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I think that the appeal of wilmington is the beach. after about a year of living here, people realize that being near the beach is not enough of a reason to make the sacrifices necessary to live here. a lot of people were moving down here for low cost of living. the cost of living has increased here but has decreased elsewhere. I think a lot of people who moved here are moving back to where they came from, or they are moving to a place like raleigh or charlotte because there are actually jobs there. wilmington is good if you are retired, in college, or want to wait tables or bartend into your 40's.
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Originally Posted by dawneel
Can you expand on why, in your opinion, the population in Wilmington would be shrinking? Thanks
I think that the appeal of wilmington is the beach. after about a year of living here, people realize that being near the beach is not enough of a reason to make the sacrifices necessary to live here. a lot of people were moving down here for low cost of living. the cost of living has increased here but has decreased elsewhere. I think a lot of people who moved here are moving back to where they came from, or they are moving to a place like raleigh or charlotte because there are actually jobs there. wilmington is good if you are retired, in college, or want to wait tables or bartend into your 40's.
Can totally understand your points. Having lived in Hawaii for 14 years (multiply the above scenario many time over), we are very familiar with life in a tourist-based economy... it comes down to what people are willing to do, and sacrifice, to live close to the beach (or an area they love). I think it's a matter of priorities in life... Having said that, those who are self employed with services provided to the community or those who work from home or consult, could also make it work there.
These days, there are more options for creative work that allows people more freedom on where they choose to live than in years past. Granted, it's not an option for everyone, but I would venture to guess some of those people would/are looking at Wilmington especially given its within the occassional commuting distance to RTP.
So, if jobs were not an issue, what I'm hearing is that Wilmington is a great choice to live.
wilmington is a good choice for some. if I was going away to college and liked to surf, wilmington is perfect. if I was retired and didn't want to do anything besides golf, this is the place. I would rather live in a place with an abundance of good jobs that is only a 2 hour drive from the beach. one misconception about wilmington is this. people think that if you live in wilmington, you live at the beach. wrong. if you live in wilmington, you live near the beach. I live downtown and with no traffic, it takes 15 minutes to get there. with traffic during peak season, it can take over a half an hour. this is just to get there. parking can take another 30 minutes and 3 times last year, I had to leave the beach because there was no parking. I would rather drive 2 hours to spend the weekend at the beach and not have to worry about parking! this town has potential, but due to poor city planning and leadership, it's lagging way behind.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dawneel
Can totally understand your points. Having lived in Hawaii for 14 years (multiply the above scenario many time over), we are very familiar with life in a tourist-based economy... it comes down to what people are willing to do, and sacrifice, to live close to the beach (or an area they love). I think it's a matter of priorities in life... Having said that, those who are self employed with services provided to the community or those who work from home or consult, could also make it work there.
These days, there are more options for creative work that allows people more freedom on where they choose to live than in years past. Granted, it's not an option for everyone, but I would venture to guess some of those people would/are looking at Wilmington especially given its within the occassional commuting distance to RTP.
So, if jobs were not an issue, what I'm hearing is that Wilmington is a great choice to live.
I've lived in Wilmington for about nine months and like it so far. I live in the Dry pond area,which is a few blocks south east of downtown.
Good things about Wilmington:
Close to beaches.
Nice Historic downtown area.
Affordable housing.
Tons of bars downtown.
I can walk to work.
Lots of beautiful women.
Friendly people.
It's big enough to feel like an actual city.
Decent underground music scene.
And contrarily to what a lot of people say on here, crime isn't that bad at all.
I agree and disagree. I don't think crime is as bad as some would make it out to be, but I don't think wilmington feels like a city at all. downtown is pretty small. however, this could change as there is plenty of room on the waterfront to change the cityscape. lots of beautiful women? yeah, 10 years ago!
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Originally Posted by JPMM
I've lived in Wilmington for about nine months and like it so far. I live in the Dry pond area,which is a few blocks south east of downtown.
Good things about Wilmington:
Close to beaches.
Nice Historic downtown area.
Affordable housing.
Tons of bars downtown.
I can walk to work.
Lots of beautiful women.
Friendly people.
It's big enough to feel like an actual city.
Decent underground music scene.
And contrarily to what a lot of people say on here, crime isn't that bad at all.
I think that the appeal of wilmington is the beach. after about a year of living here, people realize that being near the beach is not enough of a reason to make the sacrifices necessary to live here. a lot of people were moving down here for low cost of living. the cost of living has increased here but has decreased elsewhere. I think a lot of people who moved here are moving back to where they came from, or they are moving to a place like raleigh or charlotte because there are actually jobs there. wilmington is good if you are retired, in college, or want to wait tables or bartend into your 40's.
I lived there for a year and am planning on moving back...(sorry Cape Fear )
I grew up on the beach and need to be near water.
Wilmington has a river, the inland waterway and a beach. So, unlike Charlotte which has a dearth of things to do when friends visit I can take them boating, jet-skiing, surfing, windsurfing, sunbaking, kite-surfing, kayaking, fishing, diving, sailing, et al.
The restaurants are on par with Charlotte, the people are great and I'm only an hour and a half from the State capital if I want a bigger mall or a change of scenery.
Unlike most tourist beach towns which thrive in summer and die in winter Wilmington has a university so kids are in town during the winter for school and, when they leave, the tourists roll in.
The weather is awesome...doesn't get as brutally humid as Florida does and the winter is relatively mild.
Crime...you have to be kidding. I've lived in Marseille, Djibouti, Melbourne, London, Paris, Calvi (Corsica), St Petersburgh, Charlotte et al and Wilmington is by far the lowest rate of crime I've ever seen anywhere I've lived.
I'm also betting (remember, you saw it here first ) that Wilmington will be an economic force in the next ten to fifteen years. They're now dealing with the shipping overflow from Charleston and NY due to terrorism (and the need to do more searches than they used to) which will lead to more jobs and, I've never seen a town on a river and coast that wasn't doing better than their landlocked equivalents. (I think Moody's reported a similar finding).
As for taking so long to get to the beach and find parking...how is that worse than living in Raleigh and driving an hour and a half to get to ILM before negotiating the same aformentioned obstacles?
Wilmington rocks
(I'll run for mayor when I get there...you can vote for me then )
because, for some people, it's not as easy as just up and leaving. I have a house, and I need to find a job in a new area. I don't continue to live here by choice, I just have responsibilities.
because, for some people, it's not as easy as just up and leaving. I have a house, and I need to find a job in a new area. I don't continue to live here by choice, I just have responsibilities.
ABSOLUTELY! We have several friends who have already left before the housing market and economy took a turn for the worse. There's several homes in our development that have been for sale for quite awhile and others who are just waiting for the market to recover so they can put theirs on the market. All most people can do right now is just sit tight and wait for the right opportunity. It's quite different when you have a home to sale and a job to pursue and acquire.
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this town has potential, but due to poor city planning and leadership, it's lagging way behind. 
Why?
