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This thread is really odd to me, with people saying NC is cheaper. I lived in Maine for a number of years (Blue Hill and Castine), and it's the same there as here, as far as housing. Meaning: if you want to live in a town which has really good schools and is "upscale" then you will pay a lot. If you don't care about that, you can find a cheap house in a less desireable town. You can pay $85K for a house in Maine which is essentially the same as a $500K house in Maine, depending on where it is (out in the boonies vs. Kennebunkport). Same is true in NC. Want to live in Chapel Hill or Cary? You'll pay more than if you're looking out in a small town somewhere.
From my experience, one is not more or less expensive than the other. There are dirt cheap places and expensive places in each state.
And the previous poster is absolutely right: the well educated don't stay in Maine (other than Portland, but there aren't enough jobs there to keep most of them either). The college educated youth leave to find jobs in other states. We had to hire from out of state for our business b/c there was no one with a college education and solid work experience in our area--there were lots of wealthy retirees, lots of smart high schoolers, lots of homesteaders, but no really educated working force. They had left.
Anyway, I think doing your homework and really comparing is the thing to do. I left b/c I could not take the length of the winters and even more than that, could not take the blackflies and deer flies--they drove me NUTS. That alone was worth moving, for me. But Maine is pretty darned cheap outside the expensive enclaves--I can't imagine getting a much better deal here--but probably about the same in some areas. Florida? That is built out and I would be SHOCKED if you could find a decent house with a decent property there for the same price you could find that in rural Maine. What is your price range? I imagine people could give you a better idea of whether it's realistic for either place.
Now...if you're looking for good weather....NC is great for that!!!!
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