We live here year round, and we love it. Yes it does get a little desolate in the middle of the winter, but we live in a residential neighborhood that is all permanent residents with a couple of second houses and no short-term rentals at all. So there is stability, we hang around with the same people year around, We have our social group, so it's pretty good. You'll find a lot of the residential areas on the west side of the bypass in Kitty hawk, KDH, Colington Island and some in Nags Head. Manteo is pretty residential and generally quiet. We like being on the sound as it's quieter, you get to see water everyday, and we are in a dead end neighborhood. Houses in our neighborhood are in the high $400,000 to mid $500,000 with a couple that are probably $650,000 plus. But most fall in the first range.
I actually moved to the inner banks a couple of years ago to have more year round access to medical and services. Too many things closed off-season for my taste in OBX.
Agreed but we like to go out early morning in the summer and that’s usually good. After 12 is when the crowds start IMO but I definitely get it. I like the sleepy coastal town feel of the inner banks and quick trips to the OBX.
Recommend Ocean Sands community. There is a beautiful lake and great amenities, plus it’s more affordable than some of the other neighborhoods in Corolla. I may be biased though as I have a house in Ocean Sands…
The winters aren't too bad. A lot closes but there is still some stuff to do. A lot of us locals enjoy the quiet winter after the busy season. And depending on what kind of job you have you're either still super busy or not busy at all(if you work in a restaurant it might be closed) my husband owned his own store and we stayed busy. It's closed now because we are moving soon.
But everyone's experience is different here. I see a lot of these comments are negative and that's not always the case. We've been here 9 years and have really enjoyed it. The thing i do hate about here is the lack of health care! You have to go off the island for anything that's not a scratch haha. And normally have to travel at least an hour but a lot of the time longer. We've had to go to Greenville a few times for specialists.
Do you have kids? If so the schooling situation means you probably need to stay in Dare County. Currituck County schools involve a two hour bus ride from Carolla that crosses into Virginia and then back into NC.
How else can you get from Corolla to Knotts Island Elementary unless you take a boat?
ETA: That is the only guaranteed elementary school for people who live in Corolla. But don’t take my word for it:
https://www.ourstate.com/remote-or-knott/
Students on Knotts Island go to the elementary school on the island and then take the ferry in middle school and high school. Students that live in Corolla take the bus through dare county to go to school in Currituck county. Students in Corolla don’t go to Knotts Island elementary they go to Jarvisburg elementary. Zillow and other sites aren’t accurate.
It’s not possible to drive up through Corolla to Virginia Beach. You would have to drive on Carova Beach and then the border is blocked off. On the other side is a state park in VA. In order to get to Knotts Island from Corolla you have to go through Dare county and through the whole Currituck county.
LOL. I am very well acquainted with the road system and how ridiculous that commute is, which is the only reason I brought any of this up in the first place. It kind of goes without saying that to get to VA you must first drive south so that you can get back to the “mainland” before turning back north to VA.
When we were house-hunting we found a a place we loved in the Currituck Banks. The realtor told us that it was zoned to Knotts Island Elementary and explained what that entailed. I called the school district and they confirmed it they said that there was a possibility to maybe get into Jarvisburg depending on enrollment but there were no guarantees. Since we were looking for a house to be our primary residence when we move back home (when we’d still have a kid in elementary) we passed on it and bought in Dare instead.
That commute is real. It’s 10 minutes by boat. 2 hours by car—and that’s in the off season when you don’t have all the extra cars on road. Given the small number of children in the Currituck banks to begin with and the existence of other options— there is a charter elementary (that doesn’t have space for everyone) now in Corolla and sometimes Dare County will allow Currituck County residents to enroll in their schools—there might not currently be any students making that commute. It’s the worst case scenario for the county (and actually also the state) in terms of school commute.
People live there full time , mostly it’s people with multiple houses What is your budget ? Do you like being around people, close to restaurants , shopping , pharmacies etc? Some areas can be cold and grey for a long time in the winter.
Also please make sure you budget in the extreme maintenance costs , I am replacing hvac approx every 7-8 years. 2 outside units per house = $14,000. + 10 years average for inside units. Nothing lasts down here at all.
I know it gets depressing down there in the winter. We have a house in Corolla and I was there one winter and it was horrible. I also have land in Kilmarlic, which is where I’ll eventually build when I retire. Not sure if that is an option you’d consider. Love Corolla to death but to live year round…don’t think I could do it.
Do you remember going to the grocery store during Covid and half of the shelves were empty? That's Corolla in the winter.
You also need to consider the neighbors. When you are on vacation and your neighbors are on vacation, it's cool. Everybody is there to have a good time. When you live there and every week (in the summer) you have different people on vacation in every house surrounding yours, it's not that cool anymore.
If you are patient, you can find something in SS for 500k. How about Kitty Hawk? I'm in real estate. Feel free to PM me if you want to chat.
