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TX has S.Padre Island but outside of that it cannot compete with what the Atlantic has to offer.
I was thinking the same. SPI might be best, but NC is better than the rest of the state. It's too bad TX doesn't have the same kind of beaches we have here on the other side of the gulf.
NC seems to have better quality beaches, but South Padre may have it beat in the “babes” department. The Texas coast also has a much longer season with very warm waters and near tropical conditions in the far southern areas. A lot more palm trees and such in Texas as well.
NC has some beautiful beaches but just a few words of caution on that.
It's not called the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" for no reason (that actually comes from a number of shipwrecks). The implication for the average beach goer is NC has some more aggressive rip currents than some other beaches (and the Gulf in general has much calmer waters). The sand tends to be more like quick sand where you're walking and suddenly sink a good bit on some beaches due to the rough surf and beach erosion.
As far as "babes", especially in the off-season, I think that if you mean "Baby Boomer" (i.e. 65-70 year old retired people with a good bit of money riding around on golf carts), NC has you covered, but if you're talking about the plain slang definition, it's much spottier depending on the beach and the time of year.
NC beaches have their certain personalities, which vary a bit from place to place. For instance, in the most populated coastal county (New Hanover), Wrightsville Beach is known for having full-time residents who are a little snooty and would probably restrict public access if they could (though not to the same extent that a beach like Bald Head or Figure Eight Island are). However, it also attracts college students from nearby Wilmington. Carolina Beach tends to be the blue collar and family-oriented beach of the area and has a more "down home" feel.
Personally, I'm not a fan of either's beaches but North Carolina wins here just based on being photogenic.
I was actually very bummed out that I couldn't swim in the Outer Banks the entire time I was there though (apparently the beaches have strong currents). Apparently NC's beaches are for "beautiful sunrises" but swimming is a big no no. And outside the Outer Banks is just swampland and estuaries.
Texas's beaches are even worse and extremely underwhelming. Have been to both South Padre and Galveston and both felt very run-down and the beaches themselves were bland.
So I don't consider either one a destination for beach travel. I much prefer Delaware, New Jersey and Florida for that. Ironically, my go-to beach is Virginia Beach, which somehow is great for swimming yet it's only slightly above the NC State Line.
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