pine_knoll_shores

PINE KNOLL SHORES — Niche.com has named Pine Knoll Shores the top place for retirees in North Carolina and tabbed Emerald Isle as eighth best.

The company said Pine Knoll Shores “is nestled on the ocean side and Bogue Sound side of (Bogue Banks), “combining for a secluded beach experience. The Crystal Coast Country Club is a golfers’ paradise, and there is easy public beach access through a series of designated walkways.”

PKS Town Manager Brian Kramer said, “The secret is out. Now everyone else knows what the people in PKS have known for decades: It’s the best place in the world to retire.”

The town will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2023, and the permanent population this year is estimated at about 1,400.

But Kramer said numbers and demographics “don’t speak to the greatest reason people want to retire here, and that is relationships, be it with neighbors, colleagues in volunteer organizations in the town and throughout Carteret County, church groups, golf/tennis/fishing friends or the legions of dog walkers. 

“The town received this honor, quite simply, because it is the best place to retire,” he continued. “I think the town attracts people who want to live right: they want a quieter lifestyle, yet they want to be active in their community. Pine Knoll Shores is the ideal place to do this.”

He said the 2020 complete census figures for municipalities are not out yet, so he couldn’t say the percentage of the town’s population made up of retirees. But everyone knows it’s a high percentage, with many retirees from the military and from major corporations elsewhere.

The N.C. Demographics website says that in 2020 the median age was 64.

“We’re the best place in NC to retire,” PKS Mayor John Brodman said in an email. “I have no idea what the veracity of this is, but it’s still cool.”

Other websites citing best places to retire in North Carolina list much larger cities and towns, such as Asheville, Charlotte and Raleigh, along with smaller, predominantly coastal and mountain towns.

Of Emerald Isle, Niche.com said, “The town features 12 miles of pristine shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean and Bogue Inlet. You’ll find a disc golf course, dock, shoreline, and forest trails, and part of the North Carolina Birding Trail.”

The N.C. Demographics website says the median age in Emerald…