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The best schools in the state are located in Cary and Chapel Hill.
The reality is that the most educated parents in the state are in or near these locales. Even with so so schools, parental interest will boost achievement astronomically.
The reality is that the most educated parents in the state are in or near these locales. Even with so so schools, parental interest will boost achievement astronomically.
Any area clustered with highly educated parents (who tend to have intelligent children with higher grade scores) are going to make a school system appear top notch. Makes you wonder if it's the school that's top notch or the children that attend the school that give it top scores.
Any area clustered with highly educated parents (who tend to have intelligent children with higher grade scores) are going to make a school system appear top notch. Makes you wonder if it's the school that's top notch or the children that attend the school that give it top scores.
One problem with Eastern NC is there are so few professional jobs to attract highly educated parents, compared to Chapel Hill or Cary. A large component of the ratings on Greatschools.org is based on achievement scores, and I believe they are pulled up by the children of educated parents.
I can only suggest looking at other criteria such as the experience of the teachers, turnover and what they are paid.
Of course Raleigh and Chapel Hill have great schools! Thought OP wanted beach. If you're willing to pay those RE prices and still want the ocean you might try Nag's Head or Charleston. We paid a little over 200 sq/ft in Morehead and our neighborhood is beautiful and on the water. While the schools here are considered great, you will get a blue collar/white collar mix that you may not find in Chapel Hill. Not sure if that works for everyone.
Want to mention that the preschools down in Morehead are a bit lack luster. We haven't tried any of the religious ones but there is no montessori or structured learning for younger kids. More like 'throw them in a room and keep them alive for 8 hours.'
I thought living near tourists would be fun too. It isn't. While on one hand the only other kids who will typically interact with our children are tourist families, the majority of them behave very poorly.
Tourists are very aggressive on the beach, rude at local attractions, drive like crazy people, etc. Something about being on vacation brings out the worst in people and you don't realize it until you are on the other end. We don't have these problems when we go to Disney or even back home to NJ- yes parent's mind their children better in NJ than here!! Just something about the type of people who vacation here.
Another thing- While there isn't traditional crime here in Morehead and Carteret County, there is a lot (and I mean a lot) of contractor fraud and theft which typically ends up in civil court so it isn't reflected in data. 3 people on our block of 20 houses have sued a contractor in the past 12 months. We did not sue but have had problems with 3 (two tried to rob us, the third never finished the job and tried to sneak in lower quality materials and pass them off). 12-8 years ago when housing prices boomed every human being decided they could be a general contractor and started building houses. There is a lot of substandard housing hidden behind nice finishes too. Unfortunately a lot of those 'contractors' have lingered and continue to find work.
Also in regards to crime, there is a TON of prescription drug abuse. 5-10 years ago 'pain management' was a big thing and largely unregulated around here- there are still a lot of pain management clinics here. The doctors would take anyone as a patient and basically push drugs on people. Now those doctors are being removed or watched more closely and so those individuals are trying to find other ways to score drugs.
If it had to be the NC coast, I would choose somewhere larger. I'd stay away from Cape Carteret, Morehead, Topsail Beach, etc. The theory being that you might get a higher class of people vacationing in areas that are more expensive. I wonder what Myrtle Beach would be like.
Wow, you stereotype a lot, but your "theory" is more of your biased opinion!
First of all we're moving to Topsail Beach because we like it and the people. We've felt more than welcome. Perhaps you never lived or worked near a tourist destination. What attracts us to Topsail is much the same as what attracts tourists. And tourism is a large part of the economy in places like Topsail or Washington, DC. Something to be said for being able to live where others pay to visit.
Interestingly a lot of my college teammates have vacationed at Topsail for years. Sorry if they aren't high class enough for you. But then again I learned long ago, while living in other countries and other states to embrace the area I'm in, not complain that it isn't where I came from. I can only guess why you don't feel welcomed......
Depends on what someone wants. I suspect you wouldn't be happy in Charleston either, even more "Old South" than Coastal Carolina. And there are lot of (horrors) college students in Charleston too. Myrtle Beach is more developed and like Atlantic City, NJ than Topsail is, so you might find that more welcoming to you.
You can live blocks from the beach and load up the golf cart for your day at the beach. We prefer to be able to walk there. MB is not what we desired, your insults aside.
Last edited by wrestlingterp; 12-11-2012 at 08:03 AM..
One problem with Eastern NC is there are so few professional jobs to attract highly educated parents, compared to Chapel Hill or Cary. A large component of the ratings on Greatschools.org is based on achievement scores, and I believe they are pulled up by the children of educated parents.
I can only suggest looking at other criteria such as the experience of the teachers, turnover and what they are paid.
Greenville, NC is about the only (other than possibly Wilmington) large city east of I-95 that does attract professionals. It's main employment consists of the huge hospital facilities that cover the east coast, the medical school here and Eastern Carolina University. Our neighborhood and surrounding areas consist of mostly ECU grads, doctors, nurses and teachers, ie "professionals".
At one time Greenville had a lot of automotive manufacturing plants, but most of those have been shut down. Now the majority of the employment is from the hospital and university and it's still growing.
Not to hijack but we're going farther south most likely- Charlseton or Florida outside Orlando (away from tourists). Try to stay in between the water and Disney. Something in between constant traffic and small yards (NJ) and being called un American for not owning a gun and a truck..
When I mentioned $200/sf I was speaking of Mt Pleasant outside Charleston, the area we like. Most all the developments are strictly enforced by HOA's (not my favorite idea) and have tiny lots and bumper to bumper cookie-cutter houses. (but lots of palm trees) The really nice houses with larger lots run $600k on up in the millions. Not a cheap place to live down there.
I had to laugh .. I do believe you're right.. I would guess there's more registered trucks than any other vehicle in NC. Gotta love those trucks here.
For over the past 30 years the Ford F-150 has been (mostly) the top or one of the top selling vehicles in the US. Add to that all of the other trucks and SUVs out there. It seems to me like most Americans probably do own trucks.
As for MB, tourits are worse there, but along with that, there is more to do. Your choice of two malls and two outlets. One of the small quite large, though one story, with a Costco next to it.
Edit: you'll still see military from Camp Lejeune ADN Fort Bragg there. Charleston has a decent military presence there as well, I believe. An AF base.
Parris Island and the MCAS are in Beaufort, SC, not too far south of Charleston. In Charleston is The Citadel, Charleston AFB (now Joint Base Charleston) is co-located with the Charleston airport, a large Naval presence too, though the major base was a BRAC casualty.
It must be a miserable person who despises those that protect our freedoms....
Parris Island and the MCAS are in Beaufort, SC, not too far south of Charleston. In Charleston is The Citadel, Charleston AFB (now Joint Base Charleston) is co-located with the Charleston airport, a large Naval presence too, though the major base was a BRAC casualty.
It must be a miserable person who despises those that protect our freedoms....
I briefly looked back at the posts and didn't see anyone who mentioned despising our military presence on the coast. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I tend to find that areas with military families living off post are generally very friendly and out-going. They obviously have learned to make friends faster than the Hallmark smaller town communities with "regulars" who have lived there all their lives and already have their social network set up.
Just my thoughts on it..
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