moving to North Carolina (Wilmington, Columbus: apartments, job openings, neighborhoods)

[agriggs]

My husband and I are wanting to relocate to North Carolina after I graduate with my Masters in Social Work in May. We LOVE the Wilmington Area but we are not exactly sure where we would like to move. We do like the coast so we would like to be close to the ocean. I am a social worker and he has a plumbing certification but he is currently working as a body shop mechanic. I was looking at the counties Pender, Brunswick, Columbus, Bladen, and New Hanover. Can anyone tell me which areas are nice, family oriented, job availability, schools, apartments, nice neighborhoods (for when we buy a home). Any information will be helpful~!

Thanks!

[melbern]

I can't give you info on those areas, but I can tell you that one of the most commonly advertised professional job openings I see in the Craven/Carteret/Onslow area is for social work. So that's very good for you!

[Goheels]

Holy cow, that's a large area of land mass to cover. I would suggest you read some of the local papers online in those counties. Local papers give you a feel for the area. I can tell you after reading a couple of them in a couple of those counties that I would NOT feel like living in those towns. I would also recommend you look at a couple of the town websites to get a feel for the area and plan a vacation week. Explore each town that seemed interesting to you. Take pictures.List pros and cons.Maybe after you narrow your search come back and get local feedback from this board.