Carolinas For Boomers

Guide to North and South Carolina Retirement Communities

The Top-Selling Carolina Communities of 2017

Three Carolina communities made the list of the 50 Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities of 2017.

That’s according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting who researches and compiles the list each year.

The #1 community on the list, The Villages in Florida, sold a whopping 2,231 new homes in 2017!

The Carolina communities that made the list did not sell nearly as many as that, but let’s take closer look at the ones that made the list and see how they fared.

Cane Bay Plantation (Charleston, SC) – #13 Overall, #1 in the Carolinas

With 584 new home sales last year, Cane Bay Plantation is a well established and growing community nestled in the heart of South Carolina’s Berkeley County – the fastest growing county in the state.

There are a number of builders to choose from in Cane Bay Plantation and a variety of neighborhoods as well.

Brunswick Forest (Wilmington, NC) – #33 Overall, #2 in the Carolinas

A longtime featured community on this site, the builders at Brunswick Forest recorded 395 new home sales in 2017.

Brunswick Forest has a wealth of amenities in place for residents to enjoy today, such as a top-rated golf course and some of the most diverse real estate offerings in eastern North Carolina.

Learn more about Brunswick Forest

Berewick (Charlotte, NC) – #38 Overall, #3 in the Carolinas

With 367 new homes sold in 2017, the focus at Berewick is on Family living.

Like most master-planned communities there are a variety of builders to choose from, but the main attractions are the community’s amenities, walking space, and green space. There’s even an elementary school within the community.

I always like remind people to keep in mind that “top-selling” does not always mean “best”.

Finding the best community for you is a very personal decision that you can only come to after plenty of research and time spent visiting a number of communities that seem like they may be a fit.

In addition to the above communities, be sure to check out the many Featured Communities on our site.

Also, if you are interested in communities in other states, you can see the entire top 50 list here.

The Refresh at Trilogy® Lake Norman

The Refresh is part of the Creekside Collection in Trilogy® Lake Norman, an exclusive resort community near Charlotte, NC.

It has roughly 1,900 sq. ft.of living area, but one of the great things about it is that it offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to how you want to customize it. For example, there is an option to add a loft, which brings the sq. footage to more than 2,500.

Let’s go inside and take a closer look.

Want to see all of the great floorplans as well as pricing for Trilogy® Lake Norman?

Get More Information About Trilogy® Lake Norman

At the front of the home, the Refresh has a guest bedroom…

As well as a den, which can also be turned into a 3rd bedroom…

Proceeding further into the Refresh you’ll reach what is really the heart and soul of this home, and that is this Kitchen, Dining, and Great Room area…

The kitchen definitely deserves a closer look, and here you go…

At the back of the Refresh is this master bedroom…

And last but not least, the master bath…

That’s one way to design this home, BUT Shea Homes offers several ways to customize it so you owe it to yourself to check out all the options available by requesting more information below.

Want to see all of the great floorplans as well as pricing for Trilogy® Lake Norman?

Get More Information About Trilogy® Lake Norman

Tis the Season to Visit Wilmington, NC

Public Beach access on Kure Beach on North Carolina’s Atlantic coast.

One of the many great things about living in Coastal North Carolina are all of the holiday festivals and events available to enjoy in the area.

Here are just a few of the events on tap for the next month:

November 24th & 25th, December 1st & 2nd, 8th-10th, & 13th-22nd – Enchanted Airlie
November 20th-December 31st – Cape Fear Festival of Trees
December 1st – Island of Lights Christmas Parade
December 2nd – Christmas by the Sea
December 2nd & 3rd – Old Wilmington By Candlelight
December 1st-3rd – Holiday Flea at the BAC
December 3rd & 4th – Jingle Bells Holiday Tea
December 1st & 2nd, 8th-10th, & 15th & 16th – A Merry Little Christmas Festival
December 9th – Christmas Stroll through the Past
December 8th-17th – A Christmas Story The Musical
December 31st – New Year’s Eve Soiree on the River

One of the best ways to visit and experience some of these great events is to take part in Brunswick Forest’s Coastal Discovery Package, which gives you a 3 day-2 night stay with VIP tour of Brunswick Forest and the Wilmington area.

