Samira Davis

Asheville is cool. Its the Austin TX of NC, but -in a nutshell- without the jobs. The historic neighborhoods, the artsy flare... there are good restuarants and a great quality of life. Winter is never too harsh, but you will get the seasons. The nearby mountains offer great hiking and exposure to all things outdoorsy. If you are retired, or not in need of earned income, Asheville offers a great quality of life and a cool community. That being said, housing isnt cheap- sure, your dollar will go further than in NY, CA or DC- but is Asheville for you?

We asked ourselves the same question. One of us works remotely in NYC, and we were looking for better weather, a fun and funky downtown, diversity of thought and in people... and while we liked Asheville, many of the locals warned us not to move unless we both had jobs lined up. Since the neighborhoods werent inexpensive, we decided to keep looking. A couple in our 30s and 40s, we were also a bit concerned that Asheville might be somewhat cut off from other major cities.

If you picked up the city of Asheville, slashed the housing prices, kept the awesome restaurants, the dog parks and the green space, but made it into a port city 20 minutes from the beach, youd have.... Wilmington, NC. Possibly one of the best kept secrets on the East Coast, Wilmington was never destroyed during the Civil War- many of the historic neighborhoods are walking distance to downtown. Dawsons Creek and One Tree Hill were both filmed here and the neighborhood that we chose (Carolina Heights) has visits regularly from fans wanting to snap selfies with their favorite houses. The tree lined streets are somewhat Savannah-esque with their hanging Spanish moss and many of the micro breweries and restaurants are dog friendly. Our local airport is never too busy, and we are always able to book flights without a worry.

We feel incredibly lucky to have found Wimington, while the prices were low. The riverfront is undergoing a resurgence, luxury condos are being built and there are even houseboat communities getting developed along the river.

Ultimately, Asheville brings you the mountains and Wimington offers the beach. One is inland and one has water... but when your dollar goes so much further in one city than the other, its hard not to resist the draw!

New Orleans... theres nothing like it. The food, the music, the architecture... this is a city not to be missed. A thirty and forty something couple, we are both well traveled (internationally and nationally) and were trying to find a place to put down roots; New Orleans was a natural contender. Its hard not to fall in love with so much soul, beauty and history.

If youre thinking of visiting, by all means do! The people and the experience is a unique blend of so many cultures and diversity is aparrent in language, in music and in love. As a mixed couple, living in present day America, New Orleans was in many way a visit to another time, a time before so much judgment and hatred divided us. The weather absolutely can be oppressive, but nowhere is perfect, right?

Having lived in many transitional neighborhoods (including DC, NYC and LA) we were not at first put off by the crime. We were seeking a walkable historic neighborhood with great eats and green spaces. Although the house prices in NOLA have catapulted skywards, we were willing to sacrifice space for living our dream.

Like all dreams, however, we had a somewhat unanticipated awakening. As local police explained to us, NOLA has incredibly high crime rates... and were not talking about muggings or petty theft. Rape, murder and violent crime occurs regularly and thoroughout the city... while some areas may be less prone to these risks than others, thes kind of tragic and life altering incidents (carjackings are a reality of life) weave their ways down so many streets and through so many neighborhoods. The city has fundamentally flawed infrastructure- the pot holes can take an SUV with off road capabilities, just to get through an otherwise upscale neighborhood. As one Officer pointedly asked us Dont it tell you nothing about the corruption here that we cant even get these roads straight?

Perhaps more worrisome, as was reported in a New York Times article, the USA has not functionally supported the entire city of NOLA. In the era of climate change that we now live, it isnt a matter of if, its when and how badly. NOLA is below sea level- think about that. Many of the houses (we looked at close to 100) have extensive structural damage, due to the flooding. Do you really want to make a financial investment into a city like this? Ive heard it said that NOLA is like a bad relationship that you just cant leave, because the good times are so overwhelmingly intoxicating- and thats a fair analogy. But theres a violent side as well- and for us, reading about the murders so often and in so many different areas- the risk was not worth the reward.

