Southeastern North Carolina and Location Scout
Thursday, January 11th, 2007On Travels and Resources
“If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.” Doug Larson
I was recently in Southeastern North Carolina. I visited several communities who are attracting retirees. Carolina Colours, while in its infant state, looks to be a special place near historic New Bern. The first-class developers are working to incorporate the natural landscape with Brice Creek and preserved wetlands. Their golf course is being built with this same consideration. Additionally, they want to make it an active community with a town centre, a pavilion, and open grounds. Call me before you visit the area. I have a few lodging dining recommendations in the area, including Marina Sweets where I had a shrimp omelet with a huge sweet potato biscuit and grits for breakfast and BearTown French Bakery & Bistro where they serve unique sandwiches and delicious soups, including a chilled soup du jour.
I also visited Brunswick County, NC which is becoming one of the fastest growing counties in the country. Sound familiar? From what I was told, they went from not being in the Top 100 to number 29 in one year and are still climbing. It seems that people are drawn by the small beach towns with easy access to the activities of Myrtle Beach and the historic city of Wilmington. Coastal Communities is a top-notch developer with five distinct communities for boating, golfing, beach going, etc. One prospective purchaser reportedly said that the area reminded them of Hilton Head in 1983. I think we all know how that turned out. Good restaurants are plentiful; two of my favorites are in downtown Wilmington: Caffe Phoenix on Front Street and Elijah’s on the riverfront.
In my work I review quite a number of web sites, publications, books, and promotional materials on retirement, relocation, and communities. As to be expected, many I like, a few I don’t, and some I could take or leave. Recently I discovered AARP Magazine Online’s Location Scout only to be greatly disappointed by it. I found some of the questions and multiple choice answers to be oddly worded. Furthermore, after answering I don’t know how many questions about my preferences, I was basically told that there are no matches for me for a place to retire and to go back through the survey and change some of my answers. In other words, there is no suitable place for my retirement- including where I live currently, Loudoun County, VA! I would have expected at least a few suggestions. If you’re from AARP and you’re reading this, contact me. I can help you improve this feature. Okay, enough griping…
On the positive side, I discovered a magazine called Living Southern Style. This publication is well-laid out and uncluttered; it has relevant, informative articles and useful, easily accessible information.