(1) Raleigh-Durham, NC

I've been in the Raleigh area since March 2001. I moved down because I had a friend here, and soon I had a job.

Then I got laid off - but I was still living with a roommate, and found another job after about 6 months. That one lasted 6 years before I was laid off again. It was another 6 months before I found part-time work, and nearly 3 more before that turned into full-time employment.

But the employment situation is hopefully settled now. It does mean that I'm not tied to this area, although I do like it here.

I currently live in the town of Cary, a suburb of Raleigh. It's nice, although it gets a lot of crap for being white, upper class, and full of residents from out of state. I live here because this is where my roommate and I decided to get an apartment, and I know the area; when we went our separate ways, I stayed near where I was before.

I've looked at a number of different parts of the Piedmont and NC in general. I'm very willing to stay in state if I find an area that I like. I'd like to visit the mountains - I've never been there, and it seems like an area that I'd really like.

I don't think I'm interested in moving closer to the coast. I've never been a big beach person - not as an adult, at least - and I'd rather avoid hurricane-prone areas.

One of the pluses of staying here is that I do have friends in the area. I play trivia at a pub in Raleigh once a week, and try to get together with some other friends for book club once a month or so. Unfortunately, my closest friends have moved away. I still have several good friends here, but only one of them is the kind of friend I can call up randomly and suggest dinner or a movie ... although her current economic situation (she was laid off when I was last year) has put a damper on that. It's a little odd: I have 15 or so people coming to my apartment this weekend for a housewarming, but I still spend most of my time alone.

Anyway - the Raleigh area and North Carolina in general are still high on my list of places to live. There are other parts of the South I might consider, but the combination of not knowing an area and not having friends there already makes it somewhat unlikely.