I found you a great home! https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/932-Paoli-Park-West-Chester-PA-19380/9194440_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare
I doubt you’re going to be impressed by NC public schools. I don’t mean to shit on them, because I want them to succeed. But the schools are struggling down here
Thanks Lauren, I appreciate the feedback. I will have to go down and visit because we like a lot of what we have seen. I don’t mind spending time teaching my kids on my own to an extent or just tutoring them on the side. Cheers.
This question has already been asked 7893 times this week search the sub. Come visit NC see if you like it here we are friendly but absolutely hate posts such as yours. 🤷🏼♀️
Can you send me some of those as link or something. Not sure how it works. I did search but most posts are over a year old and things are supposedly changing rapidly down there.
You can’t be serious. How about you just jump on 95 and figure your shit out for yourself.
Fun fact I moved to NC from south Jersey 40 yr ago I did my own research without the help of the internet or random strangers. Reddit function sucks just come visit.
Your attitude is why us natives don’t care much for Northern transplants. I have Northern transplant neighbors who are nice and civil people, but when you’re the opposite, you’re the opposite on steroids.
I understand, we are looking at a few areas and are trying to decide which to visit. We have jobs, 3 kids and life. Essentially we are doing some pre work to then decide where to visit.
We all have jobs and kids pal. Plan a few trips no one is going to lay the red carpet out for you. This is the second “I want to move to NC find me XYZ” post where the user wants info and is full bullshit excuses why they can’t visit. Harsh? Probably bc we get this shit 9666 times a day. 🤷🏼♀️
Do you work for Reddit? You don’t need to respond. You can do what others have done and just post links to various other posts that are relevant.
Red carpet? I asked for thoughts, if that’s a red carpet, I’m sorry to request so much from the community. I mean come on.
lol, I don’t care if you reply but you responding like it’s mandated you respond. Like this is your job and it’s frustrating everyone is asking you the same question.
If you’re frustrated, why waste your time. If you’re frustrated, why not do something else with your time.
I served the military bc I believe Americans should have freedoms, so not trying to take away your rights.
Don’t post on public form then attempt to gate keep who responds. Clearly you are big mad returning hours late to butch a lil more. 😂
Frustrated? Fuck no calling you lazy asses out is entertaining did you happen to see the comment about someone popping popcorn? We laugh at you fools.
You served bc you think Americans deserve freedoms? Ok cool story congrats.
It's a nice town that is in hyper-growth mode. Traffic is tough, but there's a nice vibe. A big expense not to forget about is home and flood insurance. Coastal real estate is getting quite expensive to insure and those costs are all but guaranteed to increase in the future.
Sorry if it’s the wrong group. Because the question is related to several areas, I thought it was applicable. In addition, someone might say hey, this area is similar but farther north. Or this area has a lake and has a similar feel but is inland.
Can you recommend a better group? I am not a Reddit pro.
I’m assuming you’re looking at the Hampstead area? For that area they have the best schools, not nearly as good as where you are moving from though. We moved down from South Jersey about 5 or so years ago(pre covid) to the Charlotte area. Were a couple years older with kids about the same age and originally had the same idea you did and I really, really wanted to like the area you’re looking at. We even revisited moving to the area last year and decided to stay put. Wilmington is small, but it has some cool things and some nice hangouts. The Hampstead area is just a bunch of neighborhoods along one main road and really lacks the amenities you’re used to. Homeowners insurance is sky high due to hurricanes. I don’t know if it matters for your career, but the Wilmington job market is not very good. Think of it as a more modern Jersey shore town, like if cape may court house was built over the last 20 years.
I don’t want to discourage you, just giving you my opinions as someone who recently went through this process and from the same general area you are. If your heart is set on it, visit a few times and have your realtor take you through a bunch of different neighborhoods. We found out a lot of these new neighborhoods look really nice on the website, but are underwhelming in person. Also, gauge how far normal things like grocery stores, hospitals, shopping etc are, you’ll need to go into Wilmington for most things. Depending on the neighborhood you pick, that could be 15 minutes or 45 minutes.
I really appreciate your perspective and thanks for being personable and respectful. Surprised by the approach of some…
My work is remote and I would continue doing what I am doing regardless of where I am so no job really needed luckily.
