Moving my young family to Southport, NC (Charlotte, Raleigh: homes, employment)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My wife who is in her mid 30’s, my daughter who will be 2, and I who will be 40 are looking to move to either the Charlotte area or Southport, NC. I am from Charleston, SC, and met my wife there. We live in Indiana right now because her family lives here, but we are ready to move away to settle down with our family. We are moving sometime in the beginning of next year. We have narrowed our search down to both of these areas, but we do have some questions about if we can make Southport work to settle down. We have visited the area twice, and we both love the area.
We have visited Wilmington and the Raleigh Durham areas, and would only move there if we had great opportunity to do so.
My wife is a paralegal, and gets paid well right now. It would not have to be paralegal work, but we don’t know how far of a commute she would have if nessicary to find a good job.
The other concern is how many young families are in Southport, and if there is enough of them for my daughter to have a healthy lifestyle growing up in a smaller town. My wife and I are willing to have a more laid back and quiet lifestyle if we felt like we could make it work living there. Any info on what the lifestyle would be like for a young family settling down in Southport would be much appreciated.
The dominant demographic in SPT is seniors. They will become more dominant as a new 2000 acre assisted living neighborhood [Pine Forest Plantation] is developed over the net several years.
The demand for affordable housing for less-than-affluent working families is high to the extreme. As a result, most young families with work in SPT that do not have roots here are finding homes near the US 17 corridor in Leland, Bolivia & Shallotte.
Your wife would most likely have to commute to Wilmington for work. Will you be working? What is your housing budget?
Southport has some families, as does Oak Island and Boiling Spring Lakes. But, as noted above, there are many, many retirees here.
Charlotte and Southport is an interesting choice...they are about as different as night and day. I would suggest Wilmington or Leland as a compromise if you want to be near the coast. That will put you closer to employment and in proximity to other families with children.
I am fairly familiar with Southport as I have done a fair amount of research, and have visited there a couple of times. I know there are a good amount of older folks living there who are retired, but I also know there are a fair amount of families there too. Just curious what the lifestyle are for those families as we do not live there. Not sure if the the majority of those people commute to Wilmington or most are able to find work closer to Southport.
I know Charlotte is night and day from Southport but that is a lot of the reason we like it. My wife is a huge beach person, and she feels like if we were able to make a living we could handle the lifestyle that would come along with it. I know there are pros and cons but mostly our concerns are about our jobs and if there are enough families around for my daughter to have a healthy life growing up in a small town.
Surprisingly, I feel like I have seen a decent amount of housing options that are fairly reasonable considering there are a lot of expensive housing in the area too. We would be looking at the lower end of housing costs, but I am not as concerned about that as like I said I have been able to find several options that would be in our price range.
Like I said before we didn’t like Wilmington or Leland as our living option. We would like to live closer to Southport.
I am fairly familiar with Southport as I have done a fair amount of research, and have visited there a couple of times. I know there are a good amount of older folks living there who are retired, but I also know there are a fair amount of families there too. Just curious what the lifestyle are for those families as we do not live there. Not sure if the the majority of those people commute to Wilmington or most are able to find work closer to Southport.
I know Charlotte is night and day from Southport but that is a lot of the reason we like it. My wife is a huge beach person, and she feels like if we were able to make a living we could handle the lifestyle that would come along with it. I know there are pros and cons but mostly our concerns are about our jobs and if there are enough families around for my daughter to have a healthy life growing up in a small town.
Surprisingly, I feel like I have seen a decent amount of housing options that are fairly reasonable considering there are a lot of expensive housing in the area too. We would be looking at the lower end of housing costs, but I am not as concerned about that as like I said I have been able to find several options that would be in our price range.
Like I said before we didn’t like Wilmington or Leland as our living option. We would like to live closer to Southport.
Most of the folks with younger children work in the area. A smattering of doctors, nurses at Dosher Hospital, teachers at one of the public schools, small business owners, realtors, employees at the Duke Power nuclear plant, etc. Wilmington is a pretty hefty commute (45 minutes plus) to do every day, but I'm sure there are some who do it. If your wife is willing to make that commute, then go for it! Families with small children are scattered around, but I'm sure you'll find ways to connect.
We lived on Oak Island and I taught down here for several years in the mid 90s. Moving and changing jobs “for the big bucks” in hindsight was a terrible decision.
This week is the first time I have been back. The rampant growth is bewildering! I know change happens, but . . .
We have driven to Southport twice, midweek. Both times the drive back to OKI was bumper to bumper, until the pace picked up near the ICW bridge. And it’s not a holiday weekend.
Maybe, if we had stayed here, the growth and traffic would have been incremental and seemed“normal.” As it is, the increases are stunning.
The infrastructure is way, way behind the population (at least in the tourist season). I’d consider very carefully before jumping in! Good luck.
As an aside, the number of homes under construction on OKI is startling. Anyone with doubts about the economy should check that out.
Hi, I'm curious if you made the move to Southport with your family? We are considering making the move and interested in the decision you made, we have 2 daughters ages 5 and 7.
Thanks!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
