HH6 and I have been talking a bit about where we'd like to live when she retires in 5-ish years and we keep coming back to North Carolina so I'm curious if anyone here who's in the western part of the state around Asheville could offer some thoughts. She told me N.C. doesn't tax military pensions so that's a big plus and it's not a zillion degrees there like it is in Florida where she's from (FL in December is niiiiice, FL in July/August--not so much...) This is VERY preliminary, since lots of stuff could change between now and when she hits 20 mandating where we'd live (i.e. a parent gets REALLY sick and we have to move close to them). Lord willing I'll be a R.N. in 9 months so finding work shouldn't be a problem for me and with her .mil retirement we ought to be doing okay $$$-wise but a lower cost of living would be nice, especially if that meant we could afford to buy a nicer house or more land. To her credit, she didn't flip out on me when I said enough land and the zoning to have a 50 meter (min) range on our own property was a must-have, esp. since N.C. is NFA-friendly and I DO plan on getting a suppressor as a "happy graduation to me" present when I'm done school.