Moonchild:

Since NC is a possible choice for you, here are some more details on the area where I've lived for the last 25 years.

I live in central NC (Chapel Hill), and the more I travel the more I like it here. Beautiful rolling hills, lots of rural character(s), 2.5 hours from both the most beautiful beaches on the East Coast and from the ancient Appalachian mountains. Three world-renowned universities plus many smaller schools feed a constant turnover of diverse people and cultural events. Research Triangle Park is home to major cutting-edge technological and pharmaceutical players, and also attracts a huge number of non-natives, thus creating the market for low airfares, great and varied restaurants, entertainment, etc. that aren't typical of the rest of NC or the South in general. The economy is booming here so unemployment is practically non-existent--a real employee's market! Meaning you can write your own ticket if you have even halfway decent skills. Definitely four distinct seasons here, with mild winters. (We usually wear shorts until almost Christmastime. Some of the far Northerners, like Michiganers, wear shorts throughout the winter!) Summers are hot and humid, with occasional cool breaks, but that's why the central lakes, ocean and mountains are so close by. Some of my family is from around your area, and it's definitely better here than the swampland down there. Because we're in a temperate rainforest, your summer garden can feed you for months. As to music, let me just mention a few names: John Coltrane, Doc Watson, Libba Cotten, George Clinton, Blind Boy Fuller, James Taylor, Rev. Gary Davis, and Thelonious Monk. I could mention many more native North Carolinians who have gone on to musical fame, but you'll have more fun looking them up. (These are just my personal faves.)Suffice to say the music here is all people had for a long, long time and it permeates the air and soil everywhere. Timeless songs from isolated mountain folk that are that primordial blend of 18th c. Scots/Irish and black blues, with their modal keys, weird time signatures, and mournful fatalism, which begat all the rest of American music. The Highland Games every summer, MerleFest every spring, and the Bull City Blues Festival every fall are just 3 of the biggest and most well-known trad. music events in the state. But probably only a personal visit will decide you on where to move. I visit the Boone area frequently and I know the cost of living up there is laughable--unbelievably cheap housing and land. The downside is that the job market in the mountains is pretty limited, which is why runnin' moonshine is still a mainstay for many families, along with the more recently established Xmas tree industry. Hope this info helps--let me know if you have questions.

100eyes