Gee, that is discouraging if true. Maybe I better stay put here in KY around Mammoth Cave National Park. It is teeming with wildlife everywhere you look - deer, wild turkey, coyotes, fox and more and it's full of birds such as owls, woodpeckers, cardinals........................ I run there everyday and since no one around KY seems to be into fitness I pretty much have all the trails to myself.
I lived there a few years. It's got a lot going for it, with the beach, mountains, etc. Great place to settle down. If you want a more active city life, prob not the right place.
Raleigh and Charlotte are OK if you like the quiet life, nice people for the most part though there are an inoordinate number of religious fanatics of the white Baptist fundamentalist born again ilk. Not many good restaurants (forget ethnic places comprable to those we have in the NE) and high end cultural opportunities. Catamaran sailing on Pamlico sound/outer banks is a wonderful experience and the place is a national treasure that needs to be protected from the pig farmers of the area and you can rent a huge modern house ocean front on the outer banks for very little money but you had better be a good cook or bring your own. Big game fishing is awesome from the outterbanks when the Tuna and Mahi (they call them Doplphins) are running. Pinehurst is a golfers dream. Unfortunately I can't say anything positive (though could say many negative things) about the part of the state between Raleigh and New Bern so won't say anything about it. Oh and NC pulled pork BBQ sucks!
Is anyone in the Wilmington area? I was a Fixed Income trader but have been out of the game for the last two years. Starting to get a serious itch and would love to talk to some people in this area.