Best coastal southern town to live (primary residence)

[Anonymous]

If you care about gnats, look up the “gnat line” - Savannah falls below it. It cannot be overstate how annoying gnats can get in the south.

[Anonymous]

Mount Pleasant SC but it is expensive.

[Anonymous]

Fairhope, AL

[Anonymous]

Charleston is wonderful. I went to college there - amazing food, walkable etc. but you wouldn’t likely live in the walkable downtown. To get schools you’d likely live in the suburbs and it might be a little too southern for you (was for me) and definitely isn’t walkable. But you could try west Ashley/folly beach side for more chill. Plenty of racism any of these places were talking unfortunately but they have become more and more blue dots.

If it were me I would personally consider 30a in the panhandle. It’s walkable, my understanding is schools are decent. Right on the beach. The blogger Young House love moved there from Richmond and seems to have such a tight knit community. I just looked on her Instagram and it doesn’t look like she has anything saved in her highlights on it unfortunately so you could get a sense but friends within walking distance, pool parties, holiday get togethers, lots of community events. Seems pretty idyllic but hey it’s the internet. When I’ve visited there though it also was pretty idyllic. And a little less southern belle feeling.

[Anonymous]

New Bern NC
Wilmington NC
Newport NC
towns south of Wilmington NC
North Myrtle Beach, SC

Wilmington and Myrtle Beach are two of the fastest growing towns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

I've lived in several places in the South. When I moved to DC, I was struck by the self-imposed segregation. I told a guy (DC native) that and he was so offended. The South must be worse about racial sorting than liberal DC, right? No. It really wasn't. When I took the metro home from work in NW each night, all the white people got off at Capitol Hill and I was usually the only Caucasian left on the metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

LOL. Because hurricanes don't affect Asheville?

[Anonymous]

Another vote for lovely New Bern. We travelled there many summers to drop off our kids at Camp Sea Gull / Camp Seafarer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

You are kidding right?

Schools lol no
Hurricanes yes but with no FEMA yay for you !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another vote for lovely New Bern. We travelled there many summers to drop off our kids at Camp Sea Gull / Camp Seafarer.

Gross no no no
MAGA morons
Bad schools
Racism galore

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I've lived in several places in the South. When I moved to DC, I was struck by the self-imposed segregation. I told a guy (DC native) that and he was so offended. The South must be worse about racial sorting than liberal DC, right? No. It really wasn't. When I took the metro home from work in NW each night, all the white people got off at Capitol Hill and I was usually the only Caucasian left on the metro.

I have lived in the south its is absolutely segregated.
Raleigh, Cary, Apex and Greensboro not joining the swim
Club unless you are white.

Charlotte too.

Yeah the south is no better

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Florida people are leaving in droves
Jaxsonville is disgusting .
Schools suck
Catholic schools sure if you want your kid abused and they are not great for education very little over sight of religious privates .

The lifestyle is not healthy smoking is common , fried foods crappy grocery stores with bad produce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would move to Wilmington. I love it there. But don't kid yourself. It's segregated and had the Wilmington massacre in 1898. If you're moving to the South you have to accept what it is and was.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would move to Wilmington. I love it there. But don't kid yourself. It's segregated and had the Wilmington massacre in 1898. If you're moving to the South you have to accept what it is and was.

Get over it. My family wasn't evdn here in the 1890s. I bear no responsibility of guilt for crimes committed by people unrelated to me and dead for a century. Jeses Christ you people are tiresome.

Do you think the Civil War is over? Think again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another vote for lovely New Bern. We travelled there many summers to drop off our kids at Camp Sea Gull / Camp Seafarer.

I grew up in New Bern and I don't think it fits. The only real walkable part of New Bern is downtown which isn't really where anyone lives. That part of town is charming, but most of it is really standard suburban sprawl. You're not going to feel "coastal" in most of New Bern, and the beach is an hour away.

The high school was and probably still is fine (it doesn't offer the programs you get around here but nowhere that size will), but the middle school I went to there was the only school I look back on as genuinely bad. It might have changed, though.

I won't comment on the other NC options like Wilmington or Edenton because I didn't grow up there, but I think New Bern would be a disappointment to OP. It's a place I like though.