Thinking about moving to North Carloina from Missouri...

I don't know much about Missouri, but for the most part NC is a gun friendly state. We've had CC for years and last year our legislature passed a new "Castle Doctrine" law. NC does require either a permit or a concealed carry permit to buy a pistol. Long guns and ammo have no restrictions.

I live in the western part of the state, not in the Charlotte/Gastonia area. Land around here is very expensive. 50 acres starts at about $400K and quickly goes up. I have no idea how that compares to MO or other parts of NC. NC has a high unemployment rate. Textiles and furniture which made up a huge portion of our economy has for the most part died and while financial services have moved in, particularly in the Charlotte area, we still suffer from a lack of jobs. Taxes are high; at last look the highest in the entire SE and this obviously hurts the job situation.

On a positive note, NC has a good education system. Our government lives within its means and is working hard to become more efficient. Our health care is also very, very good. Roads and infrastructure are also excellent.

There is no restaurant carry (except at fast food and others that don't serve liquor), you must notify officers that you are carrying, otherwise your rights are about the same.

If you get too close to Charlotte/Gastonia you won't find much affordable land. If possible I suggest you look in one of the more rural counties like Wilkes or Davie.

Under let us simply agree to disagree North Carolina is not that gun friendly.

Unless one has a NCCHP one can not purchase a handgun with out a purchasing permit which is issued by the Sherriff of your county of residence. The Sherriff has the power to regulate and limit the number of purchasing permits to be issued.

Concealed carry is restricted. Know the restrictions.

With your educational background Raleigh/Durham Research Triangle would/could provide job opportunities.

This is the first time in twenty years we’ve had a Republican governor.

Another novelty Republicans control the state house of representatives and senate. One would have to go back to Reconstruction for that occurrence.

Taxes are what they are.

+1 on hangingrocks critique.

I don't feel NC is anywhere as gun friendly as Virginia_. I moved to NC last year and had to go through all the hoops to get a CHP here. Still waiting after 2-1/2 mos even though the law says 45days. No recourse unlike Virginia. Many places here are restricted and cities and counties pay no attention to state pre-emption and make their own laws. Signs carry the weight of law and you are supposed to know the laws of the 100 counties that make up NC. Many of the gun laws here are rooted from the Jim Crow laws instituted after Reconstruction. I found out after moving here NC is referred to as the Mass. Of the south.

Don't leave!

Who's going to back me up!!!!

Check out South Carolina near the border with NC.

After moving from Connecticut 8 yrs ago, I find nc to be very gun friendly. Conceal carry is easy to get, didn't bother with the permit thing, just went the cc route. Open carry is also legal.
I am in real estate and call tell you land can be found at a good price, you just have to look. Hunting is good, I have friends with land, no limit on mags even for hunting.
Calling it the mass of the south is ridiculous.

If you're going to get a concealed carry permit, then buying a gun is not that bad. To get your CC, you have to take a simple course. I had to sit through about 4 hours of classroom/powerpoint information followed by a simple paper test, then you had to go shoot a paper target from like 5, 7, and 12 feet (I don't remember exact distance, but it was beyond simple). I think you fire a total of 15 rounds, and then you're done. You take that and fill out the application and a medical/mental release and turn it into your county's sheriff's office. As long as you do that, you get your permit which is good for 5 years and allows you to buy all the guns you want with no waiting. Now, this is likely different from county to county, with your more urban cities (raleigh/durham, charlotte, etc) having more strict rules and the sheriff ultimately ends up making the decision. I live in a rural county and pretty much everyone here hunts and the sheriff and all of the officers I know personally are pro-2a. Renewing your permit requires resubmitting the application and paying your fee (I just had to do this about a week ago). You don't have retake the shooting test as long as you renew before your license expires.

As for land prices...it varies wildly. My mother has 30 acres of swamp land off of a creek which filters out to the albemarle sound, full of whitetail and black bear (as well as ample fishing with a public boat landing a stone's throw away) and it only appraised for about 15K a year ago. A handful of the family use it for deer hunting. This is about 1.5 hours from the coast (nags head/kitty hawk area). Her house is on about 3 acres with a 6 acre pond as a front yard (full of large mouth bass, catfish, brim, etc), and it only appraised for $120K at the same time. So...yea...it's all about where you are.

