Pros/Cons - Living in Wilmington Proper or Outside Wilmington (Kings Grant: insurance, houses)

[SurfinMama]

What are the pros/cons of living in the areas outside Wilmington vs. living in Wilmington?

We are a family looking for a family oriented place. So I am concerned about living in a rambunctious college town? Hahaha...I sound so old.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by SurfinMama

What are the pros/cons of living in the areas outside Wilmington vs. living in Wilmington?

We are a family looking for a family oriented place. So I am concerned about living in a rambunctious college town? Hahaha...I sound so old.

There are plenty of family oriented neighborhoods within Wilmington. If you want to avoid college students, just stay a few miles away from the UNCW Campus on College Road. Any neighborhood of single family houses will have primarily families. You can search for past posts, and turn up recommended neighborhoods like Ogden, Pine Valley, Kings Grant, Myrtle Grove (AKA Monkey Junction), etc. You can even find a lot large enough to have a garden. Other pros include having decent higher-end shopping in Mayfaire Center, having theaters, art galleries and museums.

Outside of Wilmington, I'd suggest Hampstead, which has well-rated schools. However, it is only about 12,000 people, and it is really just a series of developments with no town center. The shopping centers contain the usual standards.

If you need specialized medical care or hospitals, you will be heading for Wilmington.

Other alternatives include Leland and Southport, which are full of retirees. Northward are Burgaw, Currie and Rocky Point which would appeal to people who like rural settings.

[HP91]

I'm going to take this post as meaning "in the city" or in the "unincorporated" area....which is very hard to discern. For instance, back when the Monkey Junction annexation was considered, it was reported that the City would have annexed 900 businesses with that annexation...which is about what you find in a city of 50K. There are as many "unincorporated residents" as there are "city residents" in New Hanover County.

I live inside the city and I do have to pay those extra taxes. I am also within walking distance to Halyburton Park (a city passive park) which is where I also vote. It is connected to the cross city trail (a city trail)...so you kind of get the idea that the parks system is better in the city. We have sidewalks, lighting, mixed use zoning....some items that the unincorporated area's won't necessarily provide you. We also have city police and full time fire departments...the unincorporated area uses the County Sheriff's office and some are served by volunteer fire departments. This can affect insurance rates, which can be higher in the unincorporated area's. I also like being on public sewer rather than a septic tank...as some unincorporated residents still use.

But there are four main reasons I live inside the city.

1) It is where my work is...and I see no reason wasting half my life sitting in traffic to get to work. If I had a house on the water, I could make an exception.
2) It is the location (per a recent survey of NC High Schools) of the best High School in the area...Hoggard...where my children go/will go.
3) It is where the Mall/Mayfaire/and the majority of shopping is located...and the Mall area is especially convenient. This goes for Medical as well as GA mentioned. And for Downtown.
4) It makes traffic easier....if everything is closer to you, you drive less and deal with traffic less.

I agree with GA's analysis about the college...if you are outside of a mile away from the college, you don't even know it's there.