Oriental, NC on our minds ...

[Scott T-Bird]

Well folks, Sue and I are planning a trip to Oriental, NC, primarily to visit the area and see if it is a nice location to find property for retirement (or faux retirement, anyway). She's taking the train down to visit her son in Raleigh for the weekend and I am following by car on Sunday, July 17. We plan on being in Oriental for just a short time on Sunday evening, Monday and Tuesday until about noon (17th thru 19th of July). We also plan on spending time with a realtor to look at a few homes anywhere from Vandemere to New Bern, depending upon what we see on the market.

We would be happy if there were any locals on board with this forum that might show us a little of the lay-of-the-sea from the water. Send a PM if willing! And of course, we welcome any insight into the area. I have spent much time at the Outer Banks, but no time in any other area of the coastline or interior NC. Sue loves the area near her son in Raleigh, but, there is no sea there, alas!

 

[Ed Schenck]

Love Oriental Scott. But you have to wanna' be laid back, not much going on there except sailing. I was there for several weeks while on my way to Florida. Had the boat out at a really good yard there. But for most of fifteen months I was across the Neuse at Matthews Point marina. I like that side of the river because of easy access to Beaufort, Morehead City, and the beaches on Bogue Sound. Also close to Havelock and an easy drive to New Bern. But for sailing and peace and quiet hard to beat Oriental.
http://www.matthewspoint.com/

 

[RichH]

Oriental is a nice place .... if you like snakes (Cottonmouth Moccasins, that is) especially anywhere near the 'water'. The place is 'crawling with Moccasins' even on the boardwalks of the town marinas (by the bridge).

Really is a nice town and the people are probably among the friendliest on the entire east coast (but so is most of eastern NC).
Gonna be a real culture shock to someone from NNJ or NYC area. People are expected to look one another in the eye and to greet and acknowledge perfect strangers on the street - eye contact is not 'prohibited' on the streets as it is in NYC. :-D

 

[kloudie1]

A fine place.. I have spent some time messing about there and didn't notice the snakes .. I guess because they seemed a bit tame compared to our swamp/marsh ones..
Good sailing community.. http://towndock.net/

 

[Fly_H23]

We spent a week in Oriental, NC back in May. Check out "River Dunes" if you're looking for more upscale digs. We stayed a nice new cottage there and had a really fine time. It's about 5 miles from Oriental.

 

[Stephen K]

I enjoyed Oriental...a small and laid back town. If you want a retirement location with a little more "going on" you could go over to New Bern.

 

[kloudie1]

Definitely go into the consignment shop right on the main street.. just poke around and gape.. Lotsa stuff

 

[rpwillia]

Curious

Definitely go into the consignment shop right on the main street.. just poke around and gape.. Lotsa stuff

Boat stuff or something else?

 

[kloudie1]

Of course it is marine stuff, Ray.. The other place is down on Bourbon Street, not too far from here !!

 

[mark_swart]

Did a fly-through a few weeks ago... it is very isolated. That can be a good or bad thing, depending on your personal taste. But if you think it's a little too far from modern conveniences, check out New Bern. It's about 20 miles from there.

 

[MJWarner]

Oriental is very laid back and I've sailed there and stayed at anchor as well as the free town dock. I have never encountered any snakes, nor heard of any. I wouldn't let that tale scare me off. It's a great location for easy one day sails to Beaufort, Lookout Bight, Ocracoke, Washington, Bath, New Bern, and probably a few more that I've left out and I'm sure someone else will point out. I would check out Sea Harbour. The marina is beautiful, they have a pool and a great bunch of active sailors. I am located up on the Pungo River, near Belhaven. If you find yourself wanting info about that area, let me know, I'll be glad to help. Won't be there when you are, I'm in Fl. right now, but will help from here as I can. Good luck in your search!

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Thanks for the replies! We are thinking about more of a getaway type place rather than a year-round home so isolated is appealing to me. I'm not so sure about Sue. 20 miles to New Bern doesn't sound bad to me. I was also curious about the south side of the river, but that side seems even more remote, just by looking at Google Maps. Anyway, the appealing side of Oriental seems to me that I would rather be 20 minutes by car to the conveniences of the modern world than an additional several hours by boat to the places of interest for sailing.

 

[beanctr]

Hi Scott,

The northern NC outer banks has some nice sailing in the Albemarle Sound.

Rick

 

[MJWarner]

Scott,
The south side is Very remote, plus if you are wanting to have sailboat access, it is, alas shoaled too much. There is some nice anchoring overnighters that I have done over on the South river, very few homes up in there.

 

[CarlN]

If your schedule allows, you might look in Elizabeth City too. Also very friendly. More going on - about the size of New Bern. Several good restaurants. Good sailing. Only an hour by car from Norfolk for a big airport and nice city. Right at the entrance to the Great Dismal Swamp canal.

Carl

 

[Marc Bergmueller]

I looked into Oriental, but the taxes on docks and property seemed high for the area, anyone else notice high taxes there, or am I just cheep?

 

[jibes138]

You are probably just cheap. :>)
If you want to see high taxes, check out the Boston or Fairfield county areas.

Scott T
I kept my boat in Oriental for about three years. send me a private message and I can tell you more about the area and also some alternatives. I've been living in the area for almost 6 years now. will be happy to assist.

 

[Mario G]

I realizeze I'm a little late but heres a good insite to what is going on in Oriental. http://towndock.net or

Set at The Bean coffee house any morning and you can also get a ton of info about the area.



I find its a great central location for sailing to different locations or just a great place to hang out.
The sailing consignment shop has to be one of the best on the east coast. (There holding on to our dingy untill we can get there to pick it up. Sorry we would have taken you sailing but we're still a week or so from getting there.

They say the sailboats out number the people that live there 3 to 1.
Its about a 2 hour drive to Raleigh so visits to the kids should be easy enough.
There are a good number or marinas Sea Harbour is one we stayed in but moved our boat to Paradice Cove because it was less the $100 a year to keep our boat.