Best coastal southern town to live (primary residence)

[Anonymous]

What I’m looking for may be a unicorn, but here goes.

DH and I are 40ish with three kids ten and younger. Both of us work from home. I despise our current locale, where DH’s job took us (he went fully remote with Covid).

I’m looking for a coastal town (Carolinas/Georgia) that isn’t overly touristy/has a sense of community. Walkable, at least in parts. Good schools. Not completely segregated (I’ve lived in North Carolina so looking to avoid those more vicious aspects of the south - maybe it’s unavoidable). Some sense of culture/intellectualism. More than anything, though, is that we’re excited for access to the outdoors/the beach, and the temperate weather. (Our current locale has very long, hard winters.)

Any suggestions? We’re thinking Charleston, Savannah, maybe Wilmington.

[Anonymous]

My sister has been looking into this for a while and seems to have settled on Wilmington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sister has been looking into this for a while and seems to have settled on Wilmington.

Wilmington is a great suggestion. Great small city and you have UNC Wilmington right there.

[Anonymous]

I used to say we stayed in DC because there was no place else we wanted to be - your list is kind of what we wanted.

I like Savannah best on your list. Charleston seems too touristy and too old Southern money, still. I've not been to Wilmington, but hear good things about it. It might be a good choice.

I feel like parts of Georgia and North Carolin a are trying to break from the past and show a little bit of progressive, forward looking thought, but SC still jut seems stuck in the good ole boy past.

[Anonymous]

Just look at flood zone maps, storm surge maps, etc. Don't buy where a hurricane will flood you.

[Anonymous]

Are you willing to look at Virginia? Friends moved to Cape Charles. They pay for (very affordable, relatively) private school but have a great little community.

[Anonymous]

Take out the costal part and replace it with college town.

[Anonymous]

The problem is the beach on the east coast isn’t temperate.

I would give a lot of thought to whether or not you need to live by the beach. Then I would decide “no” and move to Asheville.

[Anonymous]

You want New Bern, Edenton, or Wilmington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You want New Bern, Edenton, or Wilmington.

Love these towns, plus Washington, NC and Beaufort, but I don’t think their schools are great. I think they’re mostly retirees or childless people living in the old, charming parts of town.

[Anonymous]

Washington NC and Beaufort SC are so incredibly gorgeous they don't feel real.

[Anonymous]

I would opt for Savannah or Wilmington and probably lean towards the former. Bigger airport for more direct flights and a decent-sized city. Also, the area from St Augustine to just north of Savannah never gets hit by hurricanes coming off the Atlantic (though it sometimes gets hit by ones coming across from the Gulf though tropical storms at that point).

I guess you could consider Jacksonville as well if you want a much larger city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would opt for Savannah or Wilmington and probably lean towards the former. Bigger airport for more direct flights and a decent-sized city. Also, the area from St Augustine to just north of Savannah never gets hit by hurricanes coming off the Atlantic (though it sometimes gets hit by ones coming across from the Gulf though tropical storms at that point).

I guess you could consider Jacksonville as well if you want a much larger city.

Jacksonville is trash.

[Anonymous]

Ponte Vedra has a lot of that. Otherwise maybe New Bern? Not exactly coastal. I think you’ll still find a fairly red undercurrent. I wouldn’t want my kids to go to school there. Another issue is that a lot of the better privates are religious. It’s hard to find a non-denominational

[Anonymous]

St John’s County is between Jacksonville and St Augustine and is beautiful. Check out a community called Nocatee. The schools are considered “the best in FL” but private or Catholic schools are great options. It’s very family oriented but lacks diversity and, well, it’s FL. The lifestyle is healthy and with people moving there from around the country you will find your tribe. Unfortunately there are too many people looking for exactly the same thing. Best of luck.