Fuck man, that's a lot of backup plans, sorry to hear it.
I believe that the marines originally parked him down there, but he chose to stay. I'm a little familiar with N and S Carolinas. I know that where my brother lived, everything was bitey and pokey and swampy and poisonous. They have heat, and hurricanes, and there's fossilized shark teeth everywhere you dig. Trees are quite lovely though.
I know more about Mass than either of the others, but feel free to ask about any of them. Worse that can happen is I don't know.