Spending an afternoon or night – or even a half hour – in this perfect, Necco Wafer–colored tiny town will make you feel like you've stumbled onto a movie set. Which, in fact, you will have done, as Seaside served as the on-location set for the 1998 movie The Truman Show, which was about an unwitting star in a popular reality TV show who lived in an annoyingly perfect place. And though the real place is pretty ideal – with street names like Cinderella Circle and Dreamland Heights – it's really not annoying. Famed and lauded as the country's first planned community, it was created in 1981 with input from a range of accomplished architects, and has been hailed as a model for New Urbanism. But instead of taking off as a year-round place to live, it has become an almost totally seasonal community, providing the second, summer homes for folks who live in other parts of the South.
If you come in the off-season (before April), it'll seem even more surreal than usual – if you go for an evening stroll, you may be the only one on the streets. In season, though, folks will be out in force, and really are incredibly friendly – in a genuine way. There's a hip book and music shop Sundog Books , carrying great literature and very cool tracks, plus a handful of excellent eateries, art galleries and an absolutely gorgeous beach. The grassy town square is a great spot to just sit and people-watch – many days a group of vintage silver Airstream trailers forms a temporary food court in the center of town, selling everything from cupcakes to juices.
