single caucasian mom with black son moving at SE coastal community?? (Wilmington: transplants, sales)

[goingsouththisyear]

I'm a single mom in my mid 40s with a 9 year old son.....we are Catholic, liberal minded family looking to relocate from Indianapolis in the midwest to the southeast...focusing on Wilmington, NC where I have relatives or Pensacola, FL....possibly Mobile????...I am in sales so am looking for a sales job...will possibly be getting into real estate. I love the Panhandle beaches...looking for natural food markets, art and food festivals....sunshine and outdoor living; also affordable housing. Will probably rent the first year. I know there are close minded people everywhere, but I want my son in an accepting environment, somewhat racially diverse...his school now , a Catholic school, is about 20% black and Asian, the rest Caucasian. I will most likely be putting him into public schools where we move. Looking to make the move at the end of the school year. I would love any feedback on the Panhandle..Pensacola in particular; (not interested in Panama City) vs Fort Walton and then again, Wilmington, NC. Thanks for your feedback.

[Ann in Oriental]

This is the south, It doesn't bother me in the least but I'm a northerner. You will have problems here no doubt not just the race issue but the catholic issue. Not everyone but enough so that you might be uncomfortable. The south I have found is very judgemental.

[castufari]

You'll be fine. There are a lot of mixed families in the carolinas. Some will judge you but ignore them. If you're looking for more acceptance then I'd move to one of the more liberal areas. Not sure how liberal Wilmywood is.

[wchilcote]

I agree, you will be fine. The Wilmington area is very diverse within the city and the school system. Your son should not have a problem, whereas you may with the lack of job. BUT! Verizon Wireless has a call center here and they are about to hire 100+ people. Wilmington is more liberal than you think. There is a great university here, plus all the northern transplants, and the local film industry. There is a great arts community with theater and wonderful music. I think, again, you will be fine.

[LLN]

Good luck in your quest. Secure a job before you move. NC is NOT the mecca of cheap homes and abundant jobs. Times here are tough too.

I would never say you will not hear something about a white mom and black son, but I don't think you would hear much. And what you heard would be from low rent people you don't care about anyway.

The remark about having trouble cause you are Catholic, I think, is about as off base as anything I have ever seen on this forum. And that is saying a lot. Obviously there has had to have been something that generated the comment, but it is an outlier.

You might consider moving near a military base. Know that is not what you expected, but there are relatively large number of mixed race couples in the military. Havelock is not too bad a place, less than an hour from the beach, relatively good schools, and with the big base, a bit more "worldly."

I teach and was reviewing demographic codes for the recent tests, and was surprised to notice how many kids we had coded mixed race. I never even notice that kind of stuff, and while not Attila the Hun, I am not exactly Barney Frank, either.

Again, good luck.

[Richard Martin]

I see a lot of mixed families here in the Greenville, NC area as well as a lot of mixed neighborhoods. I did my research before I moved here but the level of intergration was something I didn't expect. It doesn't bother me one way or the other. I moved here from Maryland and things were significantly more segregated there. Both of my kids went to a public school where the number of black teachers exceeded the number of black students. White people lived in white neighborhoods and black people lived in black neighborhoods. It's not lke that here.