A "Back- Porch Lifestyle" Southport, N.C., offers a mix of coastal living and a small town price.
By MATTHEW RODRIGUEZ

RICHARD AND DIANE Sloan had already retired to Clemson, S.C. from Ohio, when they visited the small coastal town of Southport, N.C., in February 2004. But they quickly decided to move again.
The Sloans had traveled to a college baseball tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., but rain had caused some delays. So they drove up the coast, eventually stopping for lunch in Southport. The restaurant was near a waterfront park that overlooks the Cape Fear River and several islands. Ms. Sloan, age 62, recalls seeing the blue sky, blue water and seagulls.
"It was just lovely," she says. Along Howe Street, which is lined with small shops and large oak trees, the couple came upon a real-estate office. They went in before lunch out of curiosity and later that afternoon found themselves going back to make an offer on a house. "It was just the right thing to do," Ms. Sloan says.
Southport is one of a number of small towns in the Carolinas whose popularity is growing as older adults look beyond more traditional-and more crowded-retirement destinations along the Atlantic coast. While towns and cities like Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach and Charleston in South Carolina and Wilmington in North Carolina (about 30 miles north of Southport) continue to draw transplants, Southport and similar communities offer more elbow room and a slower pace.
"I guess you could call this a backporch lifestyle," says Terry Miller, 57, who retired to St. James Plantation, a golf community just outside Southport, from the Chicago area in 2003.

Grand Homes and Trees
Founded in 1792, Southport grew up beside a colonial military post, Fort Johnston. The town originally was named Smithville for a county landowner, says Patricia Kirkman, vice president of the Southport Historical Society. In 1887, the name was changed to Southport, with the intention of turning the site into a large shipping port. Instead, Southport became a fishing village, and Wilmington ended up with the port.
"We're very happy that we're not the port of the South right now," Mrs. Kirkman says.
From the late 1880s to about 1910, the area was a popular resort destination and saw the construction of a number of Victorian homes. Today, these grand homes and the shade trees that line the local streets are among the most prominent features in Southport. The town itself is bordered on one side by the Cape Fear River, just before it empties into the Atlantic Ocean, and on the other by the Intracoastal Waterway. Just across the Intracoastal sits Oak Island, with miles of white-sand beaches. Southport is a small downtown is a collection of antique shops, seafood restaurants and local businesses. The streets lead to the waterfront park, where fishermen and local residents mingle on, the pier and watch river pilot guide cargo ships to and from Wilmington.

Smaller is Better
Retirees have been settling in Southport for several years now, coming from Northeastern and Midwestern states such as New York, New Jersey and Ohio, as well as other parts of North Carolina. Some have settled in the town itself, buying up old homes and renovating them. Many have purchased lots and homes at nearby St. James Plantation. One refrain that seems to repeat itself among new arrivals is the idea that smaller is better.

"We would never consider retiring someplace big," says Kathy Miller, Terry''s wife. Ms. Miller, 64, who along with her husband worked in the pharmaceutical industry before retiring, says Southport reminds her of Derry, N.H., a small town where the couple once lived. Residents in both spots are open and friendly, she says - proof that "it's the people that make the town."
Mr. Miller, 57, who spends part of his time in Southport as a volunteer with the Coast Guard auxiliary, says the family sometimes vacationed in Myrtle Beach. That resort, along with Wilmington, satisfies many of the couple's cultural needs, Mr. Miller notes, but they decided to live in Southport.
"It's nothing like Myrtle Beach," he says, referring to that city's high-rise buildings and tourist attractions. Robert and Jean Conroy, who settled in Southport in 2003, echo the Millers' sentiments, saying their new home reminds them of small towns in the Northeast. Ms. Conroy likes to describe Southport as "Warwick South," a reference to the town of Warwick, N.Y., where the couple lived for 20 years.

But Has its Price
Of course, smaller also can mean fewer, as in fewer amenities. Southport isn't a college town. The nearest college is Brunswick Community College in Supply, N.C., about 20 miles away. Big-box stores and shopping malls, for better or worse, are few and far between. There's no J.C. Penney, no Border's Bookstore, no Gap. (There is a single movie theater.) Downtown also lacks a grocery store, something that's sorely needed," Ms. Sloan says.
There's a good-sized airport in Wilmington. But Mr. Conroy, the former New Yorker, says nonstop flights tend to be the exception rather than the rule. Jon Rosborough, director of Wilmington Internationai Airport, says the airport is seeking nonstop service to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando in Florida. Currently, he says, there are nonstop flights to Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Cincinnati, New York, Philadelphia and, on weekends, Washington, with nonstop flights to Bermuda due to start in March.
For most residents, issues like shopping and airport traffic are little more than blips on Southport''s radar. More pressing is the matter of growth. More than 1,200 homes have been built in St. James Plantation since 1991. The average price this year for a home in the community is about $495,000.
Residents and local officials say traffic also is a concern. Only one bridge, for instance, connects Southport to Oak Island and its ocean beaches. A second bridge is planned, but other needs remain.
"We're growing explosively," says May Moore, a Brunswick County commissioner. "The roads are just not keeping up." She notes that there is just one main street in and out of Southport, and establishing alternative routes is a priority.

On the Move
For the moment, the problems don't seem to be slowing the stream of older transplants. "Southport is not for everybody because it is a small town," says Dan Shiels, vice president at St. James Plantation. "But at the same time, you've got a real nice way of life."
Richard and Robin Singletary recently moved to Southport from New London, N.C. Mr. Singletary, 64, is a retired real-estate broker; Ms. Singletary still works in Wilmington. They have a houseboat and a pontoon boat.
As appealing as Wilmington can be, Ms. Singletary says the couple chose Southport because of its size and feel. "This is still like a small town," she says.
Just down the road, the Millers say family and friends are beginning to discover the area, as well. Close friends have moved into a home at St. James.
"You move to this place," Mr. Miller says, "and you get a lot of visitors."