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Thanks. We're pretty spoiled as right now we're nestled in between Duke, UNC and a few other large healthcare systems here. I prefer specialists unless it's a very routine thing, and even then I choose Internal Medicine, never FP or GP's.
My doc is Internal Med, my wife's is a FP. Our medical needs are pretty minimal, mostly just annual physicals and other routine stuff. Sounds like this area may not meet your needs, healthcare wise.
Ahh, so the $5000 is a way to pressure you to join, not unlike the way unscrupulous health clubs offer you a "low rate but its only good for that day" kind if thing. And I know it's subjective, but let me ask anyway...if we are not golf or tennis players (nor even pickleball at this stage), would it even be worth it to join the club. Better to just go ala carte on things we want to do?
I'm also curious (if you happen to feel you know) what the turnover is like there. Do people generally leave when they reach a certain age? Move back Northeast to be with grandkids.
And speaking of kids, are the pools overrun with them? If I'm paying $25K to join a club I want relative peace and quiet when at the pool.
Is availability of GOOD healthcare a big issue? Driving to Wilmington for every doctors appt. as we get older seems like a non-starter.
My wife and I are Social members. I am a once or twice a month golfer so the Social Membership is fine, we do not play tennis or pickleball at the moment. There are a few local courses that I play so the 12 rounds are enough for me. Many full Golf members play 4-5 times a week.
Having the pools, fitness facilities, and any of the restaurants available to us makes it worth it. All of our friends are members so we don't have to bug anyone to be their guest when convenient to us. And if we want to go alone, we can. I find the food here very good, especially lunches are a good value. If you DM me your email, I can send you pics of menus from the 5 restaurants. A la carte is not an option with the club's. If not a member, you would have to join an outside gym, pool, fitness classes, etc.
There are a bunch of kids here from mid-June to mid-August who are the visiting grandchildren of residents(we are not a 55 or older community so we do have some kids, about 100 I would say, school buses do come thru).6 Almost all go to the Seaside pool which is kid friendly and has the bar and grill. The Players Club pool and the Founders Club Pool are usually all adults along with the indoor Members Club pool.
As for leaving, I have several friends who moved since we came here 6 years ago. Some were health related or a spouse passed away. The rest were grandchildren and wanted to be near them. Turnover is not high, but with 5100 homes in total, some will happen.
As for healthcare, we have many of the basics here in the Southport area but certain specialities are up in Wilmington, 40 min drive. Not a big deal, combine it with some shopping like Target, Kohls, Costco, etc and its a productive day. We have Dosher Hospital here in Southport, quite small. In Bolivia is Novant Brunswick Medical Center, a medium size one where I volunteer every week. Then Wilmington has the major hospital, New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
Hope this all helps. Obviously I have alot of time on my hands to study all that is St James Plantation, lol.
Thanks Owen and Steve - great details that help a lot. It's not that we have complex healthcare needs (we don't) , but if you DO need ongoing treatment for something, it helps if it isn't a 90 min RT drive. Personally I like teaching hospitals - you are assured cutting-edge treatment here but I guess that's a tradeoff you have to be OK with.
Since you live there, what is the "reputation" or perception of the Players Club section? Not that it differs from other sections but curious....looking at a house there
I love the Player's Club section. we live there-lol. There are a few reasons we selected it. 1) It has a much closer entrance down Regency to get into and out of St James. We don't have to drive 15 minutes within St James to get out of it. The trees are really nice in this area- mature and give a more natural look to the area. We love having the golf course both in front and behind us. The houses aren't quite as close together as some sections, like Members. I guess I feel it's a laid back vibe and appealed to us.
I'm also going to address your health care concerns since we moved from the triangle area. We have an Internal Medicine physician in Southport who is great with excellent credentials (unfortunately I don't think he's taking new patients). We don't have a lot of medical needs, but have traveled to Wilmington a time or 2 for a specialist. It is not the same as being close to Duke or UNC, but they are not that far away if you needed to see someone there.
I know a lady that lived there. She said it was terrible--they should have named the neighborhood St. Jersey instead of St. James. She also mentioned that a group of entitled female residents thought so highly of themselves they demanded that management of the nearby Publix close one day during the week so they could shop! She hated it there. They sold their home and moved to Bolivia.
I know a lady that lived there. She said it was terrible--they should have named the neighborhood St. Jersey instead of St. James. She also mentioned that a group of entitled female residents thought so highly of themselves they demanded that management of the nearby Publix close one day during the week so they could shop! She hated it there. They sold their home and moved to Bolivia.
FWIW, I don’t live in SJP…just not interested in a huge gated community. Not my cup of tea but others enjoy living there.
So, the bit about the Publix is urban legend. They used to say the same thing about the Lowe’s Foods in the shopping center at Middleton. The rumor was that a group of St James residents demanded the store allow only St James residents to shop on Tuesday. That’s pretty ridiculous. As for Members Club being called “St Jersey”, sadly, that’s often the nickname for the entire community.
I'm glad you said the Publix bit is an urban legend because it sounds like it would be. Or maybe one person said it and it became a rumor that the entire community wanted it.
I'm was born in NJ but my family moved to the south when I was a teen. At almost 52, I've been out of NJ so long and don't relate to being from there at all. But southerners don't see it that way. I have seen both sides of this.
I can definitely agree on a certain type of person from NY/NJ having an aggressive way about them. I noticed that when I lived there. But a couple of things, most of these New Jersey people are originally from New York. And most of them are going to be Italian or Jewish. (I have Jewish ancestry even though I don't practice Judaism so I feel like I can say this without being called anti Semetic) I remember even as a kid, noticing there was a huge difference between New Jersey people who were Italian vs those who weren't, especially those from smaller towns like I was. Overall they are more laid back, less hostile and aggressive. Italians and Jewish people from NJ/NY are just louder and speak more aggressively and if you aren't from there it can come across as very rude. They are NOT trying to be rude. It truly is a cultural difference. I get that it's annoying. I do. But I honestly don't think they hold the entitlement inside that people think. It just comes across that way on the outside with the manner in which they speak.
I also used to live in Connecticut in my 30s in a mostly Italian neighborhood. The Connecticut Italians were SO different than NJ/NY Italians. And the same with Jewish people from Connecticut. They were quieter, calmer, and really more my speed. So it's not even an up north thing. It's more of a Jewish or Italian from New York with some of them being NJ transplant type thing.
And they can be so tone deaf and really not know how to read the room. Many of my NJ family would embarass the heck out of me when they opened their mouth once we moved south. If they could tone all of it down, it would come across better.
Anyway, they all like to play follow the leader. I saw that 30 -40 years ago when people from the northeast started moving to Florida. It's like they'd all end up in the same subdivision.
So yeah, people from the northeast CAN be more hostile and aggressive in the way they speak especially from certain ethnicities. It's more of a cultural thing that can certainly come across as rude.
I've also experienced the prejudice that comes from simply being a transplant. I used to feel like no matter who sweet and kind I was, I would always be "the yankee". So you have to factor that in. The natives of the NC area will never like the idea that people from other states have moved there. So no matter what those people say or do, they are going to be called entitled. Never mind that this is America and people should be free to move where they want. Certain states are just not welcoming to outsiders. And calling someone from up north rude or entitled is such a low hanging fruit. Basically there are enough people from the northeast who do act that way that it's easy to paint everyone that way. I honestly think no matter how nice someone was they'd still be called a snob or rude if they are from up north. That's a very defeatist attitude but it's just what I've seen.
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