boiling springs lake (Wilmington, Spring Lake, Oak Island: real estate, broker, new house)

[thomaspat]

trying to relocate my family from western mass to the wilmington area. looking for family area town schools parks etc in the 225,000 dollar range. will be looking around this summer was wondering about boiling springs lake area. want to move to a area established as far as built homes not interested in brand new developments looking for families. ty for your assistance

[Niki]

I lived there when I was a kid many years ago. (Early to late seventies.) It was a lot smaller then. Mostly dirt roads. Very few houses. I understand there are many more houses and families now, but I don't think it's overgrown. It's been a few years since I last went through there. (2002, 2003.) I still like the area.

Unless things have changed with the schools, any small children you might have will probably go to Southport elementary in Southport. I'm not aware of any elementary school in Boiling Spring Lakes, but it's not far to Southport. A small coastal town I absolutely love and would move to if it weren't for hurricanes.


The town of Boiling Spring Lakes has a website. Have you been to it yet?

http://www.boilingspringlakes.com/

Schools:

http://www.brun.k12.va.us/


Southport:

http://www.cityofsouthport.com/


All the best!

[Annabelle]

I visited BSL last April with my family hoping that it was what we were looking for but it was not. To me it wasn't a town but a large neighborhood on the outskirts of Southport. We rode up and down streets and all the houses were new and some of the roads were still dirt. To me, it had no "personality". There was just one main busy road with a few gas stations and maybe a hardware store or the like. Maybe that has changed in the past year.

I also found it too far away from Wilmington. We drove a good 30 minutes through rural country (some very pretty, some not so pretty) and my reaction when arriving was "this is it?". Southport, just a few miles away is a true southern coastal town which I did like but again, too far of a drive from Wilmington. Feel free to PM me for additional details as we've been to the Wilmington area a few times checking out towns and neighborhoods.

[U.S.Citizen]

Annabelle is right in her discription of Boiling Spring LakeS as being a "large neighborhood". I use that discription myself when discribing BSL. It was founded in the '60's as a retirement community. This "large neighborhood" has it's own elected officials, town hall, police and fire depts., recently built community center, golf course (the lakes country club), fresh water lakes all
over for swimming and small boats, nature trails, home to Venus Fly Trap
and other plants and wildlife, beside the Orton Plantation, the best middle and high school in the county is located there. The list goes on. It is far enough from the beach in case of hurricane and close enough to the beach to enjoy regularly. In my opinion, it is also far enough and close enough to Wilmington to enjoy when you HAVE to go there.
I have enough years of experience with Wilmington/Wrightsville/Carolina/Kure.
Wilmington is a great place, but now I want a slower pace. BSL/Southport/Oak Island has it.

BSL has grown rather slowly up until the boom time. A lot of new houses have appeared along with the influx of many people to the area. Hopefully, with all of the "protected land" (Nature Conservancy/Federal/State) that seems to surround Boiling Spring LakeS, it won't get out of hand and lose that
"large neighborhood" appeal. BTW, housing/lots are more reasonable.

Mapquest.com has some fairly up-to-date "aerial photos" of BSL, especially the
close-in shot. Enter zip code 28461 and you will get an idea of the area.

[mrsstrom]

We moved here in 2005 and it took a bit of getting used to moving from a big city to a rural town. We didn't really like the lack of town details either. WE really thought we would like Southport better until we lived through the tourist season. We picked this town over Southport because of housing prices. Plus in the spring and summer, Southport and Oak Island's area populations skyrockets and driving is a nightmare. Many residents leave the island and Southport in the summer to escape the tourist season.

Living here is not that hard, you just have to drive a little more, but the benefits are worth it. We have settled in quite well, actually. The worst part at first for us was driving 30 miles in the winter to get an decent sit down evening meal. All the restaurants (well, most of them) either close in the winter or have short hours until tourists season. Now we know where to go.

There is a lot to say about a rural town. It's generally quieter and slower than any big city, which isn't a bad thing. BSL boasts 3000 as the population, but the rural town feel is there. We love not having rules and regulations about our land and home and what we do, unlike communities nearby. The whole town just installed citywide water system and the city sewer system is next. Many of the dirt roads are paved now, although some are still dirt.

Wilmington is a 30 minute drive if you need a mall or shopping. But we are also an hour from Myrtle Beach, SC for a greater day of shopping!

All that said, I love living on half and acre on a corner lot across from a small lake. I have no neighbors next to our lots around me. Only undeveloped land.
We drive into Wilmington once a week to Costco, and to see the latest movie in stadium seating. Many more of the roads are now paved, but yes, some still are dirt. At night, it is truly dark and quiet outside with exception to the frogs and crickets. We live in a bird sanctuary, and share our town with cardinals, several different species of woodpeckers, blue birds, blue jays, chickadees and an occasional painted bunting. WE also have the occasional gators in the lakes.

If you want to live in a city, go somewhere else. If you are ready to slow down, this is a great little community.

[U.S.Citizen]

Originally Posted by thomaspat

trying to relocate my family from western mass to the wilmington area. looking for family area town schools parks etc in the 225,000 dollar range. will be looking around this summer was wondering about boiling springs lake area. want to move to a area established as far as built homes not interested in brand new developments looking for families. ty for your assistance

Just wanted to add a little more to what I previously wrote . Over the past few years we've had continuous good fortune to have Christine Cronick, owner/broker of "Diversified Realty" to help us with the purchase of 6 properties in BSL. This is the kind of person you want as your agent. She looked-out for our interests every single time. She knows the area (BSL/SP/OI) like the back of her hand. She also lives in BSL along with her husband David Cronick. He is a builder with a area reputation of doing nothing but quality work. No cutting corners. I've seen his work. I'm not saying I'm an expert, but Ieen around enough construction to know. At any rate, he will be building our next house for sure.

My purpose in writng this was to give you a tip. To help in your quest.
With hearing so much this day and age about bad or crooked real estate agents and builders, I find it fantastic when you find someone you can trust. And, I don't give my trust easily.

BTW, $225,000 will buy you a really nice house in BSL. Good luck.

PS. This is one of the activies there.

Celebrate the Lakes Concert Series Begins

The Celebrate the Lakes Concert Series will begin on Friday, May 18 at Spring Lake Park at 6:30 p.m.. Our first concert will feature "The No Show Band" playing Southern Rock and Roll. Please join your neighbors and friends for music in the park. Bring your lawn chairs and a picnic.

May 18 - The No Show Band (Southern Rock & Roll)

June 15 - Brunswick Concert Band

July 20 - The Use-To-Be"s (Tunes of the 50"s, 60"s and 70"s)

August 17 - El Combo Grande (Funky Blues and Rock and Roll)

September 21 - Pantastic Steel (Steel Drum)