NE & Mid Atlantic Coast Small City (crime, houses)

[bluecarebear]

The best small city on the coast? Cheap is good. Mild winters. Mild summers. Please do not suggest cities in Washington or Oregon.

[Tezcatlipoca]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

The best small city on the coast? Cheap is good. Mild winters. Mild summers. Please do not suggest cities in Washington or Oregon.

What qualifies as mild for you?

[willow wind]

What's your definition of cheap ? What's your idea of a small city- population ? Cheap, coastal and New England do not really belong in the same sentence. The closer to the water you get in New England, the more expensive things get.

However, south east Connecticut coast might work for you depending on your definition of the above.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by willow wind

What's your definition of cheap ? What's your idea of a small city- population ? Cheap, coastal and New England do not really belong in the same sentence. The closer to the water you get in New England, the more expensive things get.

However, south east Connecticut coast might work for you depending on your definition of the above.

Going North to South, and looking at houses $250,000 and under:

New England:

New Bedford, MA
Warwick, RI
New London, CT
New Haven, CT (some neighborhoods, like Morris Cove, have good beach access)
West Haven, CT

Jersey Shore:

Keansburg, NJ
Red Bank, NJ (probably bad side of town only)
Long Branch, NJ
Tom's River, NJ
Atlantic City/Ventnor, NJ
Wildwood, NJ
Villas, NJ

There is nothing approaching a "city" along the coast which is affordable in Delaware, Maryland, or North Carolina. You could afford something cheaply in some parts of Hampton Roads, but they may be semi-ghetto areas.

[willow wind]

None of those New England cities is in the least bit desirable. They're cheaper for a reason. With the exception of a few parts of New Haven, CT they've all seen better days. New Haven is only a good place to live if you can do it on the expensive side with a high income. Example, taxes in New Haven CT, will run $ 6,000 a year and better for that $ 250,000 home. Add in CT's personal property tax on cars, plus the highest heating costs in the country, not cheap.

[JerseyGirl415]

Originally Posted by willow wind

None of those New England cities is in the least bit desirable. They're cheaper for a reason. With the exception of a few parts of New Haven, CT they've all seen better days. New Haven is only a good place to live if you can do it on the expensive side with a high income. Example, taxes in New Haven CT, will run $ 6,000 a year and better for that $ 250,000 home. Add in CT's personal property tax on cars, plus the highest heating costs in the country, not cheap.

Pretty much the same with the NJ ones listed. Coastal + cheap doesn't end very favorably if you want a good, charming, nice area at least.

One of my all time favorites is Cape May, NJ but it's not exactly cheap to live there. I also love York Beach, Maine and coastal Rhode Island.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by willow wind

None of those New England cities is in the least bit desirable. They're cheaper for a reason. With the exception of a few parts of New Haven, CT they've all seen better days. New Haven is only a good place to live if you can do it on the expensive side with a high income. Example, taxes in New Haven CT, will run $ 6,000 a year and better for that $ 250,000 home. Add in CT's personal property tax on cars, plus the highest heating costs in the country, not cheap.

If you want cheap and on the coast, that's what you get though. You're not going to do any better than that at a low price point in coastal New England or New Jersey if you want beachfront property in anything resembling a "city."

FWIW, I have been hearing great things about how New Bedford has come along in the last decade. Crime has been dropping, and the downtown has a pretty good nightlife for a city of its size. Not too many jobs in that area of course.

[kyle19125]

Since the OP included the Mid-Atlantic I would stretch as far south as possible to Wilmington, NC which offers a lower cost of living than most areas along the coast and offers probably the nicest environment at the "less expensive" price point.

Wilmington | Wilmington And Beaches | Cape Fear Coast | Wilmington & Island Beaches

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Since the OP included the Mid-Atlantic I would stretch as far south as possible to Wilmington, NC which offers a lower cost of living than most areas along the coast and offers probably the nicest environment at the "less expensive" price point.

Wilmington | Wilmington And Beaches | Cape Fear Coast | Wilmington & Island Beaches

My immediate thought. Wilmington tends to fly under the radar compared to sister cities like Charleston and Savannah, and I'm not altogether sure why.

[2e1m5a]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

My immediate thought. Wilmington tends to fly under the radar compared to sister cities like Charleston and Savannah, and I'm not altogether sure why.

It's not as pretty of a city as Savannah or Charleston. I heard tons of tv shows/movies are filmed there because it has the appearance of an anytown, USA and I could sense that a little on my visit.

Personally, I thought Wrightsville Beach near Wilmington was one of the nicest beaches and water color I saw on my road trip up the coast from Savannah/Tybee and Charleston/Folly.