jim, oddly enough my company is looking for someone with your credentials... lol... check out craigslist for the area and look up brooks bell interactive or senior designer. they should be moving me into the position, but what the hell, i'm not one to stop a fellow VXer from finding work!
also send a resume to "mckinney and silver", "center line productions" and ogilvy in durham.
lol, no one said anything about south carolina because the only remotely good thing there is the beach and thats a serious matter of opinion, not to mention after living in florida the beaches here will seem shoddy, lol. oh and charleston is beautiful, but noone can afford to love there unless they are independently wealthy. ha ha.
the triangle area is booming and has great schools and a mix of taste as far as what kind of community you want to be in. not to mention the largely best part of the ACC basketball bracket ;-)
not sure if center line is hiring but they are great people to work with and mckinney seems to always need someone for an art director role. i know ogilvy was looking a while back... OH and don't forget to look up the "republik" in durham as well as "front door advertising", i hear they are doing well and growing fast....
my brother lives in mooresville, unless you love nascar and being bored, don't bother. of course, it may just not be my style.
if you are in to video/post/production check out "serious robots" and "trailblazer studios".