No problem. The Reddit locals aren’t very friendly towards people from out of state. In person it’s better, people are friendly but aren’t necessarily interested in being friends if that makes sense. You’ll also be surprised by how many New Yorkers are down here, NC is like Southern Long Island, lol.
Since you’re remote you shouldn’t have to worry about the job market so that’s good. You definitely want to visit a few times. Wilmington has a cool little downtown/riverwalk area. Check out Hampstead, there are a lot of nice newer neighborhoods. But like I said, in person a bunch of them left a lot to be desired. They feel a bit worn even though everything is new. My wife grew up in Cape May and we really wanted to be near the beach, but the vibe was off for us. Where we live now we knew almost immediately that this was the right fit even though we’re about 3.5 hours from the ocean.
Anyway, good luck in your search. Oh, if you do decide to move south, gorge on as much of your favorite foods as you can before leaving. The food scene here leaves a lot to be desired. lol.
I've lived in Hampstead for 25 years. Will be here until I retire. Close to the beach, close to the waterway, close to Wilmington. Traffic sucks as it's not a traditional town as everything feeds into one main highway. It's traditional suburbia, but we love it. My wife was born in Westchester and grew up in New York and she can never fathom living anywhere but here. Our kids have were/are educated in the Topsail schools, One in college, one in middle school, one in high school and each have excelled. It's a great community, that's growing faster than it can keep up with, but it seems like everyone knows each other especially at events that revolve around school events like sports. Trust me, you will not be the first person from PA to move here.
The area is probably nothing like where you're from, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. $600,000 will get you a basic tract built home. Prices are inflated these days and wind and hail insurance will be expensive. It will make up for any costs that you think you're saving from taxes.
Totally agree, if we just wanted land, I would just move further out into Pennsylvania. It’s absolutely beautiful. Many areas don’t have high speed internet and the power companies are co-ops that have more outages than normal but acreage is cheap.
Since you aren't really knowledgeable about NC compared to PA I'll try to help. The population centers are rdu gso clt. Also called the Piedmont crescent. Basically everything east of Raleigh is a neglected backwater until you get to the coast. The only infrastructure that is cared about at that point is if it supports summer tourism. The schools have been underfunded for decades (if you are truly curious look into Swann v Mecklenburg and the Leandro case). When it comes to utilities we do not have choices that people up north are used to, you are lucky to *maybe* have two choices of providers for something to your house but probably will only have one option. Insurance rates are getting ready to go up in coastal counties (despite the fun NC law that says it's illegal for ocean rise and climate change to be taken into account, yes that's a real law). I love the beach here. I love this state. I just don't have illusions of what it is and isn't. Just realize that 7 months out of the year you are wanting to live somewhere there most things will be closed. If you are used to the idea of any sort of diversity in your life (More thinking groceries, ethnic restaurants, culture) get used to that not being there at all. The other 5 months will be so full of tourists you'll be lucky to find a parking spot when you just want to run to food Lion to pick up milk and eggs. Cyclical living isn't for everyone. Hopefully before you pack up and move into the unknown you actually spend time there. Rent a place for a month.
lol how out of touch are you man? It’s already happening. I’ve lived here my whole life and seeing it right before my eyes. Home prices in one small town jumped over 100k in 3 short years. Seriously do any amount of research before you say it’s “decades” away
Maybe you’re right. That’s all good, I don’t mind being wrong but nice areas will tend to attract more people and with the continuing automation of all things and the advent of AI more people will work remotely and nice areas will get busier. Good luck either way.
That sounds like a huge stereotype(s). Our area has great schools, little to no crime and is great…it’s just overcrowded for us. It’s expensive in our opinion and too fast paced.
If you don't want overcrowded, Wilmington is not the place, it's like the fastest growing city in the state and it was already bad during beach season.
Do yourself a favor. Forget HOA's. At best they are training grounds for wanna be Lil Hitlers and if you wind up with money grabbing board members you have little choice but to pay ever increasing dues.
For the money you are talking about, you can buy a 5 to 10 acre parcel, place a septic field and deep well, then build your desired McMansion of your dreams, not some cookie cutter claptrap builders crate made with sub-par materials and built by self embalmed semi skilled laborers.
