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Are there places to go nearby for hiking / nature trails around Wilmington / Southport? Planning on doing a vacation rental in Wilmington in a few weeks, currently in Asheville (bit too mountainous for me). Also don't laugh but what wildlife would I have be mindful of if out hiking-- alligators? other? New to NC, road tripping to try and find a place to call home once again after leaving cold snowy MN. (I have to admit though, tales of brutal heat humidity in coastal NC scare me a bit, wondering how NC folks deal with it).
Are there places to go nearby for hiking / nature trails around Wilmington / Southport? Planning on doing a vacation rental in Wilmington in a few weeks, currently in Asheville (bit too mountainous for me). Also don't laugh but what wildlife would I have be mindful of if out hiking-- alligators? other? New to NC, road tripping to try and find a place to call home once again after leaving cold snowy MN. (I have to admit though, tales of brutal heat humidity in coastal NC scare me a bit, wondering how NC folks deal with it).
From reading your previous posts, summers here in SE NC would be way to hot and humid for you.
The best hiking/walking on the coast is along the beach itself. Here are some websites with some other possibilities:
Also don't laugh but what wildlife would I have be mindful of if out hiking-- alligators? other?..... (I have to admit though, tales of brutal heat humidity in coastal NC scare me a bit, wondering how NC folks deal with it).
Alligators do not generally bother humans. But if you are bringing a small dog along, don't let him run loose near water. If you are out hiking, use mosquito repellant or invest in clothing treated with mosquito repellant.
Regarding the heat and humidity, people vary in their tolerance. My neighbors are out running before 7AM in the summer. I tend to stay indoors during the summer, as there are numerous mosquitoes and biting ants outside. I am not sure the North Carolina coast is the best place for someone used to Minnesota.
From reading your previous posts, summers here in SE NC would be way to hot and humid for you.
You might be right, idk, it does cause me concern. Months of brutal subzero winter also stinks especially snow and ice. I ponder if the heat and humidity would be similar in that I would be confined to temperature controlled indoor locations and a car, just like winter in MN-- except I would not have to shovel, chop, scape, or slide through heat and humidty. I do like long sleeve shirt weather, at least a season of it. I really do need to escape winters, snow, might have to switch my way of thinking.
Alligators do not generally bother humans. But if you are bringing a small dog along, don't let him run loose near water. If you are out hiking, use mosquito repellant or invest in clothing treated with mosquito repellant.
Regarding the heat and humidity, people vary in their tolerance. My neighbors are out running before 7AM in the summer. I tend to stay indoors during the summer, as there are numerous mosquitoes and biting ants outside. I am not sure the North Carolina coast is the best place for someone used to Minnesota.
Thank you. Very difficult figuring out where to live, sigh. Living in vacation rentals, homeless but with mean$, just seeking a city to call home, at least to rent a house for year or so to be sure. In Asheville NC now but it feels too big and way too hilly because I want to be able to do bicycling for morning commute to a coffee shop etc.
I think you at least should come and check out Wilmington for an extended
stay.
One could equate being trapped inside by snow to being trapped inside by
humidity but at least here one can go to the beach and the sunshine when
looking outside makes up for it.
there are several places to hike around here but nothing like Asheville area
as far as trails.
Biking around Wilmington is very easy since it is so flat.
best of luck.
You might be right, idk, it does cause me concern. Months of brutal subzero winter also stinks especially snow and ice. I ponder if the heat and humidity would be similar in that I would be confined to temperature controlled indoor locations and a car, just like winter in MN-- except I would not have to shovel, chop, scape, or slide through heat and humidty. I do like long sleeve shirt weather, at least a season of it. I really do need to escape winters, snow, might have to switch my way of thinking.
Unless there's something seriously wrong with you - like some sort of life-threatening disease, I guess - you're not going to spend your entire summer on the coast inside your house, camped out in front of the air conditioner. The summers here compare in no measurable way to the winters you're accustomed to.
When I'm not at work during the summer, you'll typically find me outside: playing in the creek with my dogs, washing the car, puttering in my garden, sitting on my screen porch enjoying a refreshing beverage, cooking out on the back deck, or (on a bad day) mowing the grass. If I'm not home, I may be surf fishing at Ft Fisher or shell hunting on Bald Head Island or walking The Loop at Wrightsville Beach. But whatever I'm doing, I'm more than likely doing it outside. That's what people do around here, that's why they choose to live here in the first place.
BUT if you have no tolerance for heat and humidity, you won't like it here. Like, if I said I want to move to Minnesota, but that I have no tolerance for snow and ice, what would your advise be to me?
Is there something in particular bringing you to North Carolina? Seems like other parts of the country like the PNW might be a better fit for your desires. It is hot and humid in the summer here (I love it) and does get cold, though not subzero, in the winter. It's rarely long sleeve shirt weather. It's either hot (70s/80s/90s/100s), or 30s/40s/50s. We don't spend much time in the 60s. Once winter is over we'll have a short up and down spring before it gets hot and stays hot. It's quite common to see a couple of days get into the 80s and even 90s in March.
New to NC, road tripping to try and find a place to call home once again after leaving cold snowy MN. (I have to admit though, tales of brutal heat humidity in coastal NC scare me a bit, wondering how NC folks deal with it).
Like others, I am wondering why you have decided on North Carolina at all? It is not especially cheap, and you are finding the western part of the state is too hilly and the coast sounds too hot and humid.
Have you explored other retirement locations? If I were used to a mid-western climate, I would explore Northwest Arkansas, especially Fayetteville. The city downtown is fairly level and moderate in cost. There are urban amenities like coffee shops, and the cultural and sports advantages of the University. You are also not far from great fishing and hiking.
Last edited by goldenage1; 10-08-2015 at 12:32 PM..
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