Charleston vs Wilmington (Charlotte, Raleigh, Star: for sale, HOA, low crime)
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Hello all! My husband's employer has notified my husband that he will need to relocate to SC or NC for business by October of this year. We currently reside in Birmingham, MI (a suburb of Detroit) and couldn't be more excited to move to warmer weather!
Our wish list would be- culturally diverse, with lots of good places to eat, great schools and a great community feel. We are definitely looking for somewhere that will be an easy transition for our fun loving family of 3!
I've read a ton of these posts on the forums (mostly searching Charleston), but my husband brought up the idea of possibly relocating to Wilmington instead. We like Charleston, but my husband would like to keep his options open since we haven't explored anywhere else! The forum has really helped me "explore" Charleston without actually having been myself yet. My husband loves it but it is good to hear the opinions from the locals.
We are looking for a coastal town with lots of fun things to do for our family and Wilmington sparked our interest since we have friends in Raleigh and Charlotte!
Can anyone recommend a good area (low crime) with good schools and a place where we would either be able to buy a newer home or build for under $250k? It doesn't matter if it's cookie cutter, however I would like there to be a community pool/activity center for my family. It doesn't necessarily need to be on top of the beach, but a 20-30 minute drive would be ok. We also are looking for an area that has a lot of amenities (Starbucks, Target, shopping, etc.)
Would we able to live here and have all this?
I am sorry if this has been asked before. My head is spinning trying to get this all figured out before we put our house up for sale in July! We have to make a decision by then which place we would like to move. I am grateful to anyone who responds. Thanks in advance!
Hello all! My husband's employer has notified my husband that he will need to relocate to SC or NC for business by October of this year. We currently reside in Birmingham, MI (a suburb of Detroit) and couldn't be more excited to move to warmer weather!
Our wish list would be- culturally diverse, with lots of good places to eat, great schools and a great community feel. We are definitely looking for somewhere that will be an easy transition for our fun loving family of 3!
I've read a ton of these posts on the forums (mostly searching Charleston), but my husband brought up the idea of possibly relocating to Wilmington instead. We like Charleston, but my husband would like to keep his options open since we haven't explored anywhere else! The forum has really helped me "explore" Charleston without actually having been myself yet. My husband loves it but it is good to hear the opinions from the locals.
We are looking for a coastal town with lots of fun things to do for our family and Wilmington sparked our interest since we have friends in Raleigh and Charlotte!
Can anyone recommend a good area (low crime) with good schools and a place where we would either be able to buy a newer home or build for under $250k? It doesn't matter if it's cookie cutter, however I would like there to be a community pool/activity center for my family. It doesn't necessarily need to be on top of the beach, but a 20-30 minute drive would be ok. We also are looking for an area that has a lot of amenities (Starbucks, Target, shopping, etc.)
Would we able to live here and have all this?
I am sorry if this has been asked before. My head is spinning trying to get this all figured out before we put our house up for sale in July! We have to make a decision by then which place we would like to move. I am grateful to anyone who responds. Thanks in advance!
We have a home in Charleston and given your priorities, Charleston matches up much better than what we saw in Wilmington.
now, now, Charleston is a beautiful city with lots
of character but so is Wilmington on a much smaller scale . ha!
when we relocated here 5 years ago we researched both citites and decided
on Wilmington because it is more of a real city [ guess that's the best way to describe it]
Charleston is so beautiful but the whole downtown area is for tourists. I mean
everything is geared toward toruists and it wears thin after a while. IMO.
We have Target , lots of good restaurants , good schools, etc.
whole foods , trader joe's and who can beat HT for groceries.
One food co op , a couple health food stores.
Both places have a vibrant music scene, arts , with Wilmington having the
movie industry as an added bonus.
Both have great beaches but there is a lack of access to the beaches in Charleston .
It is really hard/unfair to compare the two because of the difference in size.
I just visited Charleston again and there is a lot of money in that place,
the city has done a most beautiful job with landscaping, Wilmington is
lacking in that area but it must be due to the difference in tax base.
Don't know if I confused the issue further but certaintly
you should check them both and compare, they really
are different although both on the coast.
Movedtothecoast can I ask where you moved from and what areas in Wilmington would you suggest are family friendly and safe (as far as low crime)? Any areas that have good schools that you know of that aren't too far from the beach?
