Wilmington, NC

[Harley]

anyone live in the wilmington nc area? if not, is anyone familiar with this area?

I am considering relocating there and was hoping to get some input as to life down there.

Thank you

[Amy]

Have you ever visited Wilmington? I was there in 2004. I was vacationing in Myrtle Beach, SC and drove up to Wilmington for the day. I had done some research on Wilmington (movies & tv filmed there, beaches, etc.) before going. It was nice to visit for the day but I couldn't decide in one trip if I would want to live there. Maybe if I visited longer and was able to see all that the town offered. Someone I currently work with went there last year to be an extra in the TV show One Tree Hill. It is filmed there. He will be going back in July or August to be in the show again.

[veginator]

I actually was born and grew up there, and manage to visit every year or two (mom and brother still live there), so there's a lot I could tell you. Just let me know what you want to know. It has its good and bad points like any other place--and some things that have both good and bad aspects, such as its roughly doubling in population the past 20 years. But it's definitely worth considering if you like the beach and water sports, which I miss very much living here in Indiana. Fort Fisher beach is a relatively undiscovered treasure as far as that goes, several miles of unspoiled, pristine, undeveloped (it's a state park) beach, dunes and marsh. We love to take our dogs there when we visit--dogs aren't allowed any more, not even on leash, on the other beaches. Not (usually) freezing your ass off in the winter like I do here is kind of nice, too. Little-known fun facts about the area: it's the northernmost place in the U.S. where alligators live in the wild, the only place in the world where Venus Flytraps grow, and Wilmington is where Michael Jordan grew up.

 

Lots of insanely rich people have moved there the past 20 years or so, so unless you have a lot of money or can somehow find a cheap rental, living on the beach is pretty much out of the question. To give you an idea of what real estate prices are like, my mom and stepfather built a place on Wrightsville Beach for around $200k back in the 80s. They sold it around 2000 for $800k, and it wasn't even that huge a place, maybe a little over 2000 square feet. The person who bought it also bought their next-door neighbor's place (it was a duplex) for around the same price, then promptly tore the whole thing down and built a mansion worth around $6 million. Just out of curiosity, I looked through the real estate section last time I was down there, and had trouble finding anything under $1 million that was on or near a beach.

 

But I think housing costs are relatively normal in the rest of New Hanover County, and except during rush hour there's no place that's more than about 15-20 minutes from the water. And restaurant selection is pretty good, there are at least two coop-type grocery stores in town, and there's a fair amount to do for a city that size. And, despite the influx of "snowbirds," there's still plenty of that Southern friendliness and charm about the place. I generally like living here in Bloomington, but one thing I can't stand about the Midwest is that people here aren't nearly as friendly as they are down South. You say "hi" to someone on the street and they look at you like you're from Mars.

 

I have to get back to work here, but as I said, I'm happy to share more information about my hometown. As you can tell, I like to talk about it! Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you're looking for, though, like anywhere else.

 

Jeff

[Harley]

Jeff,

thanks for the reply. Is there a better part of town to live versus another?

I lived in chicagoland for 2 years and I thought the people there were very friendly. At least compared to New England.

 

Any vegan restaurants?

I am a big time cyclist. How is the cycling down there?

How about gyms? Can you recommend one?

 

thanks for all of your help

[veginator]

Jeff,

thanks for the reply. Is there a better part of town to live versus another?

I lived in chicagoland for 2 years and I thought the people there were very friendly. At least compared to New England.

 

Any vegan restaurants?

I am a big time cyclist. How is the cycling down there?

How about gyms? Can you recommend one?

 

thanks for all of your help

 

There aren't any vegan restaurants that I know of. The co-ops (Lovey's and Tidal Creek) have quite a few vegan options in their deli departments, but I guess that doesn't really count. There are a large number of restaurants for that size town, though, so it's not very hard to find vegan fare if you go ethnic and avoid the seafood places. I didn't find the Indian place (India Mahal) all that great, but it's okay. I don't go to Wilmington very much any more so I'm sure there are better sources of information about the restaurants than me.

 

There are a fair number of bike paths, especially on or near Wrightsville Beach. If you like hills, of course, you're out of luck because the coastal plain is flat as a pancake. But as far as finding places to ride where you're not stuck in the middle of heavy car traffic (a big consideration to me considering how idiotic a lot of drivers are), it's pretty good. Better than Bloomington where I live, which has an undeserved reputation as a bike-friendly place as a result of the movie Breaking Away.

 

I went a number of times to a gym that seemed pretty decent with a friend who liked it a lot when I lived there, but I don't remember the name of it and I'm not even sure if it's still there. My mom goes to a place called O2 that she likes, but the fact that a 69-year-old woman likes it may not be all that relevant to whether you would. Sorry I can't be more help on that one.

[BrettNC]

Jeff,

thanks for the reply. Is there a better part of town to live versus another?

I lived in chicagoland for 2 years and I thought the people there were very friendly. At least compared to New England.

 

Any vegan restaurants?

I am a big time cyclist. How is the cycling down there?

How about gyms? Can you recommend one?

 

thanks for all of your help

 

I've lived in Wilmington for over a year and recently joined Planet Fitness. I highly recommend it. I got a deal $99/year which is absurdly cheap. Very clean, nice people, plenty of machines, and not as busy as I expected given the price.

 

There aren't any strictly vegan places. I recommend Nikki's downtown which is considered a sushi place but has a great black bean burger.

 

Good luck with your move!

 

Brett