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My family and I are looking into relocating to Oak Island, NC. I am from a small town originally in the mountains and like the idea of a small town to raise my family by the coast. Oak Island came up on my research. I've been doing much research on the area and am seeing many pros and cons. Most of the cons are about expenses and tourist seasons. Hoping some locals can help direct my family and I into the right path in finding out if Oak Island is a good match for us. For us to come visit would be tricky so before we do seeking out some advice. Please be honest but respectful!
Hoping some locals can help direct my family and I into the right path in finding out if Oak Island is a good match for us.
I have been to Oak Island only in the summer. I think the main issue would be how your kids would deal with the relative isolation during the winter. I honestly don't know the year-round population, but I would go by the number on the C-D profile. It is about 7,300 with a median age of 54.4 years. The population age means lots of seniors and not many kids.
Would your kids be able to amuse themselves, or would they be bored to tears if they don't have playmates their own age?
Sun, sand, ocean, boats, fishing, active community's.
A mix of homes from a million plus to trailers. If you eat out, you pay top dollar for water views regardless of food quality.
Two bridges connect the island to the mainland, one at the east end and one at the west end.
Its roughly 5 miles long and 4,500 feet wide.
Outside the tourists, you will find a community much like any other. Many people that work in the area live on the island, many are retired. Nice folks. You get some criminals and crazies, including a few heroin addicts. A lot of transplants, many from up north somewhere.
There is a grocery store, a community center and two fire/EMS departments.
Wilmington is about 45 minutes north and Myrtle Beach about the same south.
Southport is THE place to be on the 4th of July.
Nearby, off the island, are at least 3-4 grocery stores including a Walmart, CVS, Walgreen, demists, opticians, general practitioners and a small hospital in Southport, one in Bolivia and probably the largest hospital on the NC coast in Wilmington.
Brunswick county is probably the fastest growing county in NC and probably ranks pretty high nationally.
Highway 211 is scheduled for four lanes from Midway to Southport, starting in the next year or so and will probably take 4-5 years to finish as a couple of overpasses are involved.
Don't know much about the schools, there is a community college in Bolivia.
Thank you for your advice and knowledge! It's all taken into consideration. I think my main concerns are being solely around retirees. My husband and I are near 30 so would want to find couples around our age as well for kids. We come from father south so am use the humidity, not that I'll ever be a fan of it!
My husband and I both work mainly remotely so we are flexible as to where we live. We plan on visiting the areas that we have singled out numerous times before moving however we do not have the ability with our life to take many trips at once to different areas so trying to narrow them out. The other 2 areas of interest on the NC coast I have spent years visiting and family live. Oak Island is the only new one to us.
I'm curious if what I read about taxes, sewer and water being so high are true?
I'm curious if what I read about taxes, sewer and water being so high are true?
You could check the taxes with the county. The over-all rate for Brunswick is .4850 and the add-on rate for Oak Island is .29 or total of .775 . There might also be a fire district or trash collection bill, but the mil rate of .775 is not bad compare to many cities. Web site here: Tax Office » Brunswick County Tax Rates
I don't know the water and sewer rate, but it is certainly harder to provide services out on an island with a variable population. The permanent people have to cover the costs of all those vacationers in the summer.
The other thing to be concerned about is homeowner insurance to cover the hurricane risk. You should expect it to be higher than your property tax. Many owners need to rent out their properties in the summer to cover those insurance bill. With any property you look at, ask what the current bill is, and then assume it could go up 20% next year.
Thank you for your advice and knowledge! It's all taken into consideration. I think my main concerns are being solely around retirees. My husband and I are near 30 so would want to find couples around our age as well for kids. We come from father south so am use the humidity, not that I'll ever be a fan of it!
My husband and I both work mainly remotely so we are flexible as to where we live. We plan on visiting the areas that we have singled out numerous times before moving however we do not have the ability with our life to take many trips at once to different areas so trying to narrow them out. The other 2 areas of interest on the NC coast I have spent years visiting and family live. Oak Island is the only new one to us.
I'm curious if what I read about taxes, sewer and water being so high are true?
As goldenage pointed out, property taxes are pretty low. For a house with a tax value of $250,000, the annual property tax would be $1,937.50.
Water and sewer, especially sewer, is very expensive on OKI. If you use 3,000 gallons a month, the water and sewer bill would be $174.02 monthly.
I lived there for several years and taught school. I left for three reasons:
1] I witnessed first hand, up close and personal, the kind of trouble young teenagers can get into at a rather isolated beach town.
2] With so many retirees with time on their hands, Oak Island was way too political. At the time, and even now, the retiree most important issues, and even their positions on such issues were way different than mine!
3] A real smart lady told me after I moved down there that I needed to be careful of most locals. She stated many folks moved to the beach because it , the beach, was one positive memory of their life, and thus in an attempt to re-create this positive a]They were more or less on vacation, in their minds and b] Many had little to offer, based on the driving force for their residency.
All of these factors played out daily. Seldom and probably never, did workers show up on time, meetings could not be scheduled reliably, and too many, way too many "parents" we're at the Tika Bar, having a great time, while their kids ran amok on the island.
Finally, it is not random that Oak Island has the most undeveloped beach property. The Cape Fear River dumps into the Atlantic, just east of OI and the sediment travels west, making the beach water dingy. You can go west to Holden or Ocean Isle and you can see the difference. Having seen the water at Oak Island you would be stunned by the difference in water quality (at least in regard to clarity) along the crystal coast up at Emerald Isle. I am not talking pollution but just the water clarity.
Good luck. We had some great times on the island, but in the end, I recognized my limitations as a parent, and did not want to dare fate by bringing up middle schoolers on the island.
Finally, my experiences are based on the early 2000s. Things may have changed, but frequent visits to in-laws who live there AND LOVE IT, suggests not.
Again, good luck and hope things work out positively.
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