I grew up there. It is very dirty although I do believe they have cleaned up the needles (that occurred when I was young but you can Google it to see if they are still having an issue). I loved the beaches on the Outter Banks. Very clean and not so crowded. Also a great place to really sink into some culture and at the same time have a nice family vacation (and much cheaper as well) is Rhode Island. Don t go without stopping for their crab cakes, they are like no other! Have fun :)
im planing to open a restaurant there