What you think a neighborhood looks like at lunch time, is often worlds away from the reality late at night. More than once, we thought we had found a great place- only to come back after hours and realize that there were major issues that we would never have known about, had we not returned.

Ultimately, the violent crime was a dealbreaker. So, too, was going to be investing our financial future in such an at risk area. We ended up choosing Wilmington NC- beautiful historic homes, walking distance to downtown, great weather, fun and funky with an artsy vibe- and our favorite place to grab drinks here is called Bourbon Street. Were 20 mins drive to the beach, loads of cafes, fantastic eats and so many dog /people parks... the houses here are less than half of what we would have paid in New Orleans. We still got hit with a hurricane (thanks Florence!) but the worst that happened was a few shingles off our shed. We can only imagine the outcome, had we been living in NOLA.

All of that being said, if the violent crime isnt a concern for you and youre not planning to invest in buying a home, NOLA is an incredible scene. The Magazine Street Area is fantastic!

Raleigh checked a lot of boxes; the weather was great, we had friends living there, the news reports were always buzzing about NC. A 30 and 40 something couple, we had travelled nationally and internationally, and were searching for an affordable city with historic neighborhoods, great eats and good green space. This was before we actually visited.

Well, Raleigh did have the pleasant historic neighborhoods, but the larger homes were over $600k... and that was more debt than we wanted. Suburban sprawl seemed like an epidemic, traffic congestion was rising... newer homes, sandwiched side by side, it felt like a minivan metropolis version of The Truman Show. If driving everywhere to get anywhere doesnt bother you, Raleigh does have affordable homes... but it also has the soullessness of a box of just-add-water mashed potatoes.

For the real thing, we headed two hours east -that is, our GPS took a wrong turn and we decided to keep driving. With little to no PR, Wilmington NC wasnt really even on our radar. Once we got there, the locals kept saying the same thing Dont tell anyone!

We can see why. A port city, Wilmington has extensive historic neighborhoods that are walking distance to a fun and funky downtown. Prices are half that of Raleigh. The beach is a 20 minute ride away. Did we mention the food? Its fantastic! Lots of brew pubs opening up, a historic boardwalk, tons of green space and dog parks... the riverfront is undergoing redevelopment, so you can even buy a houseboat, if thats your thing. We had hoped to find a lot of this in Raleigh, but ultimately are glad that we didnt compromise and kept looking!

After years of travel, both nationally and internationally, we made it our mission to find our perfect city. We wanted more sunshine, great eats, historic homes, neighborhoods that were walking distance to downtown, an abundance of dog parks, not too far from the beach. Because one of us works remotely, we also needed access to a reliable airport... and we needed it all to be affordably priced.

Other cities we visited and passed on included New Orleans (loved the food and culture but the crime was too high) Raleigh (Great weather and convenience, but this was suburban sprawl on steroids... increasing gridlock and prices twice as high as Wilmington) Capitol Hill /DC (out of our budget unless we wanted a condo) Seattle area (limited on sunshine) Sarasota FL (too much of a retirement community for us- we are in our 30s and 40s) Asheville NC (great city but very limited employment opportunities) and Charlottesville VA (a bit isolated geographically and further from the beach than we wanted to be)... the list goes on and on.

Wilmington knocked our socks off. The fun and funky downtown is walking distance to so many historic neighborhoods... Carolina Heights (where we now live) is where Dawsons Creek was filmed and home to many of the areas historic home tours. For less than $400k, we found an incredible 3000 s/f former bed and breakfast on a double lot. Coming from the DC and NYC area, this was something that we could only have dreamed of.

Across Market Street (and still walking distance to amazing ice cream and fantastic food) is Carolina Place- you can find fixer uppers under $200k and charming 1920s bungalows for under $300k. If youre looking for the salt life, the great thing about Carolina Beach and Kure Beach are in easy proximity.

As a port city, theres also a neat Boardwalk with fine dining as well as family oriented establishments... the riverfront is undergoing redevelopment, so house boats are becoming increasingly popular. Oh- and the cafes have biscuits for visiting doggies. Our rescue, Miss Charlie, gives Wilmington both paws up!