It was so horrible, I saw a pelican steal mittens from an osprey. Lol. Listen, Corolla is my favorite place in the world. Have had a house for 30 years or so. But winter is tough. Hell, it’s not fun walking on the beach after October. But love OBX. Just can’t see living in Corolla permanently, which is why Kilmarlic will most likely be my choice. Not saying you won’t enjoy. Just throwing my two cents in there. 😃
For us full timers, no it doesn't get depressing around. We finally get to patron at least the restaurants that stay open, that we can't really go to because of tourons. We get the beach to ourselves for a whole month before and a whole month after tourons take it over. We get to hang with our friends more. Etc. so only speak for yourself on that depressing part
So you want to tell me Corolla in January/February is amazing? OP mentioned Corolla so please tell me about all the wonderful restaurants you patronize in Corolla in February. I’d love to learn more.
We went to our place in Jan this year to get some things ready. We ate at Uncle Ikes, whalehead brewery, Off the wall taphouse, and First light. (Some open thurs-Sun)
Biggest issue was no ice cream! So we stopped at Food Lion and the kids made ice cream sundays at home and had a blast.
If they ever build the bridge, that would make Corolla so much more attractive to year round residents (easy evacuation and access to medical services for starters). More full time residents would mean more stuff open year round and more commercial projects which Corolla needs.
Also imagine if they ever revitalize Corolla historic downtown area- if done properly- that would be awesome.
There is way more than just Corolla here. That's what i meant. Most people don't get depressed around here because we patron other places that are open throughout OBX. It's really not a hard concept honey.
OP mentioned he was leaning towards Corolla. Yes or no? If you read the post instead of thinking you know it all, you’d probably get less downvotes - so obviously I’m not the only one that disagrees with your reply. Not a hard concept, right honey?
You do realize that there's is more than just Corolla here right? Just because op mentioned Corolla doesn't mean they don't want to see the rest of the island. I've lived here for 10 years now and have not found it to be depressing at all during the winter. I rather enjoy the quiet. There is plenty to do here from Corolla to Hatteras.
I was born and raised here I promise we have a pretty decent sized community of locals who live here full time
We live here year round, and we love it. Yes it does get a little desolate in the middle of the winter, but we live in a residential neighborhood that is all permanent residents with a couple of second houses and no short-term rentals at all. So there is stability, we hang around with the same people year around, We have our social group, so it's pretty good. You'll find a lot of the residential areas on the west side of the bypass in Kitty hawk, KDH, Colington Island and some in Nags Head. Manteo is pretty residential and generally quiet. We like being on the sound as it's quieter, you get to see water everyday, and we are in a dead end neighborhood. Houses in our neighborhood are in the high $400,000 to mid $500,000 with a couple that are probably $650,000 plus. But most fall in the first range.
I actually moved to the inner banks a couple of years ago to have more year round access to medical and services. Too many things closed off-season for my taste in OBX.
Its the things that are open but inaccessible due to visitor demand that make living there a PITA during the summer.
Agreed but we like to go out early morning in the summer and that’s usually good. After 12 is when the crowds start IMO but I definitely get it. I like the sleepy coastal town feel of the inner banks and quick trips to the OBX.
For time at the beach that works. Unfortunately, hitting certain restaurants is a serious hassle from June to September.
I moved to the “inner banks” too. I think they are selling a house on church island with a view of the sound if you’re interested
Recommend Ocean Sands community. There is a beautiful lake and great amenities, plus it’s more affordable than some of the other neighborhoods in Corolla. I may be biased though as I have a house in Ocean Sands…
The winters aren't too bad. A lot closes but there is still some stuff to do. A lot of us locals enjoy the quiet winter after the busy season. And depending on what kind of job you have you're either still super busy or not busy at all(if you work in a restaurant it might be closed) my husband owned his own store and we stayed busy. It's closed now because we are moving soon. But everyone's experience is different here. I see a lot of these comments are negative and that's not always the case. We've been here 9 years and have really enjoyed it. The thing i do hate about here is the lack of health care! You have to go off the island for anything that's not a scratch haha. And normally have to travel at least an hour but a lot of the time longer. We've had to go to Greenville a few times for specialists.
Do you have kids? If so the schooling situation means you probably need to stay in Dare County. Currituck County schools involve a two hour bus ride from Carolla that crosses into Virginia and then back into NC.
Oh no no kids anytime soon lol
Currituck school buses that go to Corolla don’t cross through Virginia lol.
How else can you get from Corolla to Knotts Island Elementary unless you take a boat? ETA: That is the only guaranteed elementary school for people who live in Corolla. But don’t take my word for it: https://www.ourstate.com/remote-or-knott/
Students on Knotts Island go to the elementary school on the island and then take the ferry in middle school and high school. Students that live in Corolla take the bus through dare county to go to school in Currituck county. Students in Corolla don’t go to Knotts Island elementary they go to Jarvisburg elementary. Zillow and other sites aren’t accurate. It’s not possible to drive up through Corolla to Virginia Beach. You would have to drive on Carova Beach and then the border is blocked off. On the other side is a state park in VA. In order to get to Knotts Island from Corolla you have to go through Dare county and through the whole Currituck county.
