Wilmington vs Charleston (Jacksonville, Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach: real estate, home, find a job)

[bdohherty]

I am a 27 y/o, single, M, California native now living in Charleston, SC for almost a year and I love it!
Main reasons I moved:
-Friendly/down to earth people
-Coastal (so I can still surf)
-Beautiful area
-More conservative than SoCal
-Tons of stuff to do (outdoors and nightlife)
-Tons of singles too!

I am now considering Wilmington mainly because of better surf as I am getting tired of such rare surfable swells in Charleston. I have been once for a couple of days about 3 years ago and it seemed cool. How would you compare the factors listed above in Wilmington compared to Charleston? (Mainly concerned with enough things to do/nightlife. Would I get bored?)

Thanks!

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by bdohherty

I am now considering Wilmington mainly because of better surf as I am getting tired of such rare surfable swells in Charleston. I have been once for a couple of days about 3 years ago and it seemed cool. How would you compare the factors listed above in Wilmington compared to Charleston? (Mainly concerned with enough things to do/nightlife. Would I get bored?)

You might visit again before making a decision. I just know Wilmington is a smaller city than Charleston, but I can't evaluate the nightlife. You might check this resource, which seems to have plenty of nightspots mentioned: http://www.wilmingtonandbeaches.com/...FSwdOgodCj4A8Q

I had never heard of Wilmington as a hot spot for surfing but here's a current report for Carolina Beach. At 4-7 feet on Friday, March 7, it sounds fairly good: Carolina Beach Surf Report, Surf Forecast and Live Surf Webcams

[LoveTheSea23]

Hey I'm 28 and I've lived here for 11 years and I love it here. Wilmington isn't as big as Charleston, but there is plenty to do at night. Wilmington is kinda a "foodie" town, so it has approximately 300 restaurants I believe, so there are endless choices of food. Many of them are in the downtown Wilmington area, which has plenty of bars and clubs within walking distance of each other. Level 5 is a popular rooftop bar on Front St that has an awesome view of the river and city with a DJ on the weekends, and an enclosure and heaters that make it a comfortable place to socialize year around. The Husk is down the street and has a great microbrew selection. If you like Sushi, there's 3 places DT; then there's some wine bars that are good places to go for dessert on a date, etc. You can find just about any atmosphere you want downtown. There are a couple of places that routinely have live music too.

Neighborhood bars are starting to pop up everywhere in Wilmington, so between those and a variety of sports bars scattered across the city, there's always somewhere to go for a drink. There are tons of restaurants on the way to the beach before you get to the beach bars themselves. Lumina Station is an upscale strip mall on the way to the beach, which has become popular with young professionals. It has several bars in it with-in walking distance of each other. Wrightsville Beach is probably the 2nd most popular night life destination in the Wilmington area though. It has about 5-6 popular bars (1's a club). Jerry Allen's was recently renovated and is nice. Most of them are dive bars, but they're very popular with the people our age and the surfing community in town. They're not dangerous, just haven't been renovated in awhile.

UNCW's getting close to having 15k students now including grad programs , so Wilmington is somewhat of a college town. And when I was at UNCW, there were more girls enrolled than guys too. We also have multiple surf contests here every year, so the surf is better than in SC. If you want more names of popular places to go at night, send me a PM and I'll be happy to give you more.

[bdohherty]

Thanks! That's some really great feedback!

[HP91]

Originally Posted by bdohherty

I am a 27 y/o, single, M, California native now living in Charleston, SC for almost a year and I love it!
Main reasons I moved:
-Friendly/down to earth people
-Coastal (so I can still surf)
-Beautiful area
-More conservative than SoCal
-Tons of stuff to do (outdoors and nightlife)
-Tons of singles too!

I am now considering Wilmington mainly because of better surf as I am getting tired of such rare surfable swells in Charleston. I have been once for a couple of days about 3 years ago and it seemed cool. How would you compare the factors listed above in Wilmington compared to Charleston? (Mainly concerned with enough things to do/nightlife. Would I get bored?)

Thanks!

