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Hello. My husband and I are looking to move south to a warmer (less snowy) climate and heard good things about North Carolina. We have no plans on having a family, love the arts, and the water. Ideally, we would like to live inland about a half hour to an hour from the coast.
Does anyone know details about the neighborhoods? Or a good website to visit.
Does anyone know details about the neighborhoods? Or a good website to visit.
Hello! Since there have been dozens of people with the same desire to move to the coast, I suggest you read through the Coastal NC forum discussions first. Major facts: 1. NC has an unemployment rate over 10%, so it is essential to have a plan for a job (unless you are retired). 2. The largest cities (and employment prospects) are Wilmington, Jacksonville, New Bern and Morehead City. 3. City-data has numbers and facts on every town, so get a map and find the interesting ones and check for the major employers. 4. There are large concentrations of retirees around Wilmington, so if that's your stage of life, the forum has many discussions on those communities.
Check out New Bern NC--30 minutes to the Southern tip of the Outer Banks but two hours from Raleigh where there is the big city. New Bern has 2 rivers and a beautiful downtown and historic area. Weather is great--winter is only 3 months of 40-50 degree weather. It snows only about once every year or two and the snow goes away in 1-2 days. We rarely shovel! We have a very active little theatre plus traveling Broadway comes to Raleigh 4-6 times per year. The NC Symphony comes to town 3 times per year and they are excellent.
My quick perusal says that Jacksonville has less unemployment (9.7%) than the state average, and Wilmington has slightly more (10.5) than the state average of 10.4%. Goldsboro is lower at 9.3%, but it is further inland. Rocky Mount is 13.6%, so I wouldn't suggest looking there. I live near Jacksonville, about 15 minutes from the beach, and we are retired. If you have skills needed by the Marine Corp at Camp Lejeune, or are in construction, it could be an opportunity. Starting a business, such as a good Italian restaurant, could be an opportunity. Of course, Raleigh and Durham have lower unemployment rates, but they are 3 hours or more from the coast.
Last edited by goldenage1; 10-30-2011 at 08:42 AM..
Hello. My husband and I are looking to move south to a warmer (less snowy) climate and heard good things about North Carolina. We have no plans on having a family, love the arts, and the water. Ideally, we would like to live inland about a half hour to an hour from the coast.
Does anyone know details about the neighborhoods? Or a good website to visit.
Asking about "good neighborhoods" fora whole state doesn't make sense. Start with researching the various geographic areas of the state and naroow it down from there. How would you answer a question like "I am moving to Michigan--what are some good neighborhoods?"
Why are you interested in coming to NC, with such little knowledge? In other words, how can you know you want to move here without knowing anything about the state? Here is City-Data's list of "profiles" for cities and towns in NC, but you should do general research (via Google or library books) on the state as a whole if you don't know anything about it. Of course you really need to visit the area before seriusly considering moving, that goes without saying.
Sunnysailing - After living in Chicago for many years, I can relate to your wanting to leave snowy and cold Michigan. As noted above, there is a lot of diversity in the coastline of NC, but here is where I would start given your request for the arts and within an hour of the coast: I would check out the Elizabeth City area, which is relatively close to the Tidewater area of Virginia (Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach); then for more central beach area I would look at New Bern and/or Morehead City, which as mentioned above would put you within a few hours driving distance of Raleigh and Greenville (which is much smaller than the Raleigh area, but it has a major hospital and a university that provides some culture). Thirdly, but not in a rank order, I would look into the greater Wilmington area. With the exception of the Nags Head north area, NC beach areas are very quiet and are not built up like around Myrtle Beach, so the pace and shopping, etc. is slower. One thing I look for when "ranking" an area is where is a Costco -- right now Wilmington is the only NC city east of I-95 with one. There seems to be better shopping coming to Morehead City, I wouldn't be surprised if that area wouldn't support one. Belk's/Penneys/Sears are also the department stores mainly available east of I-95. If better shopping is important, being closer to Raleigh or tidewater Virginia might be something to consider.
Keep in mind that Eastern North Carolina is largely rural and there aren't many large city centers -- think UP without the snow!
Okay, just read some posts on here about Elizabeth City, I wasn't aware of crime stats...you might want to check that out. Sorry.
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