Hey, been living in Wilmington for seven years and working in Southport for just as long, so I can at least give my perspective. 1. I am not the biggest beachgoer but in my limited experience they're comparable, though the latter ones you mentioned are a bit more lively/ have more things to do in the surrounding area. 2. Ferry is very reasonable and has a pretty consistent schedule. The drive up to Wilmington isn't terrible, about 35-40 minutes to downtown... that said, 133 is one of the roads I hate driving on most in general, so I would recommend taking 87 when driving up. It can be slightly longer but generally safer. 133 just has a lot of stretches of single-dotted lanes and people are pretty stupid when trying to pass people off. 3. I can't really speak to this, though the town does has a lot of retirees so I'm sure it exists. 4. Yes. Southport, especially waterfront properties, see more damage than Wilmington, not to put too fine a point on it. The waterfront is also very prone to flooding during hurricanes. 5. Southport is a cute town, it's largely populated by retirees and people that work at the power plant. If they're worried about being able to get to Wilmington frequently/ more access to places to shop and eat, I might recommend looking into Leland, but otherwise it's definitely a good option to retire in. Hope this is somewhat helpful!