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Hi! My fiancee and I are thinking about moving to North Carolina next year. We are taking a trip to come check out Raleigh and maybe some coastal areas. I need suggestions of nice beaches/coastal towns not too far from Raleigh (I know the beach is at least 1 1/2-2 hours away).
The finest beaches on the East Coast can be found on Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks.
That is a much longer drive, plus a ferry ride.
Ocracoke is regularly mentioned in Beach review articles.
The beaches can be empty.
My favorite is the beach at Avon NC.
That is on Hatteras Island, about 4 1/2 hours from Raleigh/Cary.
Both of those islands are more than a day trip, but worth a week, IMO.
If you want a day trip, you can go to Wrightsville Beach near Wilmington in just over 2 hours.
It is a straight shot down I-40, with just the last few miles being stop and go.
Hi I hope you enjoy your trip about any of the beaches are great for relaxation. I dont know what you two like on beach trip but I may suggest Wrightsville beach for it close proximity to Wilmington. That way you can enjoy both worlds a quiet beach and the downtown waterfront night life of Wilmington. If you two have alot of time maybe drive up a little further up towards Topsail or Emerald Isle. Carolina and Kure are cute beach towns too and over on that side you can take the Ferry over to Bald Head Island.
When you do move here schedule some time to go to the Outer Banks nothing can compare to how wonderful that area is. The best way to do enjoy outer banks is to get a rental house for a week. Last week I just made reservations and I wanted a pool and hot tub and most are 4 bedroom or more for those amenities. It fine but rate we got is less than a hotel room so we will just have alot of space.
Now if I can only convince my partner to not be scared to hang glide, kiteboard. HAHA oh well we will enjoy the beach and kayaking in the sound.
I would love to live out there that is my dream LOL I would be concern about work during the off season but Norfolk VA is abot 90 miles from there. Also it about hour from Greenville North Carolina and Elisabethtown isnt far either. Check out visitobx.com for more information on the outer banks and all the cities within it even has a message board
I think of the Outer Banks as a vacation destination.
It is possible to rent an oceanfront cottage for as little as $2000/month.
Less in off-season.
We generally find a 3 or 4 bedroom and split it with another family member.
Outer Banks is what lured me to NC 10 years ago.
Check out emerald isle specifically Bogue's pier Nice stretch of beach and not hard to get to I was just there last week
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