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is there a difference in the state the further down the coast you to? any advice from natives is hugely appreciated... trying to plan a move and i am just at a loss. i have lived in new england all my life (almost 40 years) and my family and i are ready to take the plunge but i'm just not sure where to start our search.. i hear good and bad about wilmington and elizabeth city areas... we just want to be near the ocean but don't want to trade snow storms for hurricanes... please help
IMHO, both towns you cited are lovely little water-side hamlets. Edenton is very historical and pretty and the town likes to preserve its heritage and perhaps is not as progressive as Beaufort. Edenton's closer to VA and Northern population centers, if that's important to you.
Beaufort has a steady influx of creative verve from having the ICW and boating cruisers from all over, and the influence of Duke Marine Lab and NOAA facilities...Beaufort's a little more 'raffish;' Edenton a bit more conservative. Both are fine towns, your choice on what suits you best.
I've heard visitors comment on Beaufort's fine dining and year-round live music..and I'm just not that familiar with Edenton's dining scene or live music venues...I'll have to come check it out sometime..I have only visited Edenton twice and know someone who once worked in Edenton. It's a pretty place, for sure. Had a flood in town center a couple of years back as I recall.
You've really got to come visit both places to see what strikes your fancy and personality. On-line research and opinions of other people only take you so far...
If you're living on the coast you're going to have to deal with hurricanes sometime or another.
That said, I would 9 times out of 10 recommend Beaufort over Wilmington. While both become touristy in the summer months, Beaufort has less and it (in my opinion) has more places of interest around it than Wilmington.
I've not been to Edenton, so I can't really compare it to Beaufort or Wilmington, but I would suggest that you take a trip down the coast and spend a few nights in each place that you're seriously considering living and see if it's the kind of place you'd like to stay.
You need to consider Swansboro area....best schools around, NICE area, water all around, I moved here for the schools....and believe me, I researched schools heavily....
Thank you everyone, this is really helpful. Is Swansboro very near the water? I hate to sound redundant, but that is priority. I can live with tourists, I can even live with hurricanes, just not something that you have to be wary of every day for months, like snow is up here. I understand there is a trade off, Beaufort sounds really nice, I love history and we're not much into the night life, so that works too. Any opinions help, and we are headed down in February for 8 days, just still trying to figure out where.. MHC and Beaufort seem to be the best destination so far. Thanks all! Keep em coming!
Carteret County has everything you could ever want....Additionally if you travel you may want to consider living closer to hwy 70 or hwy 17 so that you can access the Airport in New Bern. I am from New England as well and if I can assist you please feel free to ask away. I have been here for 10 years.....
We live in New Bern. I can live anywhere, or at least I could have moved anywhere.
New Bern is fine, but given a choice of moving again, with 3 years of local knowledge, I would head toward Swansboro. Beaufort old town and waterfront, cannot be beat, but it is too rich for my blood. Those folks are right proud of that property.
Swansboro is on the water as much if not more than Beaufort, and while prime spots are not cheap, they are a bit more reasonable.
I have always heard great things about Edenton, but you are not real near the ocean there.
In eastern NC, you can live withing 10 minutes of the ocean, and live in the woods. Only relatively few houses have ocean views and water access, but many many more are close.
You need to lose the hurricane phobia. No one wants to be swatted by a hurricane, and there is no place near ocean and hurricane exempt. There are places you can live to mitigate hurricane damage, but if you are determined to avoid them, forget coastal NC.
Most hurricane damage comes from flooding. Pay attention to how your home is relative to the general area.
Have you checked out a charming village called Oriental. It is small, close knit community. The problem with living in the east of NC are the lack of access to good airports and good hospitals. Beaufort is a charming albeit, expensive area. You will not find the low crime rates that you currently have elsewhere. This is a legacy of the long history of racial relations in the area. Also, the lenient gun laws
The hurricanes are not so bad, just look at the area and the lot you choose and find out if it flooded in 1999 during hurricane Floyd and don't move there if it did.
If you're living on the coast you're going to have to deal with hurricanes sometime or another.
That said, I would 9 times out of 10 recommend Beaufort over Wilmington. While both become touristy in the summer months, Beaufort has less and it (in my opinion) has more places of interest around it than Wilmington.
I've not been to Edenton, so I can't really compare it to Beaufort or Wilmington, but I would suggest that you take a trip down the coast and spend a few nights in each place that you're seriously considering living and see if it's the kind of place you'd like to stay.
Another cool thing about Beaufort is, though it's get tourisy, it's focused on the waterfront. Over around the "real" Beaufort, further up 70 or around 101 it's not much of a problem. Even though the summer months may make getting to Walmart a pain, there's always ****** street to offset most of the traffic.
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