Seeking Current info on Wilmington, NC Area

[Huston55]

DW and I are nearing RE and are continuing to evaluate places; primarily the southeast coast, from Florida up thru the Carolina's. One place we are researching and want more info on is Wilmington, NC. There are several threads here on Wilmington but, mostly old and not much depth.

We're interested in a vibrant downtown, on the water, a mild warm climate (thus the SE coast), some diversity, tolerance, plus the standard: low crime, good health care, good transportation, etc. We love the beach but, can live nearby as long as we have some water view. We're focusing on the SE (versus southern Cali coast) due to cost of living. We will live in a condo, as we do now, and love old renovated/repurposed condo buildings.

Would appreciate the benefit of your first hand knowledge of the pros and cons of Wilmington, NC, and any suggestions you might have.

 

[TuborgP]

We have a place at one of the Wilmington beaches. If you like the ocean and a close to ocean life style it has pluses. It does have some air transportation limits as travel most places will involve at least one lay over. We like the area and have shopping close by. You would probably like it if you pick the right location. It is lagging behind most places in recovering from the housing melt down so prices are still good.

 

[meierlde]

One concern is to be sure you are above the potential flood lines. That places within the hurricane inundation zone will have drastic increases in flood insurance rates (I have seen up to 1000% mooted) . That could be the downside with a water view, as such places are likely in the potential hurricane inundation zone. (Unless the place is built such that the ground floor is an open garage with the living area up 10 feet, if you looked at some of the places in New Jersey on the TV after that storm, it was clear that if you built to the modern rules the place survived (i.e. with sufficient elevation of the first living floor) whereas older places with structure near the ground got severely damaged.

 

[prototype]

I have vacationed at many of the North and South Carolina Beaches over the years. In general they are all nice areas (unless as was pointed a hurricane blows through). I am currently mulling over what I hope to be my retirement location, and I have the Myrtle Beach Area on my short list. I would not be on the beach (but probably only a few miles away) because I want a SFH, but in the limited research I have done to date housing prices are lower and taxes are lower. It's not that far South of Wilmington and I believe the Myrtle Beach Airport is fairly large as far as Regional airports go.



Actually, I have pretty much narrowed down my list to one of the communities just outside the Myrtle/North Myrtle Beach (cheaper but farther from family and friends) or rural Virginia (closer to my current “Just outside DC” Virginia area I have lived in forever. Being single, and already ER’ed it is a tough decision, especially since I hate driving long distances alone. Just wish I had a tad more funds to have both a beach place and a mountain place. I definitely need to take an offseason (Oct-March?) trip down there and see what things are like.

 

[TuborgP]

We retired from the DC area and have a place in Raleigh and one of the Wilmington beaches. All roads lead to 95 and 95 leads to Virginia. Not that far away and we love both areas.

 

[Gumbo]

I spend several weeks a year on Wrightsville Beach with my in-laws and family. I've often thought Wilmington would be a great place to retire. You get the beach and a decent sized city with plenty to do. Only negative thing I've ever heard about Wilmington is the traffic can get congested.

You're 3.5 hours from Charlotte and less than 2 from Raleigh so plenty of other options nearby.

 

[martyb]

My hometown is 110 miles from Myrtle Beach, SC & so I spent a great deal of time on the NC/SC coast growing up and also afterwards in my early 20's. That said, believe it or not, I've NEVER checked out Wilmington. I don't know why or how, I just never got there. I know several people who either live there now or have in the past, and nobody's had anything negative to say to me about Wilmington. Once I retire (soon) I guess it'll be time to take a trip to Wilmington....

 

[steelyman]

I've been to Wilmington twice, once while staying at Topsail Island and again on a day trip from the Triangle. It's a nice town, pretty and historic. It seemed a little beat up by the recession, but who wasn't? They have a pleasant riverfront on Cape Fear, too.

 

[48Fire]

We had Wilmington on our short list, but it did not make the cut. We stayed there several days. A little run down in my opinion, fairly quiet in the winter, not a lot of golf options, and not a vibrant, diverse economy. But I can see how a lot of people like it, and DW had better opinion than I did, so good luck. Any place you look at I would test drive during various seasons.

 

[steelyman]

We had Wilmington on our short list, but it did not make the cut. We stayed there several days. A little run down in my opinion, fairly quiet in the winter, not a lot of golf options, and not a vibrant, diverse economy. But I can see how a lot of people like it, and DW had better opinion than I did, so good luck. Any place you look at I would test drive during various seasons.

This is a fair assessment, at least the way things are today. But you can find golf courses both north and south. Your "test drive" comment is right there.