Roanoke Island Lifestyle

Life on Roanoke Island has never been more exciting and as the year-round community continues to grow here, there is a lot more this charming island has to offer than just its proximity to beautiful beaches and waterways. Here, history and beauty meet. Opportunity and prosperity go hand and hand. Entertainment, charming restaurants and window shopping are plentiful. Indoor and outdoor recreation abound. And higher education, first-class medical care and government are at its core.

Roanoke Island, once called by early explorers “the goodliest land under the cope of heaven”, is located west of Nags Head on U.S. 64 and holds the county seat of Manteo, which wraps around Shallowbag Bay on the eastern side of the island. Roanoke Island has come a long way over the years and has numerous opportunities to offer both residents and visitors.

Medical Care

Roanoke Island and the Outer Banks, despite its rural location, now have state-of-the-art medical facilities at the Outer Banks Hospital and surrounding area, including the University of North Carolina’s Cancer Outreach Program.

Recreation

Aside from the numerous outdoor recreational opportunities, Roanoke Island is now home to the Dare County Center. A multi-generational facility that provides programs and activities for all county residents, the center includes a fitness room, arts and crafts room, media center, kitchen, dining room, multi-purpose room, stage, activity room and classrooms. It provides a large array of programs featuring arts and crafts, cooking, theater, health and wellness, family fun, estate planning, technology and tax and Medicaid assistance. Just over the bridge in Nags Head, the Outer Banks Family YMCA offers an indoor and outdoor pool and a long list of programs as well.

History and Entertainment

As the home to the first English-speaking colony, the island is rich with history to say the least. The Lost Colony, now in its 73rd season at the historic Waterside Theatre, tells the mystery of the first English colony that vanished without a trace. More history can be explored at the adjoining Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.

Visitors can cross the bridge in downtown Manteo to Roanoke Island Festival Park, a 25-acre island where there is something for everyone and is open year round. Here is the home of the Elizabeth II, the 16th century sailing vessel that visitors can explore and interact with sailors dressed in traditional 16th century clothing.

Check the schedule at the park’s outdoor Pavilion, the Film Theater and the Auditorium for dance and musical performances, drama and other events. The Roanoke Adventure Museum offers hands-on exhibits where visitors can experience life on the Outer Banks 400 years ago. The Gallery regularly features art exhibits and performances. The Settlement Site and the Museum Store are also can’t-miss features of the park.

In downtown Manteo, peek into The North Carolina Maritime Museum, a “teaching museum” where boats important to the area’s economy and history are restored, rebuilt and constructed. And don’t forget to visit the nearby Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse.

Other Roanoke Island treasures include The Elizabethan Gardens and the North Carolina Aquarium. The 68,000-square-foot aquarium is home to hundreds of animals found in North Carolina’s diverse aquatic environments. It is also home to the state’s largest ocean tank.

The Elizabethan Gardens, adjacent to the Lost Colony waterside theater and the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, has been opened since 1951 and is a living memorial to the English Colonists. Beauty abounds at this special American Garden during all four seasons. A 16th century-style gazebo overlooking the Roanoke Sound, a marble statue of Virginia Dare and a 400-year-old live oak are some of the highlights of the garden.

New to Roanoke Island this year is Island Farm, which interprets daily life on the island in the mid-1800s. It features the Etheridge farmstead and visitors can explore other buildings such as the farmhouse, a reconstructed slave cabin, outhouse, cookhouse, smokehouse, dairy, barns, chicken coop, corn crib and blacksmith shop. Visitors can enjoy watching sheep, a cow and horse graze in the farm’s pastures.

Higher Education

The Dare County campus of The College of the Albemarle is always growing and offers courses and enrichment programs for every age, from young children to retirees. COA has a student body of approximately 800 seeking certificates, diplomas or two-year degrees. About 1,500 students take advantage of the continuing education, basic skills and small business programs every semester.

The campus has three specialty programs: marine sciences, professional jewelry-making and professional pottery. The jewelry and pottery studios are located in the newly renovated state-of-the-art Professional Arts Building on Roanoke Island. The building also houses HVAC, welding, boat-building and carpentry, painting and drawing, a student art gallery, a professional art gallery, two classrooms and a computer lab.

The college is home to the state-of-the-art Diane Baum St. Clair Technology Education Center and also offers courses in basic law enforcement, certified nursing, HVAC, boat building, electrical, small engine repair, carpentry and computers.

An exciting new project is underway on Roanoke Island as well, which is bound to add to the quality of life of an already rich community. The University of North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute is slated to open in September of 2012 and will be built in Skyco on a 200-acre piece of property off N.C. 345. The $30 million campus will have a research building and marine services building, two dormitories, a boat storage building, boat slips and parking. The campus is expected to have a staff or 60 employees and serve 120 students.

Dare County Regional Airport

The airport, located on the waterfront near the North Carolina Aquarium, was built in 1986 and includes such amenities as car rentals, a pilot weather and flight planning room, restrooms and showers, cable television, a pilot’s lounge, refreshments, a conference room and a museum. It employs 46 people and has an annual economic impact to Dare County of $25.3 million.

For More Information:

• About Croatan Woods
• Site Plan & Pricing
• Roanoke Island Lifestyle
• 10 Good Reasons to live in Croatan Woods
• Contact Us

Contact:
Bettie Blanchard
Associate Broker
Village Realty, Nags Head
5301 S Croatan Highway
Nags Head, NC 27959

Email: Bettie Blanchard
Office: 252-480-4747
Cell: 252-305-9371
Fax: 252-449-9260

Village Realty
252-480-2224 | 1-800-548-9688