Downtown vs Coast- where to stay?

Hi everyone! A few friends and I are coming to Wilmington near the end of July and are debating on where to stay. We are all mid 20s and plan on going out to the bars at night, but I need some recommendations on where to stay!

Half of the group wants to stay on the beach but prices are obviously way higher and I’ve heard downtown has more of a nightlife scene (correct me if I’m wrong!) and I’m sure that uber would cost us a pretty penny every night if we did decide to stay on the coast.

What area would you recommend staying in? I will have my car to drive to the beach if needed, but I don’t want to be DD when we go out at night. Is there a good bar scene on the coast?

Bar/club recommendations are welcomed as well!

Apologies if this has been posted already- I took a look around for a but but didn’t quite find what I was looking for.

Thanks in advance!