I have lived in NC for 30 years now. 8yrs in the Mtn area west of Asheville and the rest in the Charlotte Area. Charlotte has it’s good and bad. It has changed a ton since I first moved here. If you are going to move in the Charlotte area I suggest you look to the outskirts of Mecklenburg Co or possibly the Union Co area or the Northern area of Charlotte around Lake Norman/Huntersville. Schools are good and a ton of private school options to pick from in the Greater Charlotte area. People complain about the taxes going up around here but my inlaws (who all live in New York) say we NC folks should just keep our mouths shut about taxes. I like the Mtns but Asheville does not appeal to me at all. If you have school aged kids look into the schools pretty hard, in the Mtn area it can get spotty. The roads around Asheville are good for riding as mentioned but the town is to Hippie feeling for me. Maybe that’s what you want. Another area to consider IMO is the Winston Salem/Tanglewood area. It reminds me of what Charlotte was years ago. My absolute favorite area is around the North Wilkesboro in Wilkes Co. Rural mostly with lots of hills and close to I-77 for commute to Charlotte area. Living in the piedmont area of NC has the advantage of easy driving to the beaches or the Mtns. From a Real Estate standpoint things are still going fairly well in the greater Charlotte area. It has slowed down some but there is still a ton of money coming into this area. If you like the “university atmosphere” style of living just head rite up the road to the Triad of Raliegh/Durham/Chapel Hill. Good luck with everything and I hope you really like ACC Basketball and Nascar.