Southern Coastal NC

9 local guides to Southport, Oak Island, St. James, and the rest of Southern Coastal NC.

Buying an Investment Property on Oak Island, NC: What to Check Before You Buy

Buying an Investment Property on Oak Island, NC: What to Check Before You Buy

Calabash, NC: What Buyers Should Know

You’ll learnWhy Calabash is a creek and waterway town built around a working seafood waterfront rather than an oceanfront beach town

The Benefits of Living in Southport, NC Year-Round: Why Full-Time Residents Get the Best of the Town

You’ll learnWhat the roughly October-to-April off-season gives Southport residents: a calm waterfront, open restaurant tables, and downtown returned to locals

Brunswick County Property Taxes and Insurance: What to Expect

You’ll learnHow a Brunswick County tax bill combines assessed value, the county rate, and a municipal rate when the home sits inside a town

Oak Island vs. Southport: How to Choose Between Two Great Coastal Towns

You’ll learnWhy Oak Island reads as a beach town with south-facing Atlantic shoreline while Southport is a historic harbor town on the Cape Fear River

What It's Like Living on Oak Island, NC: Vacation Home or Full Time?

You’ll learnWhat year-round Oak Island offers off-season: groceries and pharmacies on the island, Dosher Memorial in Southport, Wilmington care 45 minutes away

What It's Really Like Living in St. James, NC: Wildlife, Golf, Beach Club, and the Quiet Coastal Life

You’ll learnHow the four courses differ across 81 holes: Hale Irwin's Founders and Members, Tim Cate's tougher Players, and the newer Reserve

Living in Southport, NC: What It's Really Like Year-Round (and as a Vacation Home)

You’ll learnHow daily life in Southport is organized around the Cape Fear riverwalk, the working harbor and a six-block live-oak downtown

What It's Like Living in Leland, NC: The Town Most Buyers Hadn't Heard of Five Years Ago

You’ll learnHow Leland's master-planned communities differ — Brunswick Forest, Compass Pointe, Waterford, Magnolia Greens, and newer subdivisions like Mallory Creek

Looking for restaurants or local contractors instead? See Food & Drink and Service Providers.