What cities are like New Bern, but directly on the ocean (Wilmington: new home, neighborhoods)
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I'm new on Citi-Data and love the size of New Bern. We love its history and spirit.
I'm looking for an ocean town similar to it with all the amenities of New Bern (museums, hospital..)
I think the river it is on is beautiful, but we have talked about living near the ocean, and have gone
to Wilmington several times, enjoying the upbeat savvy downtown, but just feel the town is a little
too big, and getting even bigger.
Is there some town on the ocean (like New Bern) that has all the shopping and amenities without the giant growth but isn't an hours drive to actual ocean?
(Have visited Edenton, and Elizabeth City, but they didn't fit the criteria).
We want to spend around $200+K for a newer home no HOA.
We have also visited Lewes, Rehoboth and Bethany Beaches in Delaware.. all very, very nice
but too cold in the winter.
The only town like New Bern on the NC coast is New Bern.
-Elizabeth City and Washington both feel different. Bath may be just as historic, but it is much smaller and doesn't have the amenities that New Bern has
-Morehead City and Kill Devil Hills both seem touristy (the latter much moreso than the former)
-Jacksonville? nope. To be honest, I find Jacksonville to be lacking for a city of its size.
Greenville is inland and not really close by the ocean. Ditto that for Kinston
Your best bet would be to go to the Virginia forum to see if they have anything similar up there.
Very thorough reply.. thanks.
Have you ever been to Virginia's coastline?
Our only trip a couple of years ago to VA beach had us not finding the charm we were looking for.
So we might revisit more coastline, maybe even South Carolina.
Your reply really nailed it though.
So thanks, more than you know.
Southport NC comes close to what you are asking for.
Its on the mouth of the Cape Fear river and about 15 minutes from Oak Island on the ocean. It is an hour or so from Wilmington and about the same from Myrtle Beach.
The down town area is very small town like and scenic, Oak Island is pretty laid back with out being over commercialized while the highway 211 corridor out to 17 is steadily growing with gated communities and businesses offering the amenities of larger towns.
200k is not a large budget but doable dependent on location, sweat equity etc.
Zillow is a great tool when looking for homes as well as getting a 'flyover' look at the surrounding area.
Would Morehead City be more of what you're looking for? The Morehead/Beaufort/Atlantic Beach area can feel like one big town.
Hi Michael,
You know, that's not a bad question.. I have no clue.
We might have driven through there maybe twelve years ago, but seeing many places over the passage time all tend to blur, and I feel a road trip coming on.
+One of the things we look for is obvious vibrancy regardless if it has a modern or traditional influence, both is always nice. +A busy, flourishing active well maintained downtown of year-round shops to frequent and restaurants. Arts councils. + Walk-ability is important too. (Can't you just love the idea of walking to the beach?) +Many activities for all ages a polished and painted face. +Parks and infrastructure to a degree in place. Finding a shore town that empties out after Labor day is not on the wish list, though I realize there is a degree of tourists that leave, I'm just talking about not going from alive to dead on the turn of a calendar page.
I will do some "downtown" photo checking on these places. Sometimes that is enough to discern if a place kindles one's interest.
Naturally, we want to love the town we would become a part of.
Thanks again, I will investigate your suggestions!
The problem is that the NC coast is primarily a series of barrier islands. There are no cities located on those barrier islands, primarily its just seasonal communities.
Carolina Beach is about the only place I can think of that remotely fits your vision, but budget will be an issue.
Per Zilllow, there are no new homes in Beaufort, SC or NC for $200,000 or less. That's a very low budget for the coast.
Hi BC1960
I'm sure we would spend the $K for the right place. (I was using the $ as a jump off.)
A lot of online scouting is important, but checking down the coastline map, looking into town after town seems exhaustive, thus your town name dropping has been helpful to hone in to places that we might have overlooked.
Our biggest concern is too small of a town might get tiresome quickly if the lights don't stay on. I don't want to twiddle my thumbs until Memorial Day comes along. Wilmington however, just seems like its not quite the right fit. It doesn't seem peaceful or something. I can't quite put my finger on what it is about Wilmy ????
Currently in the cold, a nice neighborhood where everyone bought their home 25 years ago and everyone is around or nearing retirement. An idyllic situation for one's comfort level, being near wonderful people. Saying good-bye will be hard, but finding the new hello needs to be flawless. You probably know what I mean when I say there are just some happy neighborhoods.. we are hunting for the next one.
We are the kind of people, (thankfully) that invite everyone in for home made meals, pleasant discussions and help, and enjoy the people around us and truly care. If one cultivates that one also attracts it.
Our shore dollars can certainly be expanded when we find the community that jingle jangles for us.
Thanks for the heads up BC! Now onward!
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