A 50/70 Package Deal

Families Relocate from New York to North Carolina

Welcome to “Zucker South.” With relatives who already lived in coastal North Carolina, Doug and Jasmine Zucker knew they wanted to make a change. In their early 50s with two sons now in college and a 12-year-old daughter, the Zuckers were ready to move south from Westchester, NY, for many reasons. They wanted to change their lifestyle, live near the beach, and provide a different learning experience for their daughter. An added benefit would be downsizing financially. They also wanted to bring Doug’s parents who are in their 70s along with them. It was a “50/70 package deal.”

Doug’s cousin (also named Doug Zucker) who along with his wife, Susan, lives in St. James and owns and operates Bridgewater Wines, suggested that they attend an Ideal-LIVING Resort & Retirement Show in Stamford, CT. They were ready to make the move to Wilmington and decided to take advantage of a discovery package at Brunswick Forest where they stayed in a Charleston-style townhouse and were able to experience life before they purchased. Doug said, “It was nice to walk around and feel like we lived there.” It was so nice, in fact, they brought Doug’s parents down for a second discovery weekend, when they both purchased homes just four houses away from each other that back up to a nature preserve.

Their home in Banyan Bay, an enclave of 28 homes in the 4,500-acre master-planned community of Brunswick Forest, has four bedrooms plus an office that allows space for their guests. Jasmine’s parents from Austria recently stayed for a few months with them. This happened to be one of their favorite trips to the U.S. as they were impressed with the welcoming environment of the community.

While they do miss some things about their life in New York, life in Brunswick Forest is pretty idyllic for the Zucker family. Not to mention that their taxes are now one tenth of what they were in NY. Not yet retired, Doug still operates a wealth management firm, Trusted Advisors Corp., from his home office in Brunswick Forest and maintains an office in NYC, and Jasmine was able to relocate with Wells Fargo. They are much more active and are outside a lot more than in NY. Doug is an avid pickleball player and Jasmine enjoys a cooking class and is involved in a crochet club. The family spends a lot of time walking around the community and their daughter loves to be able to go four doors down to her grandparents house.

One of their favorite things about living in the Banyan Bay neighborhood is the people and the monthly house parties. As Jasmine is Austrian, they hosted a traditional Oktoberfest with sausage and German beer kegs from Bridgewater Wines.

Brunswick Forest is only a few minutes from the historic district in downtown Wilmington with all of its restaurants and activities. They recently saw a traveling Broadway show at Thalian Hall in downtown Wilmington for $35. Doug says, “It kind of feels like a college student going on spring break all of the time.”

It's so easy to get on a plane in Wilmington. Doug says, “It’s very easy and inexpensive to fly back to Manhattan. You can literally drive up to the airport and park in the front row at ILM, then catch a direct flight to Laguardia, and be in the city for a $30 taxi ride.”

“My wife and I have been very fortunate to have lived in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, in Westchester, and even in Spain, for a while. But, now, living in Brunswick Forest is wonderful!”