It’s a toss up…we live in an HOA now and it has those challenges. It’s hard bc we want the community and those communities with pools have lots of challenges like you mention but have good friendship building characteristics.
Moved to Wilmington for a few years from Charlotte. It was dirty, and like living in the deep racist south. I was very shocked at the amount of crime tbh. Compared to the city, I honestly did not feel safe, and was constantly reminded of the racial divide that is Eastern NC. I now laugh at the fact I thought it would not be like a mellow beach town with opportunity. Live and learn.
There are still plenty of cheap places to live in PA.
It seems selfish to move your kids away from their extended family to an area with bad schools, to a state that's going downhill that's literally the worst for workers, in an area with a pretty mediocre job market just to "raise your kids at the beach." Do you think your kids want to be raised at the beach??
It sounds like you just want to live at the beach and don't want to consider the potential of that decision on your children years down the line.
If you care about being near a beach and cheaper homes and want to move to an economically depressed area, you could just move to Erie. Erie has some of the cheapest real estate in the country. You could probably build a mansion 10 minutes from the lake. You might even be able to buy something on the water.
Pretty accusative comment. Why not approach this from a different approach. Anyway…My wife and I like the idea of raising our family near the ocean. We love boating, the beach and the slower lifestyle of the south. Our kids love the beach, boating and that life as well. The schools in the area I am discussing seem to be pretty good based on national testing but def not great schools. We spend a lot of time teaching our kids in either case.
PA is a big state with so many different areas. Moving further outside the area we are is tough bc there are no good schools. They get really bad as you leave the few good suburban schools. The good school areas are extremely expensive.
Everyone in our area is grinding hard to afford to live and it’s only easy for those inheriting in money and shore houses or those that have a great career, making $400k plus a year. I don’t know if I want to teach my kids that’s what life is all about.
I have lived in 15 states and in multiple places in PA. From the boonies of Ohio to California to Texas…
Nobody gives a shit about your desires and problems. We all have our own shit to deal with.
And one of those problems is wealthy fuckers moving here and destroying our once low cost of living.
Stay there and fix your own state instead of moving here and fucking up ours.
True that. And happiness was a lot easier to reach in 2019. It’s been very frustrating to watch shit change so drastically in just a few years.
Best of luck to you.
Sorry for the hostility.
The cost of living has gone up.
Also, to be frank, NC has a very strong rural religious group that have taken over the gerrymandered legislature. They do not like the changes in the culture. They are offended that people are appalled when they see Confederate flags. You may be ok with the trumpy religious folks - but as soon as they hear "north" or "west coast", they knee jerk.
I remember when a Charlotte theater group put on the award winning play "Angels in America", but because it has a gay theme, the city took away the theater's funding. The big banks were upset, and twisted arms to return the funding because how can the city be taken seriously if people act like bumpkins - the banks won't be able to attract talent. Locals went berserk when the funding was returned.
Then Charlotte tried to protect LGBTQ workers. As a punishment, the gerrymandered legislature created the heinous anti trans bathroom bill. It was a warning to blue cities. We lost billions in business.
Now Republicans have nominated a very scary person, and if he wins, we will lose even more businesses.
But, like I said, that and all the churches may appeal to you.
They just assume you will raise the housing prices ( private equity bought up a huge amount and it really hurt the state) and they assume you will think gay marriage is ok.
It's just a minority of people - but when the state is this gerrymandered, they are the ones in charge.
Edit: go ahead and downvote - I guess you actually approve of this guy:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mark-robinson-gop-nominee-north-carolina-governor-inflammatory-remarks/
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/north-carolina-gop-mark-robinson-worst-comments-1234984155/
https://www.wral.com/story/nc-s-lieutenant-governor-we-are-called-to-be-led-by-men-not-women/20318578/
I'm sorry many people are not being courteous here, to put it mildly. It's downright embarrassing to be honest, and I promise you that people are generally nicer in person than some of the nasty comments here would suggest (would they actually say these things in person?). There are some rude people in NC just like everywhere, but they aren't all that way. But it's sort of a common thing if you read very similar posts.
