I live in York, SC, twenty minutes outside of Charlotte, NC. I've here 5 years now. Previous to here, I lived in Sandown, NH. First, I love the weather! If you enjoy sunshine, this is the place to be. People are much frendlier down here as well, compared to the northeast. (I think the weather has something to do with this, very few gloomy days in a year compared to the north.) I would never choose to live in Charlotte, only because I'm not a city girl, and like at least an acre of land most neighborhoods there are 1/4 acre type lots in the suburban areas. Schools are terrible, so it's good you don't care about that! Many who work in Charlotte live in S.C. because of this. Cost of living is much less that what you are use to in N.Y. You will even find groceries are cheaper, I did. Allen-Tate is the big real estate company down here, look up thier website and you can compare housing. Real Estate prices have not declined here like other parts of the country, but still much cheaper than upstate NY! Traffics not too bad, but area is growing. I know taxes are lower in S.C. a more conservative state compared to N.C., but couldn't give you specifics. Charlotte is experiencing real money problems, recently closing some libraries.
I'm very happy we made the move, and won't be going back north, I'm a southerner now!