Wilmington

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!

Oleander Drive is the heart of Wilmington. Wilmington is a fast growing, hip beach town and Oleander Drive is the place to be. Whether you love to shop, eat out, or just hang with friends Oleander Drive has got it all. And it's just minutes from the beach..so when you're done with that shopping trip you can just head down for a swim. Beware though it is a heavily populated area and traffic is insane on this street especially around 5 PM. It is a great place to meet people though or just have some fun with your friends.

Two swimming pools, clubhouse with weekly poker night and bunko night, tennis courts, quiet, and meandering streets with sidewalks are just a few of the inviting items in this newer neighborhood that make it a great place to call home and the wonderful neighbors provide a sense of belonging that's rare to find these days. Established trees throughout the neighborhood make Plantation Landing feel more established than many other newer neighborhoods. Two grocery stores are just around the corner, Mayfaire shopping center isn't a far commute and has a movie theater, and Wrightsville Beach is just beyond that. Access to anywhere in or out of the area is great with the new I-140 bypass just outside the neighborhood, making it extremely easy to travel downtown, to Raleigh, Myrtle Beach, Charlotte, or Jacksonville.