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Edenton and Oriental are very small, and very isolated. I couldn't live in either, but others love them, I'm sure. I'd suggest looking near New Bern, Jacksonville and Wilmington (Pender and Brunswick Counties). I would suspect your budget is low for a waterfront place with deep enough water to dock a sailboat, but it may be possible.
Must have a deep channel for a sailboat that's for sure. I have found houses in that price range. There is just not many of them. I would expect New Bern to be less expensive than Wilmington. Thank for you input.
As others have already stated, Oriental is the sailing capital of NC primarily because Pamlico sound is huge, relatively protected and average's 20-30 foot deep. The downside is most of the community's on the Pamlico are small and remote but it is a good place to start if if sailing is at the top of your priority list. Fairfield Harbor near New Bern has had some legal issues in the past but seems to be turning the corner with some good deals on water front propertys. Another area about 30 minutes from Beaufort is Merrimon Bay. Again, some good deals on water fronts but a bit remote, may take some work to place a dock and is windward of prevailing weather but again, some deals on waterfront lots.
"The humidity will be new for you, but you'll get used to it"....Don't kid yourself...you will never get used to it, you will just put up with it.
I left coastal/mtns CA in the mid 70's, and have lived mostly in the south ever since, and like most folks, find the humidity miserable.
With the recent massive flooding in the Neuse River basin, pay close attention to elevation wherever you go, and be sure to budget for flood insurance if you end up in a flood plain.....
North Carolina is a beautiful state. However, I am going to lay out a few things you need to know to help you in your search. First, coastal NC is beautiful. It's the people that are screwy. There is an old saying that when you go "east of I-95" the world changes. And it is true. Edenton NC is the cheating capital of the world. Dare County or the "outer Banks" is very close to Edenton. A beautiful ocean community, but the people are the most scandalous bunch I have ever met and dealt with. They gouge the tourists, and corruption is rampant. And as far as Washington NC, there is nothing there. Between the coast and Greenville, NC there is absolutely nothing for 100 miles except Tarboro and a few other very small closed-minded towns. Although there are good people everywhere, there is a high concentration of losers toward the coast. No one wants to work, everyone is in everybody's business, and this makes these places an undesirable place to live. And if you are not "from" these places, you are looked down on. You are an "implant" and you will never belong.
Medical: You may be healthy, but heaven forbid you need emergency medical care and a decent hospital. Small community hospitals are here and there, and the docs are "locum tenens" which means they are contracted for short periods and then are gone. Family physicians and medical groups do exist, but if you ever have chest pain, you would have wished you never moved to these areas. The only Level One Trauma Center is in Greenville, and that is quite a distance from the coast.
Weather: Gorgeous and people visiting and enjoying the summer. But when end of October comes, the places become ghost towns. Nothing to do but shield yourself in your house when the wind begins to blow in December and it continues through March -all day everyday. Bleak and dreary, and dead quiet.
Best bet: Wilmington. Why? Pretty progressive and more people with other things to do but get into your business.
I do not want to seem as if I am hateful, and I am not. How do I know these things? Let's just say that I was a ranked "official" out there for 5 years and ran the second I could.
Best bet is Wilmington. Why? Because it is a clean and pretty progressive up-to-date place with decent people with other things to do than to get into your business.
North Carolina is a beautiful state. However, I am going to lay out a few things you need to know to help you in your search. First, coastal NC is beautiful. It's the people that are screwy. There is an old saying that when you go "east of I-95" the world changes. And it is true. Edenton NC is the cheating capital of the world. Dare County or the "outer Banks" is very close to Edenton. A beautiful ocean community, but the people are the most scandalous bunch I have ever met and dealt with. They gouge the tourists, and corruption is rampant. And as far as Washington NC, there is nothing there. Between the coast and Greenville, NC there is absolutely nothing for 100 miles except Tarboro and a few other very small closed-minded towns. Although there are good people everywhere, there is a high concentration of losers toward the coast. No one wants to work, everyone is in everybody's business, and this makes these places an undesirable place to live. And if you are not "from" these places, you are looked down on. You are an "implant" and you will never belong.
Medical: You may be healthy, but heaven forbid you need emergency medical care and a decent hospital. Small community hospitals are here and there, and the docs are "locum tenens" which means they are contracted for short periods and then are gone. Family physicians and medical groups do exist, but if you ever have chest pain, you would have wished you never moved to these areas. The only Level One Trauma Center is in Greenville, and that is quite a distance from the coast.
Weather: Gorgeous and people visiting and enjoying the summer. But when end of October comes, the places become ghost towns. Nothing to do but shield yourself in your house when the wind begins to blow in December and it continues through March -all day everyday. Bleak and dreary, and dead quiet.
Lived in Eastern NC all my life, yes, some areas are rural, just like virtually every other state in the union but I have no idea what state is being described here.
NC did not have a 4 lane East-West highway that went from Raleigh to the coast until the early 1990's. Still there is only one. Better to live near that lifeline than in NE NC where there are no 4 lane highways. It is warmer in the Winter in the Wilmington area than it is in the OBX and north plus the Labrador Current (cold) does not go to Southern coastal NC.
My family is from Edenton and lived there for over 100 years and I would not go back and live there.
Don't overlook the Brunswick Coast, just across the line from NC. Lots of nice homes, relatively affordable too, if you don't have to be directly on the waterfront and right next to good sailing on the Intercoastal Waterway.
]Don't overlook the Brunswick Coast, just across the line from NC[/b]. Lots of nice homes, relatively affordable too, if you don't have to be directly on the waterfront and right next to good sailing on the Intercoastal Waterway.
Try Currituck. All up and down the sound. Live close or on the sound, and not far from the Outer banks. Lots of diversity. Not much crime. Lived there 30+ years. I now live the next county over.
Coming from CA. you will probably want access to fairly sophisticated things - You could try Currituck County for its proximity to the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area which has Whole Foods, Trader Joe's etc. I live in Elizabeth City where you could buy a house with a dock inexpensively, but you would go crazy with how poor the infrastructure here is. Pretty town, low crime, 45 minutes to VA Beach or OBX, 20 minutes to Edenton. On the Intracoastal. But terrible mail service, 1 internet provider that sucks, inept city-run utilities. And a medical monopoly designed to refer you from one doctor to another for maximum exploitation. Even finding a vet or a dentist here is difficult. Edenton is gorgeous but there is zero privacy and one grocery store. But great to visit. Forget the OBX south of Southern Shores. Either too crowded or too remote and hard to leave in a storm. Southern Shores, Duck, Corolla, and Carova are great. I would not go south of the Albemarle Sound unless around Wilmington. The areas in between are beautiful, but practical living like a decent grocery will be an issue, especially for someone from CA. The bottom line on inland crime is that most of it is black on black; read the local papers online and make your own determination. On the OBX, it is mainly white junkies or lowlifes. Coming here is a lot like living in 1995. But the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. I could not live here if not for online shopping. Everything I buy other than gas and most groceries, I get online by necessity.
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Several good places to live
