NC K-12 Curriculim
You will find more car dealerships in the larger metro areas. There are many NJ transplants on this board and I'm sure they will be able to chime in with specific information.
It's hard to do a state to state general comparison. As you know, NC is a big state - nearly 6.5 times bigger (land area) than NJ.
mm34b said it well, there are good and bad schools here.
I know you are doing some preliminary research but do you have any idea about how much you can spend? What size city do you prefer? What type of house do you want? These questions can help us point you in the right direction and help you get the details on the local school district(s).
Good Luck!