RAMSEY CREEK BEACH FIRST OPENED IN 2016

June 17. By Dave Yochum. Cornelius and Davidson have made it into the Top 10 of WalletHub’s best lake/beach towns. No. 1 was Traverse City, Mich. Cornelius came in at No. 5 and Davidson at No. 10. Further down the list were Burlington, Vt. (No. 21) and Plattsburgh, NY (No. 25).

Living by the water is a dream for many Americans, with waterfront communities representing a sweet way of life.

Both Cornelius and Davidson can be expensive addresses, but prices are often less expensive than ocean beach towns, which WalletHub also analyzed. To view the WalletHub study, click here.

Oddly enough, there were no North Carolina beach towns in the Top 20 US beach towns, but North Myrtle Beach, SC, came in at No. 13 on the ocean beach list and Myrtle Beach came in at No. 20.

The lake beach and ocean beach lists, which were developed using the same methodology, were based on scores in areas such as:

Affordability: Housing costs, taxes, flood insurance costs

Weather: Water temp, flood risk, disasters since 1953

Safety: Walkability, crime, lifeguards per capita

Quality of life: Commute time, nightlife, festivals

…and beaches per capita. Cornelius has one—Ramsey Creek Beach—and Davidson, well, not so much. There is a beach at the YMCA and a public launch off Delburg.

The four-year-old beach at Ramsey Creek is closed indefinitely due to COVID-19.

Boat ramps

Boat ramps at Ramsey Creek Park and Blythe Landing make Lake Norman more accessible, but one has to be able to afford a boat or PWC, a trailer and a tow-worthy vehicle. The waterfront areas at Jetton Park are not open to swimming.

Carefree Boat Club and marinas like Crown Harbor and Holiday make the lake more accessible as well, but you still have to pay the freight, so to speak.

Nevertheless, WalletHub says few people realize their dream of living by the water, precisely because of the “misconception that beach towns are relatively more expensive and generally less livable than landlocked cities.”

Their nationwide survey says many beach towns are suitable to everyday life — and easy on the wallet.

Beaches across the U.S. are closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to avoid spreading the disease in crowded conditions, the first people to get access again were local residents.

There is also a county-wide shortage of lifeguards that affects the ability of Ramsey Creek beach to open,

Many states temporarily banned short-term rentals, with further limited outsiders’ access to beaches.