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My husband and I currently live in the Triangle area and would like to move to the beach in a couple of months. We both work from home so jobs aren't a problem. In the past we've pretty much just gone to Wrightsville so we're not familiar with other NC beaches. We've visited a couple of different places on the weekends so far.
We'd really like to live within a comfortable walk (10 min?) to a nice, wide beach. We love Wrightsville but it's too expensive. We hope to rent a 2 bd for not more than $1300. We saw some places in Oak Island that we liked but the beach was a bit narrow and had a lot of rocks. We also went to Emerald Isle and loved the beach there. I guess we were there at low tide but it was wonderful to walk on.
What other places should we be looking at? I think the Outer Banks are too isolated for us and I haven't seen many long-term rentals there. I know North Topsail has serious erosion problems but how is Surf City and the area to the south? How do you find out current beach conditions and what a beach is like at high tide vs low tide?
Thanks for any help. I love this forum and have been trying to read as much as I can!
I think you should check out Oak Island again. I've never seen any rocks on the beach there. Carolina Beach/Kure Beach would be a good place to check out, along with Ocean Isle Beach, although there may be a dearth of full time rentals there as well.
I agree with BC1960 about Oak Island - we were just there a couple weeks ago, don't recall a ton of rocks, other than small ones in the water. I like Emerald Isle; it's my wife's favorite. We eventually would like to have a second home somewhere on the NC coast, and Oak Island or Emerald Isle are among our top choices. I agree with the Outer Banks being isolated and erosion issues on North Topsail (we saw some places for sale there that aren't rebuildable if they become damaged). Haven't been to the southernmost NC beaches.
I was on Oak Island last weekend and was stunned by the number of rocks. It used to not be that way.
A bigger problem with Oak Island is the Cape Fear River. The water is pretty dingy, not polluted, but not real clear. If you go to Emerald Isle and then Oak Island you will be shocked.
Used to fish on some flats off bald head. There was normally a very distinct line of clear water, and Cape Fesr water. It is not terrible, but if I was starting from a level playing field, I would look elsewhere.
Seems that the further south you are on Topsail Island, the wider the beaches. Of course, this is all relative to what your idea of a "wide beach" is. We have sound-side property in Topsail Beach. The beach at our access is quite wide as compared to near all the other beach areas on the island that I have been to with the exception of Serenity Point. At our access, at high tide, there is easily 100' of sandy beach. At low tide there's near a football field or more.
There should be plenty of reasonably priced homes for sale up and down Topsail that are non-waterfront. I'm not certain about rentals (long-term).
Surf City's beaches seem narrower to me than those in Topsail Beach. Much of the island did a "sand push" last fall which was unfortunately reversed quickly by hurricane Matthew in October.
I would think based on what you are looking for that EI or Topsail would work well for you. Oh, and no rocks that I've ever seen on the beach, just soft fine sand!
Good luck.
Last edited by stopgo; 06-15-2017 at 08:18 AM..
Reason: Add text
I was on Oak Island last weekend and was stunned by the number of rocks. It used to not be that way.
A bigger problem with Oak Island is the Cape Fear River. The water is pretty dingy, not polluted, but not real clear. If you go to Emerald Isle and then Oak Island you will be shocked.
Used to fish on some flats off bald head. There was normally a very distinct line of clear water, and Cape Fesr water. It is not terrible, but if I was starting from a level playing field, I would look elsewhere.
What part of the island was this? I was on the beach around 75th street east and didn't see a single rock. Were you down where they just did the beach renourishment to repair the Hurricane Matthew damage?
What part of the island was this? I was on the beach around 75th street east and didn't see a single rock. Were you down where they just did the beach renourishment to repair the Hurricane Matthew damage?
First around 50 - 54 and then seeking a better beach 30 - 40th. Both NE. We will go up to 75th next time. Thanks.
We were living down there once during a renourishment. You could hear the rocks coming down the pipes!
We'd really like to live within a comfortable walk (10 min?) to a nice, wide beach. We love Wrightsville but it's too expensive. We hope to rent a 2 bd for not more than $1300.
I think your price point and location are untenable. Places that are within a 10 minute walk to the beach are going to rent for $1300 a week! It will be really tough to find anything for that price w/in walking distance to the beach, but no harm looking. I think you will have to go a few miles inland for $1300/month.
Maybe check out Topsail Island. Topsail and Surf City are pretty unpretentious so more likely to have lower rents.
I think your price point and location are untenable. Places that are within a 10 minute walk to the beach are going to rent for $1300 a week! It would be really tough to find anything for that price w/in walking distance to the beach. I think you will have to go a few miles inland for $1300/month.
Year around rentals 3 blocks from the ocean are available on Oak Island in that price range.
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