Depends on the size of city you want to live in. As said Wilmington is a lot like Charleston but smaller. If you have kids, colleges may be a factor, in which at least right now, NC would win out. I'm not sdure which city would be easier transition. Charleston may be closer to what you're used to in size, though due to the nature of the population, Wilmington may actually be less of a culture shock.
Of course you can make friends anywhere, but which places gives you more access to you friends and family should also factor in. Also, if you're car drivers, which is closer to places you would visit. Charleston is closer to Atlanta. But Wilmington is closer to DC. They are about the same to Charlotte, but Wilmington is closer to Raleigh. Wilmington is closer to Myrtle Beach (1.5 hrs or less depending on how you drive and where you live, about 2 hrs from Charleston). Myrle Beach is nothing more than resort town with not much else but the beach and attractions. A lot of concerts at the House of Blues there. More than Charleston or Wilmington.
My opinion on the matter is if you're the type to never leave the city you're in, go with Charelston. There is defintiley more there within that Metro. If your road warrior types take a serious look at Wilmington because though the city itself is on a smaller scale than Charleston (though not small) you have better access and more things to do in the region as a whole and plenty to do in Wilmington.
we moved from Charlotte ,NC , used to own a small cottage in Wilmington area
so knew the area well.
at the time we defenitely did not want to live with Sc politics,[sorry if this offends you]
but it is a little too old fashioned for us.
how Nc is now back sliding due to new governor is another story.
Our children are grown so you might rely on
others for that. we do have friends that are very fond of Friends School
of wilmington, this is a private school.
Look at your map and find Oleander blvd, check anywhere
south of there all the way to Carolina beach.
Pine Valley is a great older neighborhood in your price range but
I don't think it has a pool, there is a golf course.
Lots of family neighborhoods all along S. College rd.
as long as you are on the peninsula you will only be max 20 mintues from beaches.
As I go around town tmrw I will try to note the names
of specific neighborhood.
Some good info in here...both Charleston and Wilmington are good choices...you can't really lose.
A couple of points....
Pine Valley in Wilmington does fit your price range, BUT you won't find brand new, more likely renovated or in need of some brushing up...and the Country Club does have a pool. Your not required to join the CC just for living there or pay HOA fee's, which actually makes buying there even more affordable than many of the new subdivisions. I would visit PV (including the CC) and see what you think...its proximity to the Mall area is great and its in the best Middle and High School districts...the Elem ratings are going up as well (and the building itself will be replaced fairly soon) with the newer "localized" redistricting. There is also easy access to Halyburton Park and the Cross City Trail circles the neighborhood.
The South Carolina/North Carolina thing is an interesting point....South Carolina has always done things a little differently and for the most part has lower standards than NC...for example, they don't have a helmet law for motorcycles and don't require inspections for your cars. NC also has some of the best beaches because of their restrictions toward seawalls and other barriers....hence the reason that the beaches are more accessible to the public in NC.
Our wish list would be- culturally diverse, with lots of good places to eat, great schools and a great community feel. We are definitely looking for somewhere that will be an easy transition for our fun loving family of 3!
I think Charleston is a great choice for things to do. However, unless you locate the good school districts, you might need to consider private schools for high school. (i think Mt. Pleasant is good, but check the SC forum.) I also don't think you will get much for new construction with a budget of $250K.
OTOH, I think the Wilmington schools are better, on the average, than Charleston. I would be willing to send my kids to public school in Wilmington.
Thank you all for the info! We have been looking in Mt. P in Charleston, however goldenage1 you are correct! We won't get too much house for our money down there. Housing prices here (where we live in Michigan) are about $325k for a 1400-1500 sq ft house (that's updated) with taxes that average out to about $8-9k+ per year. So I guess anything has to be better than that! My husband is making a trip within the month to visit Wilmington and we will have to decide from there. However we really are trying to get away from the high taxes and outrageous house pricing.
Can anyone tell me about New Hanover County as far as crime rate and cost of living? Would it be out of our $250k price range? I saw they have some top rated schools? Is there another area we should try to focus on?
He's going to look into Pine Valley as HP91 suggested. Also can anyone tell me about Brunswick Forest, Stones Edge or Porters Neck Plantation? They look gorgeous and in our price range, however not sure about the safety and schools?
Thank you all!!! :-D
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