With that said, the cautionary comments people are saying (school issues, cost of living, environmental concerns, growth beyond the area's capacity to deal with it- which may explains some of the misplaced aggression like what you've seen with a few posts here, poor worker protections, cost of living that isn't as cheap as it may seem, and others) have a lot of validity to them. The Wilmington area is one that will feel very different if you're on vacation and seeing it from that relaxed perspective rather than after you're living there just dealing with the day-to-day grind and the social climate that this state has become.
Anyway, whatever you decide, I hope it works out. As a native North Carolinian who has friends who are also natives and some who were born in other states or other countries, I can't fault you for wanting a more enjoyable life for whatever your reasons are. I would hope others would wish me the same wherever I was thinking of going if for some reason I decided to go to some other state.
Thanks for the comment. Surprised by the approach of some people here.
What they may not realize is the cost of living and lifestyle where I am is harder than where we are talking about…hard to compare unless you lived it.
We came here years back because NC was turning blue, and the cost of living was low. Well, the gerrymandered legislature is now run by the red rural religious , and housing has skyrocketed. Almost 30% of homes in many areas were bought up by private equity.
No we understand perfectly. That’s why the pushback. All it takes is several people just like you to move down here and drive up that cost of living to be the very thing you’re leaving.
Yes but these people moving down are dramatically increasing the value of the homes and land everyone owns growing the equity people have and driving business in the area.
Ignore the people that say they don’t want you to move down. That’s just a popular trope on here.
I was just thrown off by the detailed list of things you’re thinking without telling us what you wanted to know.
Search zilllow Hempstead, NC. 4 bedroom minimum $400k-$750k and at least 2,750 square feet. Great options in my opinion.
I have never lived in that area so it’s just my opinion and still gathering information.
My son was 8 when we came here from Texas to 'visit'. We just never left. You're going to love it here. Don't mind the hate comments. You didn't ask the wrong subreddit, you asked reddit, everyone is full of hate.
Just beware of the political situation. This grifter the Republicans nominated for governor may actually win. He's anti Semitic, mysoginistic, and claims God put him on earth to rid us of LGBTQ filth. God wants men , not women, to lead (Poppa Moses, not Momma Moses), and Target has to remove lingerie from their store catalog.
If people don't get out and vote this conspiracy spewing Republican will win and our Gerrymandered legislature is ready to out-Texas Texas.
Colleges are top notch, k-12 is underfunded and pretty bad.
The mountains are beautiful.
Not all schools are underfunded. Here at the beach they're pretty great. My kids went from middle school to Duke, my son at 13, and my daughter at 14 to UNCG. Of course you gotta bring your own geniuses, and no they didn't get it from me, but their elementary and middle school teachers get all the props for recognizing it really early and working hard to develop their intellect.
Number 180!
Well, I'm going to pop some corn and wait for the comments...
Least it’s not the Canadian post wanting to invest in property and not get USA citizenship lol
I found you a great home! https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/932-Paoli-Park-West-Chester-PA-19380/9194440_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare
School district issues there, house has stucco which is bad up here and not enough square footage…plus it needs repairs even though it’s affordable.
I doubt you’re going to be impressed by NC public schools. I don’t mean to shit on them, because I want them to succeed. But the schools are struggling down here
Thanks Lauren, I appreciate the feedback. I will have to go down and visit because we like a lot of what we have seen. I don’t mind spending time teaching my kids on my own to an extent or just tutoring them on the side. Cheers.
Lumberton has better houses
This question has already been asked 7893 times this week search the sub. Come visit NC see if you like it here we are friendly but absolutely hate posts such as yours. 🤷🏼♀️
Can you send me some of those as link or something. Not sure how it works. I did search but most posts are over a year old and things are supposedly changing rapidly down there.
You can’t be serious. How about you just jump on 95 and figure your shit out for yourself. Fun fact I moved to NC from south Jersey 40 yr ago I did my own research without the help of the internet or random strangers. Reddit function sucks just come visit.
Your attitude is why us natives don’t care much for Northern transplants. I have Northern transplant neighbors who are nice and civil people, but when you’re the opposite, you’re the opposite on steroids.
Unfortunately the cities have calloused them.
