>>2802104 (OP)The outer banks are very pretty, but Asheville may be closer to wherever you are. It’s a cool little city in an attractive mountain setting if you like spending time with hipsters and hippies, but parts of the area are still somewhat fucked up from hurricane and flood damage, so I’m not sure how nice it is at the moment. I haven’t actually been there in like six years but always liked it when I did. There’s a good brewery or two and a couple of interesting music venues.
I can’t think of a reason to visit Charlotte; for urban cultural amenities you’re better off in Durham, which has better food and nightlife and entertainment options and a better downtown—Charlotte is pleasant enough but pretty boring, suburban, and residential. Same is true of Raleigh. Chapel Hill is a cute college town with a disproportionately good local music scene.
On the Outer Banks, Ocracoke is a very attractive little beachy village on an island, slightly posh but mostly relaxed, gets family tourists and campers and nature buffs—a little like a Southern Martha’s Vineyard but not as snobby. It’s potentially just a little remote, though, so you might pick somewhere else in the area. Beaches, bits of history (shipwreck and WWII submarine wreck dives, Kitty Hawk, Roanoke lost colony), seafood. Mainland coastal NC is also not bad for generic beach tourism—the town of Wilmington is okay and gets lots of partying college kids if you’re of college age or want to hang out with people who are.