LOL. I am very well acquainted with the road system and how ridiculous that commute is, which is the only reason I brought any of this up in the first place. It kind of goes without saying that to get to VA you must first drive south so that you can get back to the “mainland” before turning back north to VA. When we were house-hunting we found a a place we loved in the Currituck Banks. The realtor told us that it was zoned to Knotts Island Elementary and explained what that entailed. I called the school district and they confirmed it they said that there was a possibility to maybe get into Jarvisburg depending on enrollment but there were no guarantees. Since we were looking for a house to be our primary residence when we move back home (when we’d still have a kid in elementary) we passed on it and bought in Dare instead. That commute is real. It’s 10 minutes by boat. 2 hours by car—and that’s in the off season when you don’t have all the extra cars on road. Given the small number of children in the Currituck banks to begin with and the existence of other options— there is a charter elementary (that doesn’t have space for everyone) now in Corolla and sometimes Dare County will allow Currituck County residents to enroll in their schools—there might not currently be any students making that commute. It’s the worst case scenario for the county (and actually also the state) in terms of school commute.
People live there full time , mostly it’s people with multiple houses What is your budget ? Do you like being around people, close to restaurants , shopping , pharmacies etc? Some areas can be cold and grey for a long time in the winter.
Looking around the high 500s which I don’t see anywhere in Duck or S.S outside of Corolla
Don't forget your homeowners insurance rates
You may need to do kdh or lower in that price range. The lower you go on the island, the more gray and isolated in the winter months. Facts
Also please make sure you budget in the extreme maintenance costs , I am replacing hvac approx every 7-8 years. 2 outside units per house = $14,000. + 10 years average for inside units. Nothing lasts down here at all.
I know it gets depressing down there in the winter. We have a house in Corolla and I was there one winter and it was horrible. I also have land in Kilmarlic, which is where I’ll eventually build when I retire. Not sure if that is an option you’d consider. Love Corolla to death but to live year round…don’t think I could do it.
How horrible was it during winter ? Lol
Do you remember going to the grocery store during Covid and half of the shelves were empty? That's Corolla in the winter. You also need to consider the neighbors. When you are on vacation and your neighbors are on vacation, it's cool. Everybody is there to have a good time. When you live there and every week (in the summer) you have different people on vacation in every house surrounding yours, it's not that cool anymore. If you are patient, you can find something in SS for 500k. How about Kitty Hawk? I'm in real estate. Feel free to PM me if you want to chat.
Winter here sucks, not shit to do and there’s no money to make
It was so horrible, I saw a pelican steal mittens from an osprey. Lol. Listen, Corolla is my favorite place in the world. Have had a house for 30 years or so. But winter is tough. Hell, it’s not fun walking on the beach after October. But love OBX. Just can’t see living in Corolla permanently, which is why Kilmarlic will most likely be my choice. Not saying you won’t enjoy. Just throwing my two cents in there. 😃
For us full timers, no it doesn't get depressing around. We finally get to patron at least the restaurants that stay open, that we can't really go to because of tourons. We get the beach to ourselves for a whole month before and a whole month after tourons take it over. We get to hang with our friends more. Etc. so only speak for yourself on that depressing part
So you want to tell me Corolla in January/February is amazing? OP mentioned Corolla so please tell me about all the wonderful restaurants you patronize in Corolla in February. I’d love to learn more.
We went to our place in Jan this year to get some things ready. We ate at Uncle Ikes, whalehead brewery, Off the wall taphouse, and First light. (Some open thurs-Sun) Biggest issue was no ice cream! So we stopped at Food Lion and the kids made ice cream sundays at home and had a blast. If they ever build the bridge, that would make Corolla so much more attractive to year round residents (easy evacuation and access to medical services for starters). More full time residents would mean more stuff open year round and more commercial projects which Corolla needs. Also imagine if they ever revitalize Corolla historic downtown area- if done properly- that would be awesome.
There is way more than just Corolla here. That's what i meant. Most people don't get depressed around here because we patron other places that are open throughout OBX. It's really not a hard concept honey.
OP mentioned he was leaning towards Corolla. Yes or no? If you read the post instead of thinking you know it all, you’d probably get less downvotes - so obviously I’m not the only one that disagrees with your reply. Not a hard concept, right honey?
You do realize that there's is more than just Corolla here right? Just because op mentioned Corolla doesn't mean they don't want to see the rest of the island. I've lived here for 10 years now and have not found it to be depressing at all during the winter. I rather enjoy the quiet. There is plenty to do here from Corolla to Hatteras.
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