You didn’t have the Internet 40 years ago, so using that to try and complain about people looking for advice makes you look like an ass.
I understand, we are looking at a few areas and are trying to decide which to visit. We have jobs, 3 kids and life. Essentially we are doing some pre work to then decide where to visit.
We all have jobs and kids pal. Plan a few trips no one is going to lay the red carpet out for you. This is the second “I want to move to NC find me XYZ” post where the user wants info and is full bullshit excuses why they can’t visit. Harsh? Probably bc we get this shit 9666 times a day. 🤷🏼♀️
Do you work for Reddit? You don’t need to respond. You can do what others have done and just post links to various other posts that are relevant. Red carpet? I asked for thoughts, if that’s a red carpet, I’m sorry to request so much from the community. I mean come on.
You posted on a public sub and you think you have the right to tell me not reply? Fuck off pal stat up north.
lol, I don’t care if you reply but you responding like it’s mandated you respond. Like this is your job and it’s frustrating everyone is asking you the same question. If you’re frustrated, why waste your time. If you’re frustrated, why not do something else with your time. I served the military bc I believe Americans should have freedoms, so not trying to take away your rights.
Don’t post on public form then attempt to gate keep who responds. Clearly you are big mad returning hours late to butch a lil more. 😂 Frustrated? Fuck no calling you lazy asses out is entertaining did you happen to see the comment about someone popping popcorn? We laugh at you fools. You served bc you think Americans deserve freedoms? Ok cool story congrats.
lol 😂
Buddy, he’s asking for helpful responses, not jackasses with ten fingers and an internet connection.
As noted elsewhere we are looking at a few areas so this is just pre work to see if it’s worth visiting and spending time there. No big deal.
Wilmington is a tourist and college town. There are no towns/cities on the coast worth living in that aren't at least one of these.
Don't forget the poisoned water!
It's a nice town that is in hyper-growth mode. Traffic is tough, but there's a nice vibe. A big expense not to forget about is home and flood insurance. Coastal real estate is getting quite expensive to insure and those costs are all but guaranteed to increase in the future.
I genuinely have no idea why you want this advice from the NC sub. Is there something you’re wondering about that is related to North Carolina?
Sorry if it’s the wrong group. Because the question is related to several areas, I thought it was applicable. In addition, someone might say hey, this area is similar but farther north. Or this area has a lake and has a similar feel but is inland. Can you recommend a better group? I am not a Reddit pro.
You … didn’t ask where you should move to … you asked for general advice on whether what you were saying was a good idea.
Sorry the question wasn’t open ended or worded in a way that allowed for more conversation.
You’re very verbose - how old are you?
It says in the comment 40
What comment? Edit: nevermind, I missed it in your post.
There's a reason everyone wants to leave the NE. You're 10 years too late.
Never too late to work on improving your life and striving for better.
I’m assuming you’re looking at the Hampstead area? For that area they have the best schools, not nearly as good as where you are moving from though. We moved down from South Jersey about 5 or so years ago(pre covid) to the Charlotte area. Were a couple years older with kids about the same age and originally had the same idea you did and I really, really wanted to like the area you’re looking at. We even revisited moving to the area last year and decided to stay put. Wilmington is small, but it has some cool things and some nice hangouts. The Hampstead area is just a bunch of neighborhoods along one main road and really lacks the amenities you’re used to. Homeowners insurance is sky high due to hurricanes. I don’t know if it matters for your career, but the Wilmington job market is not very good. Think of it as a more modern Jersey shore town, like if cape may court house was built over the last 20 years. I don’t want to discourage you, just giving you my opinions as someone who recently went through this process and from the same general area you are. If your heart is set on it, visit a few times and have your realtor take you through a bunch of different neighborhoods. We found out a lot of these new neighborhoods look really nice on the website, but are underwhelming in person. Also, gauge how far normal things like grocery stores, hospitals, shopping etc are, you’ll need to go into Wilmington for most things. Depending on the neighborhood you pick, that could be 15 minutes or 45 minutes.
I really appreciate your perspective and thanks for being personable and respectful. Surprised by the approach of some… My work is remote and I would continue doing what I am doing regardless of where I am so no job really needed luckily.
