Joe Wedra – JMC

The Oyster Pointe community takes their friendships seriously.

In the small but thriving neighborhood in Calabash, neighbors are more than faces seen once a week picking up their garbage cans. They are more than strangers in vehicles, and they certainly receive more than a “head nod” as they pass by.

The Brunswick County neighborhood is known for its community-centered environment and “old-school” feel. 

At least, that’s what its residents say.

Timothy Walker, one of the roughly dozen homeowners in the small, coastal North Carolina community, says the neighborhood he lives in is unlike any other he’s experienced before.

“Everyone knows everyone,” Walker said. “And a lot of people say that, of course. But with us, it’s the truth. And it probably doesn’t even cover how much we know each other. We spend almost every night outside with each other.

“We’re essentially a massive cul de sac, so the place really lends to being outside just like they were back in the day and being in community with your neighbors. But, we’ve all just bought into it and really enjoy each other’s company. There’s always something going on here.”

Walker isn’t kidding.

The small street almost operates like a social club. They don’t have an HOA, and they don’t need one. Some nights, they’ll set up a speaker and jam out to 1970s rock while sipping on cold beverages. Other nights, neighbors can be seen playing corn hole in the middle of the street. And on special nights, the chefs of the group fire up their grills and provide everyone with an “Oyster Pointe Feast”.

Maria Winters, who lives in the most colorful house on the block — both in paint shade and exterior decorations — is one of those who enjoys time on the grill.

For Winters, cooking is a way to connect.

“I have always loved to cook, so when I found a group of people who wanted to eat my cooking, they didn’t have to convince me very much,” Winters joked. “No, but in all seriousness, this is my passion. I always dreamt that in my retirement, I would be able to find friends who liked to do the same things as me.”

Winters certainly has found those friends. 

They even share the same, obscure hobbies that she does.

“Cooking and being outside isn’t the only way we connect, either,” she said. “You should see my craft room. It’s the talk of the town.”

Whether through Tuesday craft club, Thursday pinochle night or Saturday night music sessions, Oyster Pointe has a lively community. And in a world where neighborhood connection can thought of as a thing of the past, this group believes there’s still a place for small-town neighborly fun.

Renee Smith is the newest member of the group, having just recently moved from New Jersey to retire from the Carolinas. Smith thought she was moving to a beach community with plenty of activities and sunshine to soak up.

She didn’t know that moving into the Oyster Pointe community meant being ushered into an active, lively and caring social club.

“I remember the first week I moved in, multiple people knocked on my door to introduce themselves to me,” Smith said. “And that’s not me. That’s not me. That’s just not me. I am not a social butterfly, and at first I didn’t quite know how to explain that this whole conversing thing wasn’t for me…

“But over the past few months, they have sold me. They have sold me.”

Over the summer, it’s not uncommon to hear the group’s cul de sac parties from further than you can see them. 

But that doesn’t seem to bother any of the neighbors who aren’t regulars to the fun.

“We have some folks who don’t always come out to be with us regularly, but even those folks are friendly and really great friends. They are really, really great friends,” Walker said. “They aren’t as social as we are, but they have told us that they love the fact that our community is so close and so tight-knit. And of course, that makes us feel special. It really does.”

The Oyster Pointe community doesn’t know what the coming months and years will hold, but they all hope their friendship will last. 

And through neighborly connection and love, they think their relationships have a good chance of sticking.

“This is what life is all about,” Winters said. “This is the good life.”