From North Carolina you can easily get into the Chesapeake and have more cruising grounds that one has time to fully explore.

My wife and I periodically explore the idea of moving from Maryland to NC for many of the same reasons already stated, knowing we can come back in the summer for extended periods. Our thoughts tend more toward larger towns like Edenton or Washington where one would be closer to shopping and medical facilities than in Oriental. This is not to knock Oriental, we like it also.