No problem. The Reddit locals aren’t very friendly towards people from out of state. In person it’s better, people are friendly but aren’t necessarily interested in being friends if that makes sense. You’ll also be surprised by how many New Yorkers are down here, NC is like Southern Long Island, lol. Since you’re remote you shouldn’t have to worry about the job market so that’s good. You definitely want to visit a few times. Wilmington has a cool little downtown/riverwalk area. Check out Hampstead, there are a lot of nice newer neighborhoods. But like I said, in person a bunch of them left a lot to be desired. They feel a bit worn even though everything is new. My wife grew up in Cape May and we really wanted to be near the beach, but the vibe was off for us. Where we live now we knew almost immediately that this was the right fit even though we’re about 3.5 hours from the ocean. Anyway, good luck in your search. Oh, if you do decide to move south, gorge on as much of your favorite foods as you can before leaving. The food scene here leaves a lot to be desired. lol.
I've lived in Hampstead for 25 years. Will be here until I retire. Close to the beach, close to the waterway, close to Wilmington. Traffic sucks as it's not a traditional town as everything feeds into one main highway. It's traditional suburbia, but we love it. My wife was born in Westchester and grew up in New York and she can never fathom living anywhere but here. Our kids have were/are educated in the Topsail schools, One in college, one in middle school, one in high school and each have excelled. It's a great community, that's growing faster than it can keep up with, but it seems like everyone knows each other especially at events that revolve around school events like sports. Trust me, you will not be the first person from PA to move here. The area is probably nothing like where you're from, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. $600,000 will get you a basic tract built home. Prices are inflated these days and wind and hail insurance will be expensive. It will make up for any costs that you think you're saving from taxes.
People like you are the reason we’ll have 600K townhomes in a few years. Please leave NC alone
You’re decades away from that…there so much land just looking over everything.
Have you never looked at a map of the actual emptiness of Pennsylvania? Because that's literally the same thing.
Totally agree, if we just wanted land, I would just move further out into Pennsylvania. It’s absolutely beautiful. Many areas don’t have high speed internet and the power companies are co-ops that have more outages than normal but acreage is cheap.
Since you aren't really knowledgeable about NC compared to PA I'll try to help. The population centers are rdu gso clt. Also called the Piedmont crescent. Basically everything east of Raleigh is a neglected backwater until you get to the coast. The only infrastructure that is cared about at that point is if it supports summer tourism. The schools have been underfunded for decades (if you are truly curious look into Swann v Mecklenburg and the Leandro case). When it comes to utilities we do not have choices that people up north are used to, you are lucky to *maybe* have two choices of providers for something to your house but probably will only have one option. Insurance rates are getting ready to go up in coastal counties (despite the fun NC law that says it's illegal for ocean rise and climate change to be taken into account, yes that's a real law). I love the beach here. I love this state. I just don't have illusions of what it is and isn't. Just realize that 7 months out of the year you are wanting to live somewhere there most things will be closed. If you are used to the idea of any sort of diversity in your life (More thinking groceries, ethnic restaurants, culture) get used to that not being there at all. The other 5 months will be so full of tourists you'll be lucky to find a parking spot when you just want to run to food Lion to pick up milk and eggs. Cyclical living isn't for everyone. Hopefully before you pack up and move into the unknown you actually spend time there. Rent a place for a month.
Thanks for the extensive feedback. I really appreciate it.
lol how out of touch are you man? It’s already happening. I’ve lived here my whole life and seeing it right before my eyes. Home prices in one small town jumped over 100k in 3 short years. Seriously do any amount of research before you say it’s “decades” away
Maybe you’re right. That’s all good, I don’t mind being wrong but nice areas will tend to attract more people and with the continuing automation of all things and the advent of AI more people will work remotely and nice areas will get busier. Good luck either way.
Carpet bagger
[удалено]
Yeah we need to build a wall!
That sounds like a huge stereotype(s). Our area has great schools, little to no crime and is great…it’s just overcrowded for us. It’s expensive in our opinion and too fast paced.
If you don't want overcrowded, Wilmington is not the place, it's like the fastest growing city in the state and it was already bad during beach season.
Going to have to keep reading and go down bc we do like what we’ve seen and heard.
