That's why I joined the Army and left NC. I felt I had a better shot at being myself in the Army than I did in McDowell County. Well, as it worked out that was the truth 
I stayed gone for 25 years.
Then mom got cancer, then got elderly, so that brought me back to Asheville. Gawd we dearly loved Asheville for its beauty, culture, laid-back attitude, and low cost of living. Unfortunately, there was nothing around there for me to find employment; no tech, no development, etc. So we reluctantly moved to Greensboro, which all-in-all wasn't too bad a trade at least for an out couple.
When we went house-hunting, that's when we ran into trouble. It took 3 years to find a place with a reasonable price tag (well within our budget) and in a county where we wouldn't get deaded for being an out couple. Stokes, Surry, Rockinham, much of Forsyth, and Alamance Counties, there ain't enough money in the world to get me to live there. Caswell is a whole-nother story.
We have one neighbor family we can see. They're totally awesome. They have two kids. The wife often asks us if we'll keep an eye out for them when her older one is sitting with the younger. They're like brother and sister to us. Even the neighbors down the hill are more than cool -- they're very supportive. I've performed two weddings for the extended family that lives over that way. They know. They don't care. All of us take care of all of us.
No, you don't find that everywhere. But it can be found if you look for that little blue island in a sea of red.
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