I have family in the Raleigh-Durham, Garner area (the triangle)---Raleigh was voted one of the best places to live a few yrs ago), thing is, if you make money, it can go a long way down there. But if you have kids, put them in private school, NC's public schools are notoriously bad (sorry folks). I like the quietness of the OBX and going to Kittyhawk or the Indian Reservation. You can find a lot of educated, refined chica chicas there due to UNC, Duke, NC State, and other small colleges...
Then you have the pillheads and methheads---stay away from certain "sectors".