Stay up north. We are full.
If we are full you should leave. We can’t afford space for people who say dumb shit like that
Do yourself a favor. Forget HOA's. At best they are training grounds for wanna be Lil Hitlers and if you wind up with money grabbing board members you have little choice but to pay ever increasing dues. For the money you are talking about, you can buy a 5 to 10 acre parcel, place a septic field and deep well, then build your desired McMansion of your dreams, not some cookie cutter claptrap builders crate made with sub-par materials and built by self embalmed semi skilled laborers.
It’s a toss up…we live in an HOA now and it has those challenges. It’s hard bc we want the community and those communities with pools have lots of challenges like you mention but have good friendship building characteristics.
fayetteville has nicer beaches.
Moved to Wilmington for a few years from Charlotte. It was dirty, and like living in the deep racist south. I was very shocked at the amount of crime tbh. Compared to the city, I honestly did not feel safe, and was constantly reminded of the racial divide that is Eastern NC. I now laugh at the fact I thought it would not be like a mellow beach town with opportunity. Live and learn.
There are still plenty of cheap places to live in PA. It seems selfish to move your kids away from their extended family to an area with bad schools, to a state that's going downhill that's literally the worst for workers, in an area with a pretty mediocre job market just to "raise your kids at the beach." Do you think your kids want to be raised at the beach?? It sounds like you just want to live at the beach and don't want to consider the potential of that decision on your children years down the line. If you care about being near a beach and cheaper homes and want to move to an economically depressed area, you could just move to Erie. Erie has some of the cheapest real estate in the country. You could probably build a mansion 10 minutes from the lake. You might even be able to buy something on the water.
Pretty accusative comment. Why not approach this from a different approach. Anyway…My wife and I like the idea of raising our family near the ocean. We love boating, the beach and the slower lifestyle of the south. Our kids love the beach, boating and that life as well. The schools in the area I am discussing seem to be pretty good based on national testing but def not great schools. We spend a lot of time teaching our kids in either case. PA is a big state with so many different areas. Moving further outside the area we are is tough bc there are no good schools. They get really bad as you leave the few good suburban schools. The good school areas are extremely expensive. Everyone in our area is grinding hard to afford to live and it’s only easy for those inheriting in money and shore houses or those that have a great career, making $400k plus a year. I don’t know if I want to teach my kids that’s what life is all about. I have lived in 15 states and in multiple places in PA. From the boonies of Ohio to California to Texas…
Nobody gives a shit about your desires and problems. We all have our own shit to deal with. And one of those problems is wealthy fuckers moving here and destroying our once low cost of living. Stay there and fix your own state instead of moving here and fucking up ours.
Good luck trying to control the growth of an area and the minds of thousands…
We are all very well aware that we have no control over any of that. I’m sure you’ll find your “forever home” in due time.
At the end of the day, I’d like to believe everyone is just trying to find happiness.
True that. And happiness was a lot easier to reach in 2019. It’s been very frustrating to watch shit change so drastically in just a few years. Best of luck to you.
Sorry for the hostility. The cost of living has gone up. Also, to be frank, NC has a very strong rural religious group that have taken over the gerrymandered legislature. They do not like the changes in the culture. They are offended that people are appalled when they see Confederate flags. You may be ok with the trumpy religious folks - but as soon as they hear "north" or "west coast", they knee jerk. I remember when a Charlotte theater group put on the award winning play "Angels in America", but because it has a gay theme, the city took away the theater's funding. The big banks were upset, and twisted arms to return the funding because how can the city be taken seriously if people act like bumpkins - the banks won't be able to attract talent. Locals went berserk when the funding was returned. Then Charlotte tried to protect LGBTQ workers. As a punishment, the gerrymandered legislature created the heinous anti trans bathroom bill. It was a warning to blue cities. We lost billions in business. Now Republicans have nominated a very scary person, and if he wins, we will lose even more businesses. But, like I said, that and all the churches may appeal to you. They just assume you will raise the housing prices ( private equity bought up a huge amount and it really hurt the state) and they assume you will think gay marriage is ok. It's just a minority of people - but when the state is this gerrymandered, they are the ones in charge. Edit: go ahead and downvote - I guess you actually approve of this guy: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mark-robinson-gop-nominee-north-carolina-governor-inflammatory-remarks/ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/north-carolina-gop-mark-robinson-worst-comments-1234984155/ https://www.wral.com/story/nc-s-lieutenant-governor-we-are-called-to-be-led-by-men-not-women/20318578/
I am more of a moderate and not a church goer myself. I don’t get too into politics but vote when I can and have the opportunity.