Brunswick Forest is just 10 minutes from historic downtown Wilmington, NC, and within 30 minutes of pristine beaches—yet set apart on 4,500 heavily wooded acres containing parks, nature trails and creeks. It includes a wealth of amenities in place for residents to enjoy today, such as a top-rated golf course and some of the most diverse real estate offerings in eastern North Carolina. From upscale links-side estates to low-maintenance patio homes, this coastal North Carolina community has something for everyone – whether you’re looking to get in on the action or get away from it all. There’s also a vibrant town center that offers convenient shopping, dining and access to medical and other important services.

Premier Home Sites are available from the $70s and Elegant Homes are priced from the mid $200s.

Request More Information

US News & World Report Best Places to Retire in the Carolinas

Let’s face it, “best places to retire” lists are a dime a dozen.

Everybody’s got one, but somehow, I think that’s a good thing.

While each list is different because they use different data to come to their conclusions, it’s great to check them all out because they can bring different places to your attention.

To come up with their best places to retire list, U.S. News & World Report analyzed data for the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the USA to assess how well they meet Americans’ retirement needs and expectations.

Top criteria include the happiness of local residents, housing affordability, tax rates and healthcare quality.

Here are the places in the Carolinas that made the list, and a snippet of what they said about each place:

#13: Greenville, SC

“Greenville encompasses big-city amenities without attracting the same unpleasantries that come with a more populated, urban metro area. The 10-block stretch of Main Street is lined with a variety of boutiques, restaurants, businesses and bars.”

#17: Raleigh-Durham, NC

“Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill also encompass beautiful green spaces, family-friendly museums and a growing art and music scene defined by monthly gallery walks, summer concerts and music festivals like Hopscotch.”

See Also: Retirement Spotlight: Durham, NC

#18: Charleston, SC

“Its unique brand of Southern style shines in the bespoke boutiques that line downtown’s King Street, while Southern hospitality radiates from the award-winning dining establishments.”

#22: Charlotte, NC

“You’ll still hear “y’all” dropped into casual conversation, but Charlotte is a metro area on the rise, and has its own culture, culinary sophistication and unique feel that’s making it a more enticing place for people from all over the world to settle down.”

See Also: Retirement Spotlight: Charlotte, NC

#43: Greensboro, NC

“Greensboro, North Carolina, is one of those places that’s big enough to have everything you need, but small enough for you to regularly bump into people you know.”

#57: Winston-Salem

“This slow-and-steady growth has preserved the region’s small-town feel while allowing for improvements like repurposing the old textile and tobacco factories into loft apartment spaces, and building the new $48.7 million baseball park downtown.”

#82: Columbia, SC

“Columbia’s population of nearly 800,000 is small enough that traffic is relatively mild and the streets are rarely overcrowded, but large enough to support trendy shops, cafes, bars and other businesses that make urban life enjoyable.”

You might be surprised to see seven Carolina cities made the US News & World Report Best Places to Retire list, but keep in mind they studied metropolitan areas, not just cities by themselves.

That said, if the Carolinas is not your only consideration, their list gives you a bunch of other options to consider.

You can see the full list here.

The Meadows Neighborhood Now Open at Woodside

Woodside, a master-planned Southern Living Inspired Community located in Aiken, SC, recently hosted the official ribbon cutting ceremony for The Meadows park and its newest model home there, The Berkshire.

With live music and a beautiful sunset in the background, Woodside residents came together to toast their “Meadows Mojitos” to the newest community offerings.

The Meadows neighborhood is the newest addition to Woodside. Residents enjoy the quiet reprieve of the wooded home sites in The Meadows, several of which offer lovely views of the pristine and lushly landscaped Meadows Park.

The park, which features a lighted walking path, rustic picnic pavilion for community gatherings, and brick fire pit with seating, includes a variety of verdant plants from the Southern Living Plant Collection.

Adjacent to the neighborhood is a community flower gardening area with a delightful garden shed constructed from the Southern Living House Plan Collection as its focal point.

The Meadows offers four unique home plans designed in collaboration with John Tee, an Atlanta, GA architect with extensive Southern Living home plan design experience, and constructed by Carolina Signature Homes, a member of the Southern Living Custom Builder Program.

The Berkshire

One such plan, The Berkshire, has recently been built as a model home that you must see to believe!

Be sure to plan your Woodside visit today to come and explore both The Meadows Park and The Berkshire, a 2,157 square foot model home with land included for under $345,000.

Want more information about Woodside?

Get more information about Woodside