awesome state to live in (other than the fact UNC, Duke and State are less than 20 minutes away). Raleigh and Durham are growing like crazy...the change of the skyline of Durham is remarkable. Charlotte and Ashville are great cities. Mountain towns like Boone, Blowing Rock and the Highlands to the west, the Outer Banksand other great beaches to the East. Hundreds of miles of nature trails near me, the Smokey Mountains. Business growth is shooting through the roof with many big announcements looming. And as much as I hate to say it, the number and quality of colleges and universities, public and private, is a plus.

NC is a battleground state now and the politics on both sides are getting nasty. Things like HB2 became a national story because we are a battleground state. Dark red states with similar laws gained little attention.

There was a time I figured I’d move back to Virginia at some point later in life. Unless that town is Charlottesville, I don’t think so. I think the NC mountains will be in our future.