Love Where You Live...

If you love where you live, you're allowed to brag, right?

When I moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, I was looking for:
-- a college town, because I wanted the liveliness and intellectual stimulation of being near and involved with a great university;
-- a small city -- big enough to have some good social/cultural/culinary offerings, but not so big it loses a sense of small-town, southern charm;
-- a real downtown area, vibrant and rich in history;
-- beautiful and varied waterways in which to launch my kayak; and
-- gorgeous beaches -- including undeveloped areas where I could enjoy peaceful, early morning strolls with the pup.
(I also have friends who included great golf courses, fishing and excellent harbors for their boats on their list.)

Wilmington has certainly met all my hopes and expectations, and thrown in a few surprises, too.
Examples:  Wilmington is a hotbed for entrepreneurship and business networking; interesting museums and a great aquarium can be found here; lots of new retail and residential development is occurring; there's a thriving artistic community; every week there are concerts, festivals, historic or nature tours -- always something to do!; and, ...there's an alligator who likes to sun in my back yard!

I love living here, and I'm not shy about bragging about my adopted home town.

If you live here, too, I'd love to hear what brought you to this area of southeast North Carolina.   What makes you love living here?

If you don't live here (yet), what are you hoping to find?
What will it take to make you love where you live?

(BTW, I am a full-time real estate agent, so of course I'd be happy to help you find a home here where you can start building new memories. Contact me.)

Caroline Beach State Park - early morning, where the hiking trail comes out on to the Intracoastal Waterway

                    

Downtown Wilmington, with USS Battleship North Carolina in the foreground

Concert on the Riverfront

Some outstanding restaurants in Wilmington

Downtown River Walk

Fort Fisher Aquarium is south of Kure Beach

Prepping for the St Paddy's Day Parade

Local beaches are popular with surfers
(like my nephew here, who was just learning)

Izzy loves visiting the beach at Fort Fisher State Park

Kayaking on the Cape Fear River

Alligators - this comes as a surprise to some people.

Photo from my back deck.

Cape Fear Museum has some surprising exhibits -
like this Giant Ground Sloth

Bellamy Mansion, one of many historic downtown properties

4th of July on the River Front is amazing!

famous for its pine trees

Carnivorous Pitcher Plant,
at Carolina Beach State Park

Marina at Wrightsville Beach

Izzy--the wind catching her ears--finds her Zen at the beach.