If you’re thinking of moving to the Outer Banks, consider investigating Martin’s Point, a wonderful year-round community.  It’s comprised primarily of families raising children, retirees, and second homes, it's a great place to live ... 

Martin’s Point Background

Martin’s Point is a gated community located approximately 1 mile south of the Wright Memorial Bridge in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  It is located within Dare County, near the towns of Kitty Hawk and Southern Shores.  The community has 379 properties, on which approximately 300 custom homes have been built to date.

Martin’s Point is a 335 acre peninsula oriented north-south.  It has a total of over 5 miles of water frontage, on the west to the Currituck Sound, and on the east to a part of the sound commonly called Ginguite Creek.  Approximately 225 properties are on the waterfront, and the majority of these have a dock for easy access to the water.  The community also has a marina with 12 slips, where residents can dock their boat at the pier or store it on its trailer.  The water in the Currituck Sound is generally calm, and Ginguite Creek is calmer still, with water-skiing being a popular past-time in the summer.  Most houses are oriented east-west, allowing beautiful North Carolina sunrises and sunsets to be enjoyed in Martin’s Point.

The landscape architecture within Martin’s Point reflects an attempt to retain the natural character of the native trees and shrubs, while also accommodating the custom homes in the community.  The neighborhood features relatively large ponds in the interior, which attract geese, ducks, and other water birds year-round.  The ponds have fish in them and casual fishing is allowed. 

Construction standards have been put in place and designs are reviewed by an Architectural Control Committee.  The roads are private, and guests must check in with the guard at the front gate (24 hours).  The homeowner’s association maintains the roads and much of the common areas.

Most of the homes in Martin’s Point are occupied by families, empty nesters, retirees, or are second homes.  Unlike most communities on the Outer Banks, no weekly rentals are allowed in Martin’s Point.  The Outer Banks has approximately 35,000 year-round residents, which swells to over 250,000 at some points in the summer.  This has little effect inside Martin’s Point.

The community’s location brings it within a few miles of Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Food Lion, and a variety of shops and restaurants.  A short drive further makes other stores such as Harris Teeter, Belk, RC Theaters 10, and Tanger Outlet Center available.  Year-round residents are fortunate to have a service infrastructure sized for a large summer population.  For the nine off-season months of the year, a person can shop at a major retail store such as the Home Depot, and be one of only a few people in line!  Quite a change compared to many of the communities from which our residents have moved.

There are numerous golf and country clubs in the area, including Duck Woods Country Club (approximately 4 miles) and others within a short drive such as the Carolina Club, the Currituck Club, Goose Creek, Holly Ridge, Kilmarlic, Nags Head Golf Links, The Pointe, and Sea Scape Golf Links.

Other area attractions include the Wright Brothers National Monument (where the first powered airplane flight took place in 1903), Jockey’s Ridge State Park (where hang-gliding is taught among the largest natural sand dunes on the east coast), and the Roanoke Island Aquarium (cited by USA Today as one of the 10 great aquariums in the country).

It’s Family Friendly in Martin’s Point.

Martin’s Point is a wonderful place to raise a family.  Parents have the security of a gated community, and traffic is minimal.  It’s easy to learn to ride a bike or roller-blade around the neighborhood.  There are two playgrounds for children, one in the post office area and one by the marina.

The community utilizes the Dare County public school system, including Kitty Hawk Elementary (K-5), First Flight Middle School (6-8) and First Flight High School (9-12).  Kitty Hawk Elementary is less than 3 miles away, while the First Flight Schools are approximately 8 miles away.  For added convenience, there are two school bus stops within Martin’s Point, one at the post office area and one at the marina.  The schools are highly regarded, and Kitty Hawk Elementary is a “school of distinction”, which brings it to the top 10% of elementary schools in the state.  The schools can be reviewed on the Dare County website at www.dare.k12.nc.us and at www.ncreportcards.org.

In addition, there are numerous higher education opportunities in the area, including several junior colleges, and campuses of the College of the Albermarle.  Several Division 1 colleges are within a few hours drive, including Duke, NC State, UNC, UVA, Virginia Tech, and William & Mary.  Job opportunities for graduates that want to stay in North Carolina are plentiful, including in Charlotte (a growing financial hub and home of Bank of America and Wachovia Bank), and in Raleigh (including numerous exciting new companies in the Research Triangle Park area).

Dare County Parks and Recreation offers ongoing sports and activities for children, including sports leagues that rotate through soccer, football, basketball, wrestling and baseball.  The YMCA is approximately 10 miles from Martin’s Point, and it features numerous activities including swimming lessons, racquetball, an outdoor skate park, and an outdoor pool and dive area (in season).  There are several golf and country clubs for learning golf and tennis.

And of course, the Outer Banks has the ocean on one side and the sound on the other!  This means a wide array of sports to learn and leisure activities to enjoy, including boating, boogie boarding, crabbing, fishing, kayaking, sailing, surfing, swimming, water-skiing, windsurfing, and all the other fun associated with being on the water. 

Martin’s Point is a Great Place to Retire.

Martin’s Point enjoys a relaxed lifestyle, away from the hustle of the big city, but still located within easy access of a wide array of services.  Residents enjoy the security of being in a gated community, and because there is minimal traffic, it’s easy to walk or bicycle throughout the beautiful neighborhood.  The community is only a few miles from various beaches, but insulated from the coming and going of visiting beach-goers.  Residents enjoy easy access to the Albermarle Sound, either out their own dock in their backyard, or through the marina.  For those that enjoy traveling, Martin’s Point is about 70 miles from Norfolk International Airport.  Ticket prices tend to be competitive, since the airport is a hub for Southwest Airlines.

Health care is easily accessible at the Outer Banks Hospital (approximately 10 miles away), along with a wide variety of health care specialists.  Urgent care is available at Beach Medical, about 3 miles away.  For seniors living alone, we’ve instituted an Outreach program, where volunteers keep in touch daily to see if there is anything needed.  Many residents enjoy socializing through the Yacht Club, and other informal clubs including the kayaking club and the knitting club.  There are numerous local shops, restaurants, golf and country clubs, and lots of activities to keep a person as busy as they want to be.  Residents typically keep their guest rooms ready, because family always likes to come visit the Outer Banks!

Numerous people are retiring to North Carolina, both from the north, as well as moving back up from Florida.  Many of our residents have investigated other waterfront North Carolina towns such as Beaufort, Edenton, Elizabeth City, Oriental and Wilmington.  Many concluded that the Outer Banks has the best combination of location, services, and activities.  And within the Outer Banks, Martin’s Point is a great place to retire.

A Second Home to Relax in.

Martin’s Point is located approximately 270 miles south of Washington DC, 170 miles south of Richmond, and approximately 70 miles south of Norfolk.  It is the first stop light after the Wright Memorial Bridge, so there isn’t a lot of Outer Banks summertime traffic to think about.   With its natural beauty, relaxation, and a wide variety of area activities to choose from, Martin’s Point is a great getaway from the hectic life of the big city.

More Information

If you’d like more information or would like to visit our community, please go to the website www.martinspointhoa.org.