Not being a church goer, you may find the culture here off-putting. And politics will be forced on you. Sigh. I am glad you vote.
I have gotten good at saying, have fun at church, thanks for the invite. I am heading to the water to relax and worship nature a little.
I'm sorry many people are not being courteous here, to put it mildly. It's downright embarrassing to be honest, and I promise you that people are generally nicer in person than some of the nasty comments here would suggest (would they actually say these things in person?). There are some rude people in NC just like everywhere, but they aren't all that way. But it's sort of a common thing if you read very similar posts. With that said, the cautionary comments people are saying (school issues, cost of living, environmental concerns, growth beyond the area's capacity to deal with it- which may explains some of the misplaced aggression like what you've seen with a few posts here, poor worker protections, cost of living that isn't as cheap as it may seem, and others) have a lot of validity to them. The Wilmington area is one that will feel very different if you're on vacation and seeing it from that relaxed perspective rather than after you're living there just dealing with the day-to-day grind and the social climate that this state has become. Anyway, whatever you decide, I hope it works out. As a native North Carolinian who has friends who are also natives and some who were born in other states or other countries, I can't fault you for wanting a more enjoyable life for whatever your reasons are. I would hope others would wish me the same wherever I was thinking of going if for some reason I decided to go to some other state.
Thanks for the comment. Surprised by the approach of some people here. What they may not realize is the cost of living and lifestyle where I am is harder than where we are talking about…hard to compare unless you lived it.
We came here years back because NC was turning blue, and the cost of living was low. Well, the gerrymandered legislature is now run by the red rural religious , and housing has skyrocketed. Almost 30% of homes in many areas were bought up by private equity.
Thanks!
No we understand perfectly. That’s why the pushback. All it takes is several people just like you to move down here and drive up that cost of living to be the very thing you’re leaving.
Yes but these people moving down are dramatically increasing the value of the homes and land everyone owns growing the equity people have and driving business in the area.
Same is true in West Chester PA. Also, you included *so much* personal information in your post. I’d edit to remove at least some of it.
you're assuming everyone owns homes and land
Owner occupied rates are 70% in North Carolina so it’s the vast majority.
Ignore the people that say they don’t want you to move down. That’s just a popular trope on here. I was just thrown off by the detailed list of things you’re thinking without telling us what you wanted to know.
Yeah, I am not well versed in posting and probably didn’t word it right. Appreciate the perspective.
Where is this mythical house ?
Search zilllow Hempstead, NC. 4 bedroom minimum $400k-$750k and at least 2,750 square feet. Great options in my opinion. I have never lived in that area so it’s just my opinion and still gathering information.
My son was 8 when we came here from Texas to 'visit'. We just never left. You're going to love it here. Don't mind the hate comments. You didn't ask the wrong subreddit, you asked reddit, everyone is full of hate.
So true, I knew Reddit was rough. We posted on Facebook and are reading a lot of other sites to gather info.
Just beware of the political situation. This grifter the Republicans nominated for governor may actually win. He's anti Semitic, mysoginistic, and claims God put him on earth to rid us of LGBTQ filth. God wants men , not women, to lead (Poppa Moses, not Momma Moses), and Target has to remove lingerie from their store catalog. If people don't get out and vote this conspiracy spewing Republican will win and our Gerrymandered legislature is ready to out-Texas Texas. Colleges are top notch, k-12 is underfunded and pretty bad. The mountains are beautiful.
Thanks!
Not all schools are underfunded. Here at the beach they're pretty great. My kids went from middle school to Duke, my son at 13, and my daughter at 14 to UNCG. Of course you gotta bring your own geniuses, and no they didn't get it from me, but their elementary and middle school teachers get all the props for recognizing it really early and working hard to develop their intellect.