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This is the impression I'm getting from Brunswick county. That yes it's growing but perhaps not as fast asrumors make it out to be. But that still doesn't mean it's not a nice area that is at least worth considering. So the back and forth has helped!
This has actually been very helpful guys so thank you! Even if you disagree, I'm still getting a better idea of what the towns are.
It's actually reminding me of what we saw in Florida in the late 80s. My parents moved to a town way outside of Tampa when I was a teenager. It was supposed to be this fast growing town full of transplants. Well, it was actually a few subdivisions that were built in a town that hadn't seen growth since the 60s. The few subdivisons were full of northeast transplants and once you stepped outside of that subdivision, it was all Florida natives who loathed yankees. It was very hard trying to fit in as a teen.
The builders kept on building neighborhoods over the years but you still had to travel to the larger suburban town if you wanted anything more than a Food Lion or a Dollar Store. It wasn't until the late 90s, over a decade later, that this town finally got commercial growth. By early 2000s they finally got a nice new Publix and shopping centers and medical offices started popping up. The area did indeed grow but it took a lot longer than people originally though.
This is the impression I'm getting from Brunswick county. That yes it's growing but perhaps not as fast as rumors make it out to be. But that still doesn't mean it's not a nice area that is at least worth considering. So the back and forth has helped!
What concerns me is what happened to the Florida town I just talked about. People moved in, but homes were being built faster than people were coming. So new homes actually depreciated like a car. People would buy lots and get to pick the fixtures for their new house. Then if they tried to sell 5 years later, the house was worth LESS than it was when they bought it. Because why would anyone want a 5 year old house, when they could pay the same price for a brand new house and get to pick their finishes? And all of that flat open land made it easy for builders to keep building. Unlike where I am now in Southern California where canyons and valleys make for little space to build new homes.
I need to factor that in when I'm looking at these new homes. If the construction outpaces the town's actual growth. Meaning I need to really just think of this as a place for my parents to live and not so much an "investment".
The house in the little Florida town did eventually become worth more than my parents paid but it was a good 10 years later. But regardless I need to plan on a road trip in the spring and see everything.
Thank you everyone for your contributions. It's been very helping being that I'm on the other side of the country and can't see anything other than what I find on Google street view
I would recommend Wilmington, NC (New Hanover County) or Charleston, SC. Both well-established cities not built on rampant speculation. If you do happen to visit Leland, you will be shocked. Nothing but a collection of fast food joints and gas stations.
Plus the number of retirees is forecast to double in the next several decades, so there won't be any lack of buyers.
I've heard that tune for at least 20 years or more. Yes, Brunswick County has grown, and has attracted new retirees, but nothing like that was predicted 20 years ago. The entire county has only 140,000 people after 20 years of boasting that a major percentage of U.S. retirees will move there. LOL
The thing about Leland is that it is immediately adjacent to Wilmington. You can literally get from Leland to downtown Wilmington in less than 5 minutes. And to New Hanover Medical Center in 10. Thats closer than many parts of Wilmington itself. Plus taxes and crime rates are much lower.
I like Wilmington a lot, but for the OP's parents, Leland makes a lot of sense.
I was reading about how many people screwed after hurricane Sandy. They had decades of paying hurricane insurance and still many companies wiggled out of paying by saying it was flooding or ground shift that caused the damage. So I know we need good insurance. I still can't get over the beautiful homes that are so cheap. I love California dearly but I'm also open to retiring some place like NC or SC.
I have homeowners and wind and hail with NC Farm Bureau. I also bought my flood insurance through them. I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT NC Farm Bureau and the way I was treated post-Florence.
They sent the flood insurance guy, to just look around. It’s a long story but I had some "flood damage" caused by rain water getting under the house. I was amazed that he came so quickly. When I mentioned that, he said he was here promptly "since so few have flood insurance." My home borders but is not in a flood zone. I found it prudent to carry it.
The wind and hail guy was as good or better. Had a lot of drywall and insulation damage to the front of the house caused by three, 100+ year old windows "failing" under the prolonged wind and rain, for want of a better word.
If someone does not have flood insurance no company will pay flood damage. Same goes for wind and hail.