There are many folks that move to Wilmington for surfing. So from that perspective you'll find a great group to meet. The social life is as good as you'll find in NC, IMO. What is really nice is that you have the downtown social life, the Wrightsville Beach social life and the Carolina Beach social life....so there is more than one place to choose from. As was previously mentioned there are neighborhood places around town as well.

The biggest difference from Charleston may be two fold, a smaller community, but also less tourists. You don't have as many higher end shopping options (like the Apple store) or entertainment options (Coliseum) but its also more affordable and more of a small town feel (once you start getting to know folks). Wilmington has a lot of water based recreational stuff, probably more so than Charleston.

[saranshay]

I am from Colorado looking to move where it is warmer but not die of heat either.
I was looking at charleston or willmington.
I have a teenager and 2 year old and want to move somewhere where it is safe and we have things to do.
I was thinking charleston until I found out about alligators. With small dogs and kids i would like to know it is ok for them to be in the yard.
I want a place with lots of acreage too...for animals.
What things are there to consider when moving to either?

Colorado is nice because it is safe overall, people are nice, there are no major threats (unless you live in the mountains)

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by saranshay

I was thinking charleston until I found out about alligators. With small dogs and kids i would like to know it is ok for them to be in the yard.
I want a place with lots of acreage too...for animals.
What things are there to consider when moving to either?

First priority, is to determine whether it is feasible for you to to find a job in Wilmington which will support your family.

We have alligators in North Carolina also, but they normally do not go into yards. A 12-foot long alligator in Jacksonville ate a dog last year, but that was unusual.

As far as having acreage goes, yes you can find housing a few miles outside of the city. Are you aware that hurricanes hit the coast every few years? You also have to be aware of where flood zones are when you look at property.

However, the key issue is still finding a suitable job, and Charleston probably has a better employment picture.

[missynancy]

Originally Posted by saranshay

I am from Colorado looking to move where it is warmer but not die of heat either.
I was looking at charleston or willmington.
I have a teenager and 2 year old and want to move somewhere where it is safe and we have things to do.
I was thinking charleston until I found out about alligators. With small dogs and kids i would like to know it is ok for them to be in the yard.
I want a place with lots of acreage too...for animals.
What things are there to consider when moving to either?

Colorado is nice because it is safe overall, people are nice, there are no major threats (unless you live in the mountains)

I would definitely be smart and not let kids/dogs/cats roaming free in any area of NC - besides alligators - remember there are snakes!!

[LLN]

Except before storms

NC surfing = sitting on board, out past the break trying to look cool just sitting there

[ihret18]

Hey All,
I would really like to get an opinion on day-day living in Charleston, SC vs Wilmington, NC., for typical middle class folks ( we are considering relocating from the north). I know the quality of life in Charleston is probably vastly different for those that can afford to live near the city or the water. I feel it is important to stress that our home price would probably land us near Summerville or Goose Creek. My husband is a highly experienced commercial diver, that is very accustomed to driving 200 (roundtrip) miles a day for work. I am a longtime bartender with over 10 years experience that is also pursuing a surgical tech program. A lot of people love Charleston, SC for the nightlife and beautiful beaches etc, but I guess I really want to know how realistic is it to enjoy those if you are middle class, 40 somethings, living up to 45 minutes away.....Wilmington seems to have a lot more bang for the buck, as far as proximity to the water and the city. In the north, we are currently accustomed to having a beach 5 minutes away, zero nightlife, but a decent sized property for our dogs to run. The closest nightlife is 20 miles away, and honestly we just stick to our local restaurants, because we are way beyond the age of bar hopping. It is very important for us to be within 15 miles of water if that is possible, since we are avid boaters, fishers, and surfers. I've been to Charleston dozens of times, but not much in recent years, and I've heard that the traffic, crime, and skyrocketing real estate combined with the widening gap of rich vs poor, is definitely making it a somewhat miserable city for middle class?? I guess I would like to hear some pros vs cons from middle class, middle aged, blue collar folks. I appreciate the opinions of retirees, college kids, and upper class professionals, but they might not be the most accurate portrayal for middle class living in the South (if there is such a thing). Thanks again for any feed back! I don't know Wilmington enough to make any predictions there, but would love to hear more about it.