I would also look at SC just across the state line and figure on working NC assuming you are thinking Charlotte. I believe the tax situation is better and gas prices are certainly consistantly better. The only bad part is all roads lead to Charlotte if you are headed to WV or Gastonia.

The process for getting a concealed carry permit in Mecklenberg County(Charlotte) isn't any different from getting one in a rural county, it just takes longer since more people are applying.

The whole pistol purchase permit thing is stupid but completely irrelevant if you have a CCW. As far as gun laws are concerned SC isn't much better. I think they have a few less restrictions on where you can't carry but they don't have OC. NC's problem is the lack of restaurant carry and the stupid "no carry in a place were you pay for admission" thing. Hopefully both get addressed this year. Either way you don't have to worry about a state enacted AWB in NC or SC.

You don't need a permit to OC in NC. OC is permitted anywhere that CC is permitted. Like most states with OC it all depends on where you do it. In the liberal bastions the northern refugees have been known to freak out and call the police.

WV

WV is a very friendly gun state. For example, you can carry concealed in establishments that serve alcohol.

There are a lot of jobs in the oil/gas industry in the northern half of the state. Morgantown has a lot of good jobs all around (2 big hospitals, WVU, several federal agencies, pharmaceutical, coal, oil/gas, etc). We have been sheltered here in the economic downturn.

Be smart and think long term, finish your education.

NC isn't too bad. I moved here from FL and it just took a few weeks to get my head around the pistol permits and CCW laws. The issue with NC CCW is that it all depends on the sheriff, since it's managed at the county level. I live in eastern NC, have a 50 acre piece of good land to my name, and don't plan on leaving anytime soon. The hunting is good, not great, and the people are generally quite friendly.

I'm also quite happy with our representation as well.

Here in TN, OC is legal if you have a HCP. But it is definitely frowned upon by law enforcement in the cities.

Who knows what will stick with the new wave of proposed gun legislation at both the state and federal level.

I moved to NC from "Liberal Vermont" and to say that NC is gun friendly is a joke. I'm not trying to offend native Carolinians but NC is High Tax, Low Liberty, Low Quality of Life (10+ Unemployment, 5% more than VT, MA, NH), Low Average Salaries (Median Income is 80% National, COL is 99%). Energy (AC) Bills are Outrageous. Do SC or WV (my Choice).

In VT everyone has CC as a right. Where I live the law states any and all handguns must me registered-this isn't enforced but it is an existing law on the books. Pistol Purchase and CC Permits are subject to the Sheriff's opinion basically. This is a relic of Jim Crow Laws that seems to get used in the other direction as revenge.

I really will bet you money that there is absolutely 100% no chance of you getting $.01 of money on 50 acres of undeveloped land/unimproved land. Even before you'd have to sink $10+ k on studies and permits so the lender would be comfortable. The new lending guidelines preclude you from any government help or guarantee (FHA). Your mothers home hurts you a lot (its a actual liability not asset until its sold)-that makes any other purchase considered a second home or speculative/investment property. A 650 is a horrible credit score for a second property without a stable job. It will not happen. They will not underwrite a 2nd Property Values may have stabilized here but unemployment hasn't-even then my house was initially listed for $420 k and I got it for $300 after it was on the market for 4 yrs-there neighborhoods full of Mansions empty. Clowns steal copper and hardwood flooring from them all the time. There's a ridiculous inventory of new homes (3 yrs supply already built)

Taxes are EXTREMELY HIGH. I'm in Finance and I know. County/State Sales Tax is 9%. 4% Higher than MA, 3% more than VT, and 9% than NH. I pay $5000 more a yr in State Payroll Taxes than in Massachusetts. On a $300,000 house I pay 1.5 times the taxes of my parents $800,000 house in a town that has a top ten school system in the country. The State as a whole (except UNC) has a horrible education/College system. Count on 1-2 full years before you get instate tuition-in my county you would be allowed to attend community college until you have in state "student" status (they do want kids moving to NC just to get a discount or becoming in state before sophomore year).

