Looks like I'll be looking somewhere else to retire.
If the money's great, it's worth it; but keep one foot out the door and a bag packed. People tend to become stuck here.
Don't put yourself in a position to let that happen.
I mean, we have the scenery and the coastal lifestyle, but that's about it, and even that is fading rapidly with the Salt Life/Yeti ingress; and mother nature has been taking back the Outer Banks for a very long time anyway. 300 foot beaches are now gone, and there's no way to keep up. It's not some ecological disaster or anything, it's just the nature of the geography, ocean, and weather. Erosion will win eventually, and it takes a little more every year; further cramping an increasing number of tourists.
This has also eliminated most of the true culture of the barrier islands; of which the majority of Americans are entirely unaware.
ENC is
entirely artificial beyond that; created to attract people temporarily and then not worry about much in the long-term. Don't think for a second you'll get any "country cooking", either. It's trash now. Even the old guard are peddling powdered potatoes and frozen cornbread sticks. Western NC can be different, but this is a big state; it's not like you're going to pop over to Asheville to go grocery shopping.
Go West, and find a nice suburb, as well; or you'll darn well regret it when you want to go shopping or find something to do on the weekend.
This is coming from someone with a fair bit of land to sell in ENC, too. Someone will buy it one way or another, but they
shouldn't. Decent five year plan, but a horrid ten year plan.