It Is All About the Water

When I was a real estate agent, it was never surprising to hear from people that they wanted to live on the water.  Even though I have given up real estate, I still get inquiries from people wanting to live on the water.

There is something universal that draws us to the water. I have been attracted to water for as long as I can remember. 

I know the symptoms well. In my case, I need to see the water soon after I get up each morning. For me that means a walk out on the dock behind my house or walking across the street to the Bluewater Cove boardwalk which traces the edge of Raymond's Gut as it flows into the White Oak River. 

That first look at the water each morning certainly does not cure me for the day, it normally just starts me thinking about how I can get on or in the water sometime during the day. Occasionally I have to make to do with no more than a trip across the bridge to Emerald Isle. 

Other times I am lucky and can take the boat or kayak out in the river or over to the Inlet. Sometimes I manage to go surf fishing, and then there are those late night swims which I enjoy so much. The water is one of the reasons we came to Carteret County. Figuring out how to get close to it is often the challenge aspiring residents face first.

When someone says that they want to be on or near the water, the natural response from someone in Carteret County is to say, "You have to be more specific than that, there is a lot of different kinds of water in this county."

That turns out to be the honest truth. We have kayak water, skiff water, big boat water, and of course we have modifiers like ocean, sound, and river. Then just for fun we can add marsh, Intracoastal, and canal.

Prices for waterfront property have come down considerably in the last few years, but it is still challenging to find inexpensive waterfront property that has access to good water and is suitable for homes.

One of the ways that many of us have solved the problem of being on or near the water is by finding a home in a water access community. Homes in water access communities often have deeded access to the water and enjoy a common area on the water. Some communities like Bluewater Cove have pools, docks, and boat ramps.

I have learned that having a number of people use an access point to a river is actually a good thing. Having more boats travel out an channel like Raymond's Gut at Bluewater Cove means that it has to be dredged less often. So it is often with a sense of duty that I drop my skiff into the water and ride out into the White Oak River just to help keep our channel clean.

There are a number of water access communities across Carteret County. Over on Emerald Isle we actually have beach access communities. There the communities often share beach access and other amenities like a pool. There are also communities on the sound which offer access to water.

There were a number of reasons why we chose Bluewater Cove, but the most important one was being near the water. As I said it is still all about the water.