Its a very dangerous State-in my City Alone there are more people killed in one year than VT, NH, and Maine over two years. Yet the same Sheriffs that fail to protect max out the issuance period for cc permits. With the military presence's influence on the culture it is very much a police State. It is not uncommon to see random registration checkpoints holding up rush hour traffic in the am; why because they can and get off on making people late for work.

Also the mobile data system that automatically scans license plates also chimes for cc permits (there tied together). If they are on the radio, not paying attention-it chimes getting your attention-essentially saying"Look at Him. WEAPON" So every time an equipped cruiser's camera can see your plate, that cop knows you have a permit.

A rookie cop looking for ot or a possible credit on felony firearms arrest? You're getting pulled over.

Cop have problems with CC's. Your getting a ticket.

It hasn't happened. But a vet ffl I know 8 times per year-granted he's in a downtown area. He also deals to the PD but gets haters constant.

This info true. I suggest you research it

I don't mean to be a jerk for above or below but its truth:

You will not get into any engineering program in NC-there's 100,000 troops with practical experience in engineer in the area applying. Supply surpasses the demand by a factor of 10-at least in this area. No engineering school in NC is going grant transfer credit for an associates (what is that 2 entry level classes and two mid level-with labs?). Do to North Dakota where demand is high. Here all those ex-military guys will also have one step up on you in security clearances for any requisite internships. My wife has a undergraduate degree in Biomechanical Engineering from a top 3 school (She went to Med School and is a Dr. now) and her classmates with Masters are struggling against Vets. You like engineering? Go to Michigan-still good jobs but not in fashion-they have to important talent right now. Or better yet go to gunsmithing school if you like firearms.

Somebody obviously doesn't like it here Having lived in the New England (I graduated from the University of Maine) if my choice was between the northeast and NC, it would be no contest. But that's neither here nor there. The OP asked about NC. SC just over the border from NC is a good option. Take a drive down either I-77 or I-85 south of Charlotte and you'll see many, many new businesses just as you cross into SC. That's an indication of the differences between the business climate in the two states.

Do more research before you take everything schrodingercat literally (especially the comments about LEO's attitudes toward CC... I talk to police/deputies/patrolmen constantly and they just shrug off the fact I'm carrying). Many other things you have read are spot on... taxes, hunting, etc. If you move toward Charlotte, just completely forget anything you read about "southern hospitality." And be prepared for careless and rude drivers.

If you move west of Gastonia, you'll find several rivers with good fishing (the Broad River with its smallmouth fishery comes immediately to mind).

Do some homework on NC's "Going Armed to the Terror of the People" law before you open carry. That may be the one gun related issue unfriendly to some LEOs.

hmmmm a few things stand out.

1. I bought 50 acres as a foreclosed development and made a killing on it. If I had more money, I know 5 other properties I'd pick up. Undeveloped land is plenty and people want to sell. I did not sink much money into it beforehand other than a soil test.
2. My wife went to NC state and got in-state tuition at the end of her first year. It wasn't difficult, she just had a part time job to do it.
3. No one's been killed near me for a while, except two punks who tried to rob a convenience store.
4. Eastern NC is gun friendly. Period.
5. I have seen a roadblock of sorts where some deputies were checking lincenses. I thanked them for their service and was on my way in a minute or two.
6. It is military friendly. At least where I am. I have no earthly clue why anyone would associate the presence of active duty and retired military as a police state. That is absurd.

Can't really comment on taxes since I hold my FL residency still, but the cost of living is much lower in eastern NC than it was in Florida.

Oh, everyone waives at each other in my neighborhood.

When I moved from VT to NC, I was similarly displeased. I'm originally from NY, so it was still an improvement, but it struck me as impoverished and generally shabby. It's not terrible, depending on where you go, but I did not like it and moved away after about six months in pursuit of another opportunity on the KS/MO line, and loved it by comparison.

NC gun culture is a bunch of by-god-we're-southerners and not a lot of competence, by and large, and the "gunshows" are atrocious.

Also in rural areas, the drivers-license checks are outright Boss Hawg and his boys fourth-amendment rage-inducing pains in the ass.