Durham or Wilmington?

[BullCityEric]

Originally Posted by hey_guy

i would expect to find that stuff in any city its size

Well you would expect wrong then. Cities Durham's size don't typically have an university like Duke and another in UNC nearby. Cities Durham's size don't have a DPAC which has been a top three performaning arts center in the country. Cities Durham's size are normally not mentioned on lists of the most educated places in country. Cities Durham's size aren't called the City of Medicine and have multiple superb medical facilities including Duke Hospital and the VA. And I haven't even gone into sports, food, or culture yet.

[le roi]

Originally Posted by mikeb29456

From reading these reviews, I'm still at a lost. We would like to find a place that is under $180k and and area that has great hospitals and medical care.

well, i've lived in Wilmington and Charleston, and I'm seriously considering a move to Durham. I've only visited Durham twice, but here are my impressions :

Durham has a much lower cost of living than Wilmington. This might not show up in all the "cost of living calculators," (many of which are nonsense) but if you compare apples-to-apples in terms of housing it is no comparison. Durham is a much larger city than Wilmington -- 250k vs. 100k. CSA population of Raleigh-Durham is over 2 million, Wilmington is maybe 300k.

Salaries are way better in Durham, but that's not really important if you're retired. Healthcare is better in Durham, but it certainly isn't bad in Wilmington. The two cities seem pretty similar in terms of "stuff to do." Wilmington has the advantage of the ocean, but Durham is much larger with more arts and culture. Both cities have a solid food and restaurant scene, but neither is in the same league with Charleston. Both cities have traffic congestion and "urban growing pains", but neither is in the same league as Charleston.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by hey_guy

i mean nothing they just dont have any of the connotations as being desirable for someone who is done working

i mean whats the difference between 'retiring to' and 'moving to'

all i mean to say is its just one of a swath of medium size cities where most people are just working, not much in the sense of 'retirement amenities'

if one truly didnt have to work and was retired why would you want to move somewhere where most people are just doing the rat race, and doesn't ahve much compared to other places in regard to natural features

Charleston has just as much of the "rat race" as those cities you mentioned, controlling for size. It is experiencing very significant job growth and has had big economic announcements for the past couple of years. Plus it's growing at a breakneck pace which puts a lot more cars on the roads and people on the streets.

People might choose Richmond, Columbia, or Cincinnati to retire in because they have a reasonable cost of living, great cultural amenities, recreational opportunities, and quiet neighborhoods which many retirees may find preferable.