James,

You are in a pretty good spot. There is a large active class of F18's in NC, SC, and GA and a slowly growing I20 fleet in the same area (Robi - they are NOT dead but are only shifting demographic slightly). FL is not far away for a lot of spectacular racing. There are several competitive F18 and I20 sailors around you.

You didn't mention what kind of budget you are looking at. A decent used F18 is going to go at least $8k and above. Same goes for an I20. There are a ton of other options in older classes too.