Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage Blog

Making the Beach Your Permanent Home


Posted: February 08, 2016 by Kathy Alexander

For most people, the disconnect between their dream-life on a sunlit beach and reality is a common experience. The most favorable way to deal with this phenomenon is to make that move to live the life you’ve always imagined.

Living in a waterfront property along the beautiful southeastern North Carolina coast offers numerous social benefits in addition to unforgettable ocean views and outdoor activities. Full-time residents also enjoy bonding with other residents and neighbors. Strong friendships developed in beach communities can often last a lifetime, which makes living in such a community more enjoyable. There is usually someone who will go fishing or to the beach with you, join you for cocktails or play a round or two of tennis.

Those new to beach living learn fast to take full advantage of the area in the off-season by immersing themselves in the local history and culture, visiting entertainment venues and enjoying holiday celebrations. Tourist areas, particularly, are far less crowded during the off-season, which means that the popular shops and best restaurants will be less congested than during peak beach season. Living in a beach town year-round means truly becoming a local.

Making an oceanfront property or quaint beach community home your permanent residence doesn’t just mean living in an incredible area – it usually means a permanently enjoyable lifestyle change. The only problem might be deciding on which of our area's unique beach areas to live.

North Carolina's Cape Fear Coast includes historically rich Wilmington and the seacoast communities of Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, the gorgeous Oak Island and Holden Beach.  All of the beautiful beaches feature very different personalities, but between them, they something for everyone!  The nearby estuarine reserves provide a truly delightful experience for sun-seekers, beachcombers and nature lovers. We offer a real sportsman's paradise for anglers, mariners and all sorts of water sports enthusiasts.

Wilmington

Wilmington, built on a peninsula between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean, is the urban hub of the coastal region, featuring a wonderful combination of history, natural and architectural beauty and growth. Downtown Wilmington faces the river, which meanders further south to the Atlantic Ocean. The famed river was originally used as a vital shipping artery for the region, and now features beautiful historical and modern homes and areas for fishing and pleasure boating.

Wilmington’s famed mile-long Riverwalk brings the city right to the edge of the river. It’s lined with fine restaurants, unique specialty shops, arts and entertainment venues and a lively social scene. Horse drawn carriages travel cobblestone streets under towering oaks.

On the east side of Wilmington, the popular Wrightsville Beach is an easy drive over the Causeway and Intracoastal Waterway. Despite featuring long, white beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see, this area, which does host a healthy tourist trade during the summer, is primarily a quiet community with a wide variety of real estate options to choose from.

Kure Beach

If you prefer a peaceful, small town atmosphere away from the bustle of a city, Kure Beach provides the perfect setting and a relaxed pace for you and your family to reconnect in this natural area. Home to the oldest fishing pier on the Atlantic coast, Kure Beach offers an oceanfront park, a nearby state aquarium and beautiful natural surroundings.

If local history is of interest to you, the historic Fort Fisher, originally built in the 1700s, kept North Carolina's port of nearby Wilmington open to blockade-runners supplying necessary goods to Confederate armies inland.  The partially restored site offers tours and historical exhibits, as well as also housing the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology headquarters. At the southern end of Fort Fisher is the Fort Fisher-Southport Ferry and a public boat launch area, which offers opportunities for parasailing, windsurfing, kayaking and fishing.

Kure Beach is primarily a residential area, with available homes ranging from impressive private estates to cozy, yet well-appointed oceanfront condominiums. The average number of year-round residents is slightly more than 2,000, many of whom volunteer to protect the nests of endangered loggerhead turtles from June until August, when the hatchlings emerge and make their way to the sea.

Carolina Beach

Pristine and beautiful, Carolina Beach offers awe-inspiring ocean views and privacy, due in part to being bordered to the west by the Cape Fear River, to the north by the Snows Cut Bridge and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean.  This quaint, family-friendly town is said to embody coastal Americana.

With slightly more than 6,000 permanent residents in the entire area, the miles of wide, clean beaches dotted with natural sand dunes means classic beach living. The atmosphere is relaxed, the weather is inviting and the range of leisurely, outdoor activities is plentiful. During the peak season, the population of the town itself often triples in size, but serenity remains constant on the beach – from the host of stately luxury homes to the quaint, yet charming cottages scattered along the coastline.

Bald Head Island

If you prefer almost total privacy, there’s a treasure located just two miles off North Carolina’s southern coast. Bald Head Island, one of the East Coast’s most immaculate and environmentally-conscious beach communities, is accessible only by private boat or the passenger ferry, which leaves every hour on the hour.

The island offers more than 14 miles of pristine beaches facing both east and west, allowing you to experience breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. The island also features about 10,000 acres of tidal creeks and salt marshes, all of which offer a natural area for exploring, kayaking and fishing.

Newer homes on the island capture the best of Southern architecture, including gracious porches, ample windows, high ceilings and even screened-in sleeping porches. For those who prefer to design and build their own homes, there are beachfront properties of varying sizes available.

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