Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
St James and Southport are nice - but pretty far from anything but the local beaches (all of which require parking fees) St James is actually its own municipality.....St James country club and restaurants do not allows jeans or t shirts....St James has a place on Oak Island Beach for its residents to park. A trip to the "big city" Wilmington downtown from either St James or Southport is at least a 30 to 45 minute trip primarily on a two lane road. Roads from either to Leland are also two lane, no shoulder and are the main routes to and from Brunswick County beaches....so plan trips accordingly.
Good overview. Just to add my $.02, Southport is a vibrant town and does not go to sleep in the winter. We love living here. Yes, I travel to Wilmington to do any major shopping but, overall, Southport has everything you need on a day to day basis. Downtown is home to several very good restaurants and shops. There are shops for home decor, clothing boutiques, an excellent cheese shop, a kitchen store etc. There are several grocery stores just outside of town, several pharmacies (CVS, 2 Walgreens, and Galloway Sands that will compound prescriptions), a super Walmart, Big Lots plus a multitude of other restaurants and stores. It takes me about 35 min to get to Costco, the mall and ILM airport in Wilmington and about 40-45 min to get to Mayfaire, a lovely outside shopping area that houses J Jill, Talbots, Ann Taylor, Athleta, Banana Republic plus many many more. We chose not to live in a gated community but I have several friends in St James who love living there. Downtown Southport is wonderful but it’s pricey.
We looked at both Brunswick Forest and Compass Pointe. I didn’t like Brunswick Forest but I know someone who lives there and she’s pretty happy. While Brunswick County leans conservative, there is a healthy mix. I think Compass Pointe is more conservative that some of the other communities but I could be mistaken. Not sure if that is important to you.
There are several cardiologists in Wilmington. I am told there are some in Southport also. I think you should consider a house within Wilmington if the medical issues are likely to be serious.
The Landfall community would be a good choice if your budget is $800K and upward. There are numerous upscale communities around Porter's Neck that are mixed ages. You might also look at Riverlights and River Bluffs, which are all ages communities with amenities.
Last edited by goldenage1; 08-09-2023 at 11:14 AM..
Check how far Compass Pointe is from doctors and hospitals. We find ourselves driving longer distances to get good care.
Compass Pointe - proximity to hospitals.....there is a hospital Novant - just south on route 17 that if no traffic will take 30 minutes....had to use ER....not too crowded.... There is another larger hospital in Wilmington off 17th Street South that can take a little longer to get to....larger but serves a geographically larger and more urban population.....no judgment, but in my experience in living in urban areas for many years, urban ERs seem to attract more crime victims, ODs, etc than a sleepy suburban, largely rural area. (however, they are more likely to be prepared for those incidents having attended to them on a daily basis)
Lots of doctors and dental facilities in Leland. Most if not all take Medicare because there is a large elderly population of retirees in this area.
One more point about medical care. Novant in Wilmington, formerly New Hanover Regional Medical Center is a large community hospital with many different specialties. However, they are a Level II trauma center. Duke, UNC and Wake Med in Raleigh all have a Level I designation, as does Carolinas in Charlotte, Vidant in Greenville and Baptist in Winston Salem.
A level 1 trauma facility is a tertiary facility which has the capability of providing total care for any type of injury.
How much further typically? We're looking at a place in SJP and frankly I'm concerned we'd have to drive far for high quality practitioners and care (right now we are have Duke and UNC at our doorstep).
Level 1 Trauma mostly comes into play if you're shot, cut off an arm, car accidents with major injuries, etc. Level 2 is acceptable, but if an area only has a small regional hospital, I'd start getting worried..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
