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Its also not oceanfront. In fact, its about 2 hours from the beach.
OP is looking for a warm, decent-sized, lots of things to do, yet economical-friendly town within walking distance to the beach.
Try South America because it will not be found in the southeast. Up the home price, lower the temperature requirement, or back off the coast a bit, and there's a chance something will fit some of the wants in this search.
Oh wow! You're right Philly! We will put it on the list of possibilities.
It looks very lovely.
Have you been there? If you have, how would you compare it to New Bern or Southport?
In order of which you think is most lively and attractive, which would come in first place, second, and third?
LLN Well, I'm glad my head was turned about Washington. The photos are lovely, and boy oh boy did I take a wrong turn when I gave up on it after seeing the gas station and WalMart photo's.
There's a poster child in there somewhere for the statement "you can't judge a book by its cover".
So I am finding there are towns on a river, that have a boaty, seagull vibe which might be very tempting indeed.
We have wanted to live close to the sea for decades and will have to scrutinize our road map carefully, as we don't want to merely settle for "pretty" and not get stung by the salty ocean breezes we crave, crave, crave. I think I might entertaining some towns that in all honesty, won't make the cut because of proximity to the ocean. Phooey.
1960 you are the constant of this equation. Yes, being close to the ocean is more important.
This is what we want to live close to for our retirement...(and we want those lovely figures too ):
Oh wow! You're right Philly! We will put it on the list of possibilities.
It looks very lovely.
Have you been there? If you have, how would you compare it to New Bern or Southport?
In order of which you think is most lively and attractive, which would come in first place, second, and third?
I used to live in Washington and still have family there. Sometimes I go there (I live in Greenville.) just to walk/sit at the waterfront, which is quite lengthy. Washington best feature (maybe the only one) is the Pamlico River, the public waterfront, and homes along the river. There's not really a beach, so much as there is boating and enjoying the waterfront view.
As someone else said, shopping beyond the basics is done in Greenville. Downtown Washington has just a few nice restaurants (3 or 4), the popular hotdog place (Bill's), a terrific ice cream shoppe (Scoops), a refurbished theather, and just a little bit of retail. Away from the river, Washington is indeed fast food, convenience stores, Walmart, Food Lion, etc. If you're not into river activities (boating/fishing) and New Bern is not enough for you, then go with the Wilmington area, which will be your best bet in the southeast at your budget - so long as you sacrifice being within walking distance to a beach.
But if you find you actually like small town waterfront life, you'll like Washington. Also, just south of Myrtle Beach is Georgetown, which has a much smaller waterfront. It's 30 minutes from Myrtle Beach and and roughly an hour to Charleston.
Would Morehead City be more of what you're looking for? The Morehead/Beaufort/Atlantic Beach area can feel like one big town.
I don't find a New Bern vibe in any of those places except maybe Beaufort.
I would have named Edenton, but OP has already ruled that one out. There really aren't tons of place in NC "like New Bern" that aren't New Bern. Virginia, as OP mentions, might be the next place to consider. Lots of historic towns in Va.
It appears to be on the water, though not ocean, but is that water like ocean water? and are there beaches along the edge?
Southport is at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Its a big, wide river, but it not like the ocean in that there are no waves (except from passing boats). There a few small beaches, but since it was a working waterfront for hundreds of years there is a lot of old wood, bricks, stone, etc. in the water, so its not conducive to wading in the water and swimming as one would do on the oceanfront. Plus the currents are very strong.
As I stated previously, most of NC's oceanfront consists of barrier islands, and the beach communities are largely seasonal communities that empty out in the winter. Carolina Beach, and to a lesser extent, Oak Island are the only oceanfront communities that I am aware of that have a year around community.
I don't know? Is it CRAZY traffic? (my definition of CRAZY traffic is mid-summer weekend traffic on the main road [with malls, big shopping, grocery stores] and what seems to be all people driving to the beach with woofers and tweeter blasting). <-- something we navigated through on the main drag in Wilmington in July.
Charleston is tempting and we've always been tempted to visit by virtue of its beauty.
Thanks to the movie: "The Garden of Good and Evil".
A friend tells me about somewhere nearby called the Isle of Palms, although its described as "sleepy". Yes, I would like to witness Charleston as a possibility and go find that garden's angel.
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