Beaches at Oak Island & Caswell

We enjoy our beaches. There is not a single parking meter on Oak Island or Caswell and over fifty access points. Parking is always within a couple hundred feet of the sand and no day passes required.

We have a casual attitude so no lifeguards and limited policing.  Our beaches are never crowded, even during the peak weeks in the summer months.  They are practically deserted in the off season. Fall is the absolute best season with great temperatures into November.  Our beaches are dog friendly. Fishing permits can be purchased at the local area tackle stores and beach fires can be had with a permit from the Oak Island Fire Marshall. 

Click on the Flood Zone Map Link above to see what areas require flood insurance. If the areas are not highlighted, no flood insurance is required.  

 Those Houses on "Stilts"

    The proper name to use when describing a property built like the one seen to the left hand picture is a piling house.  

    Our Multiple Listing Service shows this foundation type as a piling foundation.  

    People see piling homes and believe it is necessary to build this way for protection against storm surges or flooding. In some areas that is the case, but many homes are built on pilings to get better views, or to provide additional storage for cars or boats.  Much of Oak Island is zoned as a 500 year flood plain, or X-Zone.  Lenders don't require flood insurance be carried on properties located in these areas. Many new homes on Oak Island have slab foundations. A less expensive alternative to piling homes, their construction doesn't even occur in high flood-risk areas.

Hurricanes

Are large predictable and slow moving storms that bring increased ratings to the Weather Channel and gives that network a chance to send their "On Air" personalities here.  I lived here only two weeks when a hurricane came ashore in Southport.  I took my young family inland for protection.  I haven't left for a storm since.  
Most areas of Oak Island and Southport have underground utilities and building standards far more stringent than are found in inland areas.  Other than oceanfront homes, which can be vulnerable, storm  related claims are often greater further inland than we will have here. 
Hurricanes are a reality along  the eastern seaboard and gulf coast areas, but resident's concerns about them rank low.  We do have to pick up pine cones after storms but, living in Southport for twenty years, I only lost electricity long enough for food to spoil during Hurricane Florence.  

In that storm hurricane force winds and 40 inches of rain fell over three days time lingering over the lower Cape Fear Region. Most of Oak Island and Caswell didn't even loose electricity and there was little in the way of oceanfront damage, or erosion. The areas that were most heavily impacted were Boiling Spring Lakes and areas inland.

Alligators & Other Reptiles

After hurricanes and flooding I have more people ask about alligators than any other subject of concern.  We have them. You'll find them in and around the ponds in the communities like St. James, Winding River, South Harbor Village and in the creeks and marshes across from my house. There are huge alligators on the grounds at Orton Plantation. The good news is, that is where they tend to stay. Alligators don't knock over garbage cans at night like raccoons, or chew on your plants and vegetables like deer. Having lived here for two decades I've yet to hear anybody complain about running into an alligator with their car. We have snakes too. In fact we have an array of venomous snakes here in southeast, NC. I have only seen one since 1998. 

Taxes 

Brunswick County taxes are  48.50 cents per $100 of assessed value.  Municipalities have their own taxes In the areas I work all are between 21 and 31 cents per $100 of assessed value. Put in perspective, this very nice home at over 2000 square feet just 10 minutes from the beaches at Oak Island and Caswell has a total tax burden of $1772  per year. That includes education, county and city taxes.  Click on the link below below for tax rates across Brunswick County

Snow/Ice and Other Weather Related Issues.

Having lived here for twenty years, I have seen snowfall only on a handful of occasions. Any snow that "sticks" is usually gone by early afternoon.  We do not purchase or stockpile snow shovels, snow blowers, tire chains, bags of salt or any other items snow or ice related.

We do not plug in our diesels in the evening, dig out our sidewalks, de-ice our door locks, scrap windshields, or devote large amounts of closet space to outerwear. We do not have to plan around snowfall, when leaving our homes, or for fear of not being able to get back to them. 

The winter of 2017/2018 proved to be the exception. We had a couple of inches of snow followed by a spate of cold weather which kept snow on the ground for four days. A scene is pictured to the right. 

Growth in Brunswick County 

During the last census which ended in 2010 North Carolina increased 18.5% in population, the strongest growth of any state east of the Mississippi. During that time Brunswick County was the second fastest growing county in North Carolina. We grew at an impressive 46.9% making us the fifteenth fasted growing county in the nation. Click on the link below to see nationwide state-by-state and  county-by-county growth trends during the 2000-2010 census period.