If you like the Triangle/Triad area, and you are looking for land, open space, affordability, and more of a small/mid sized town feel, you might consider Sanford.
We are almost smack-dab in the middle of the state, and practically equidistant from Greensboro, Raleigh/Durham/Cary, and Fayetteville. So we have easy ~30min access to any of those metro areas(Greensboro closer to 50 min), and are equally 2-3 hours from beach or mountains.
Sanford has everything you need, being a mid-sized city of around 30k population, but still has a mayor that will wave to you and probably know you by name. And if there is something you "want" that Sanford doesn't have, again, the larger cities are just ~30 minutes away.
We moved here, by way of a quick 1yr in Cary, from San Jose CA and have been very pleased. In the short 3 years we've been here, we've made more friends and gotten more involved in local government, community, etc than we were able to during a decade in the "big city". It really seems like you can make a difference and see progress in these smaller communities.
Being relatively small, Sanford has a variety of housing, everything from rural farms, historic housing, new condos, to golf/gated communities... all within minutes of each other, and we've been very pleased with the schools having three children from 5 to 14yrs of age.
City of Sanford, North Carolina | Official Government Website
Live Well Centered.
Here are some maps showing Sanford's relative position in the state:
Live Well Centered.
With it's close proximity to the Triangle(Raleigh/Durham area) and Fayetteville(Ft. Bragg, Pope AFB), Sanford is a popular "bedroom community" for many that work in either area, especially for those looking for a little more "elbow room", affordable housing, and a slower small town pace.
Good luck!
Al