Some locations require certain types of insurance, but I assessed the risk and paid for insurance I hoped I would never need. But I did.
Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 7 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
2,309 posts, read 6,100,090 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheLonelyGoatherd
They used to live in a part of TN where they were known as "the yankees" for all the years they lived there.
Are they still saying Youse Guys or anything like that? Yankees aren't looked upon very kindly here in NC either. They only tolerate me because I'm from south of the Mason-Dixon line and I have a smidgen of a southern accent. I try not to let the accent out but I slip every once in a while.
Just make sure they find the right neighborhood and they'll do okay. My first house here in NC was out in the country and the neighbors weren't really neighborly. We sold that house and moved into a subdivision that has a lot of transplants. We're much happier now.
I have homeowners and wind and hail with NC Farm Bureau. I also bought my flood insurance through them. I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT NC Farm Bureau and the way I was treated post-Florence.
They sent the flood insurance guy, to just look around. It’s a long story but I had some "flood damage" caused by rain water getting under the house. I was amazed that he came so quickly. When I mentioned that, he said he was here promptly "since so few have flood insurance." My home borders but is not in a flood zone. I found it prudent to carry it.
The wind and hail guy was as good or better. Had a lot of drywall and insulation damage to the front of the house caused by three, 100+ year old windows "failing" under the prolonged wind and rain, for want of a better word.
If someone does not have flood insurance no company will pay flood damage. Same goes for wind and hail.
Some locations require certain types of insurance, but I assessed the risk and paid for insurance I hoped I would never need. But I did.
Again. NC Farm Bureau was superb.
I would definitely be getting flood insurance as well as the hurricane insurance. Basically I'd want every kind of insurance there is. You just never know. If the risk is low then the insurance won't be that expensive.
I learned that in Virginia when we had the earthquake. After 3 years living in California, the biggest earthquake I've ever felt was living in Virginia.
Our insurance agent told me that so many people had damage to their homes and of course living in VA few people had earthquake insurance. I won't mess around with not having insurance. And that's good to know about the NC farm bureau!
Are they still saying Youse Guys or anything like that? Yankees aren't looked upon very kindly here in NC either. They only tolerate me because I'm from south of the Mason-Dixon line and I have a smidgen of a southern accent. I try not to let the accent out but I slip every once in a while.
Just make sure they find the right neighborhood and they'll do okay. My first house here in NC was out in the country and the neighbors weren't really neighborly. We sold that house and moved into a subdivision that has a lot of transplants. We're much happier now.
No they aren't too bad about that, lol. My dad's accent isn't that strong but my mom's is. But they don't say youse guys. (I think that's generational because I'm 40s and I've only ever heard my friend's parents talk like that. I left NJ as a teen though)
But the accent is there. 30 years living in the south and my mother still has a thick northeast accent. It's frustrating honestly. Like how can you be surrounded by twangs for decades and not pick up anything? I'm convinced if I lived a year in some place like England, I'd come back with an accent! They are very friendly people. But it's a shame that for many, southern hospitality is reserved for other southerners. My parents tried to fit in in their old neighborhood in TN. But they were tolerated at best. We'd definitely be looking for an area of transplants. My mom can be pretty dense so she'd think nothing of finding another place out in the sticks where they are the only yankees for miles. That seems to be the case with Bolivia. She heard such great things about the town and can't get it out of her head. Meanwhile I've googled population and I come up with anything from 152 to 200. That's not a town. That's a family gathering. I'll stick with Leland and Wilmington.
hat seems to be the case with Bolivia. She heard such great things about the town and can't get it out of her head. Meanwhile I've googled population and I come up with anything from 152 to 200. That's not a town. That's a family gathering. I'll stick with Leland and Wilmington.
Yep, that was my impression of Bolivia as a life long NC-er. I don't live down that way, but have gone to the beach at Sunset Beach all my life and gone through Bolivia. Nothing much to speak of. I think AARP is probably picking up on the mailing addresses of some of the big active adult living communities like Winding River. On the map, though, you can see it is about equidistant to Holden Beach, Bolivia, Oak Island, and Shallotte.
They might like some place like Winding River. There are a number of places like that that cater to retirees. Some like St James are a little closer to "town".
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