We have visited all of those places as a part of our "Where to Retire" tour! They are all good choices.
Downtown Beaufort NC is very quaint and charming, and it's on the mainland. It has its own barrier islands, e.g. Bird Island, and two of the barrier islands are home to wild horses. The real estate is pricey and it is a tourist destination. Its beach is Atlantic Beach, and the drive to it it not scenic. You'll have to drive a bit to get to a movie theatre, etc. Once outside of the downtown area, Beaufort isn't what you'd call nice.
Wilmington and Southport are about 45 minutes away from each other.
Wilmington has a wonderful riverfront and historic downtown, and lots of cultural interest. I'm not a fan of its traffic, especially at rush hour. It has a neighboring area over the bridge, Leland, that has a number of active-adult type communities like Brunswick Forest (the newest and biggest), Compass Pointe, Magnolia Greens, and more.
Southport is quaint and charming like Beaufort, and is also a tourist destination. There's a bit more there, e.g. shopping, hospital, etc. Its beaches are Oak Island and Bald Head Island, and there's a ferry to Fort Fisher, close to Kure Beach. St. James Plantation and Winding River Plantation are close by. I've heard that utility bills are high there. Traffic can be a bear at certain times of the day, due to major employers whose employees work in shifts. Southport is currently affected by the state's decision to discontinue tax incentives for the movie/film industry, so there's a lot of real-estate for sale as film crews move out.
Sunset Beach is another 45 minutes west of Southport. It's beautiful and quiet. They're currently building a new town park which will be very nice. It's been voted NC's best beach and is one of the few beaches that is actually gaining sand (beach erosion is a huge problem in the Carolinas). There are a number of communities on the mainland within 15 minutes of Sunset Beach, including those in Calabash and Little River (which has a cool casino cruise). North Myrtle is about 25 minutes from Sunset Beach. Ocean Ridge Plantation, 5 minutes from the beach, has a beach house on Sunset Beach for its residents. For basic shopping (Belk, Walmart, Lowes) and chain restaurants, you'd go to Shallotte...about a 10 minute drive from Sunset Beach. Not much quaintness/charm in Shallotte - it basically supports the shopping needs of the beach towns of Sunset Beach, Holden Beach, and Ocean Isle Beach.
We didn't look around much in North Myrtle - too commercial for us.
We have narrowed our search to the Sunset Beach area. Now that we are looking at actual real estate we are working with Doug and Seth at
Brunswick County Homes for Sale | Carolina Plantations Real Estate. They are buyers brokers who are very familiar with all of the local communities, and they have been incredibly helpful (and patient - we haven't bought anything yet!).
Have fun on your trip! Please report back with your impressions of the various areas you're visiting.
Janet
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