; but my neighbors include MANY people who moved here from eastern NC because of inadequate health care as well as military folks who wanted access to the Raleigh VA hospital (which I hear is good).
As far as home costs, I don't think you'll find that Asheville or Wilmington are going to be cheaper than The Triangle, unless you're looking at unappealing areas. Charlotte tends to be cheaper than the Triangle, though.
We visited Galveston some years ago, a few years before the last big hurricane. I thought the beaches were lovely and the area was reasonably safe, but maybe that's all changed since the hurricane. Wilmington is NOTHING like the Outer Banks. No comparison at all.
I'm not really sure why you're being so snarky about our plans and what we're looking for. I appreciate your opinion, but you don't have to be rude about what I'm choosing to do. It is my life after all. Your thoughts are noted and you made your opinions abundantly clear.
If the weather is warm where you're traveling instead of renting a motel room rent a cabin at a KOA. Bring your own pillow and blanket. Their bathrooms are usually really nice and they often have a swimming pool and heat/air conditioning. And KOAs are usually in lovely settings.
We frequently buy our meals at a grocery store deli department and eat them in a roadside stop. Usually their packaged salads and sandwiches are very fresh and less expensive than restaurants.
We bring along our own insulated coffee mugs for refills at truck stops.
Get a cooler for the trunk of your car. You can keep cold cuts, cheese, fruit, salad stuff, etc. good way to save money instead of eating out.
Granted last time we tried that we were always negotiating the space where beer came out the winner more often than food.
You can get ice at your motel for the cooler. Save some plastic forks & spoons from a fast food place and get some deli salads, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.
I am so excited for you. Happy hunting and hope you have a wonderful adventure. The saddest thing to me is when people buy a home in a flood area and end up with 4 feet of water in their new home. Sometimes we have heavy rains; recently as much as 19 inches in the North Myrtle Beach and the south Brunswick County area. Be sure to settle in an elevated area. The mountains are vulnerable to forest fires and floods near rivers. You can check on google for flood information. Highway 64 is from Murphy to Manteo and N. C. Highway 74 from I-26 to Wrightsville Beach. We live near Charlotte about three hours from the mountains and the beach in sweet Union County. Unless you like winter weather, I recommend you look near highway 74. Many times even Charlotte gets snow and we don't just 25 miles southeast of Charlotte.
Fill up your gas tank in the car before leaving S. C. We run over for their cheap gas all the time since S. C. is only about 10 miles away.
I don't know why the person thinks Wilmington does not have good medical?? Asheville, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Statesville, and Charlotte all have wonderful medical care. I forgot to mention Boone also. I am sure there are other good hospitals such as Gastonia. Then there is also Duke.
Eating the main meal at lunch and having fruit and a small snack for dinner saves us a lot of money when we are on the road. Breaks up the day too.
Bring a thermos with you. Many hotel/motels have little coffee machines in room or coffee in the lobby. You can fill your thermos. Or take hot water and bring your own tea bags in a baggie. I also always bring extra zip loc bags -- they are so handy when traveling. Bring a few Tide pods for laundry -- some of the hotel chains have free laundry such as Hyatt House. We did this while traveling and it was great.
If you eat out do that at lunch and then have a sandwich for dinner. Try to get good carryout if possible and go to a park. The tips on eating out also add up and I never cheat the server out of their tip just because I am being frugal.
Good thread by the way.
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