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.

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.

Fairhope, AL

Mount Pleasant SC but it is expensive.

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.

Mount pleasant, sc

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.

Funny to have people from Virginia talk about this issue

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.

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.

If you want smaller. Manteo, NC. The high school is a very good school. There is ECU outer banks campus there with a research institute. The history of Roanoke island, and 15 minutes from everything that is OBX.

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.

I love Savannah for many reasons, but OP stated she wanted a town/city that didn't feel segregated and Savannah definitely is. It also has significant crime.

All these areas being mentioned are experiencing extreme over building of homes. There is money to be made in these areas and developers are cashing in. Simply put, if you were to take a visit to these areas it’s impossible to get around. The schools can’t keep up with the growth and are overcrowded.
We moved to a great coastal community 15 years ago and it hardly resembles what it was years ago

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Wilmington is not walkable as requested by the OP, except in the downtown area and along the river front, and that's to retail, bars, and restaurants.

That’s pretty much the definition of walkable. I think most define walkable as “I don’t ever have to get in my car to get to grocery, restaurant, school, retail”…though it’s unlikely you can walk to a Costco or HD so you may have to drive once a month.

No idea if the schools in downtown Wilmington are any good. There are many quaint neighborhoods.

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

NC has a Beaufort, too, and it’s also very nice.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Wilmington is not walkable as requested by the OP, except in the downtown area and along the river front, and that's to retail, bars, and restaurants.