I'm from NC and my girlfriend is from Atlanta. We are moving back to NC this summer. Honestly, pros and cons to the South vs. the North, but the South wins every time in my book (I'm biased though). You can actually afford to live there (property taxes literally 1/5 of here, other taxes in general are lower, food, power and housing are way cheaper etc.), people are generally friendlier and have a more freedom-oriented mindset, healthcare is better (as long as you can afford insurance or have medicare; my GF had a lung transplant a few years ago at UNC, so we both have some experience with healthcare in both places) and it's not so damn cold. Get ready for hot summers though.
Atlanta is massive suburban sprawl, I would honestly not live there if given the choice. Constitutional carry though!
Northern GA is very nice but can be expensive. I don't think you are going to find land like you want for a decent price though.
NC is not flat as others have stated, not sure where you went but basically anything west of Winston Salem/Charlotte is foothills/mountains.
Asheville has gotten expensive and super touristy, some of the smaller towns around it are nice.
Boone is a mini-Asheville kinda, a college town and super touristy in the summer
I'm from Raleigh and we are moving back to that area, just signed a lease on a rental house and are selling our house here. It's a nice area but has grown a LOT in the past few years. Houses are much more but still way cheaper than here.
Charlotte is very nice, we are actually thinking of eventually buying a house there.
Eastern NC is...meh. Smaller towns and cities and the "coastal plain" is mainly farm land. Wilmington is just OK and has the USS North Carolina museum, but...hurricanes.
My advice is rent something in NC or GA if you can and explore for at least a few months or a year, then buy. That's what we're doing and I'm from NC.