What Is Special About The Crystal Coast

Many of us who live along the shores of Bogue Sound and rivers like the White Oak in Carteret and Onslow Counties have a slight but persistent smile on our faces. Even when the weather is a little out of sorts, we know that we are living in one the greatest places on earth.

That is a pretty tall statement, but I actually think that I have some reasonable credentials to back it up. We have lived in some spectacular places like the Nova Scotia shore and the mountains of southwest Virginia. I been in every state in the United States and made trips to New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, Ireland, England and spent far too much time in my corporate career in California. I have even spent some serious time in tiny Prince Edward Island which well deserves a mention.

There is no place that I have visited which can really hold a candle to the Crystal Coast or the Southern Outer Banks as some prefer to call it.

Certainly if you enjoy the water, love fishing, boating, hiking, and walking on uncrowded beaches, this place is hard to beat. And if for some strange reason, our beaches do not suit you, it does not take long to get to Ocracoke which has the top ranked beaches in the world. I have managed to visit Ocracoke many times over the last forty-five years.

Our area just south and west of Ocracoke is special because of the small town feel that comes from our unique towns which include Swansboro, Cedar Point, Cape Carteret, Emerald Isle, Morehead City, and Beaufort among others.

While Route 24 and 70 are nominally our main roads, the real main road is the Intracoastal Waterway which runs from Beaufort down Bogue Sound to Swansboro.

We are an area that attracts tourists, but we have a strong population of year around residents which keeps our shops and restaurants running through out the year.

The Southern Outer Banks also happens to be one of the friendliest spots on earth. The local event calendars often have multiple festivals on the same weekends.

If one thing is clear besides our crystal waters, it is that the people of the Crystal Coast love to get together and have fun whether it is eating steamed oysters, lobsters, barbecue, grouper, shrimp, or mullet.

You might get the idea that sea food is nearly the only food available, but we have true supermarkets stocked with plenty of land based food from produce, and chicken to Angus beef. We even have local farmers who sell their crops at local stands.

Not only is the area a great place to visit, it is an even better place to live. With a mild climate, low taxes, and reasonably priced water access communities, the Crystal Coast is one of the great secrets among wonderful places to live on the coast.

All of the services are close at hand from grocery stores to shopping centers, medical services, and home improvement stores.

When you have access to all your services with no traffic jams and live in great neighborhoods sprinkled along our crystal clear waters, it is pretty easy to have a smile on your face.

The schools are even excellent. With truly friendly people as your neighbors in an area which rarely even sees a snowflake, you can easily see why our smiles are persistent.

If you would like to read more about the Crystal Coast and why we are living here, you will find some helpful posts at this link.

More information about life here can be found at my Crystal Coast Life blog.

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