It's really not that bad. I moved to NJ from CA and my rates went down with even better coverage. I have family in PA and I looked into registering my cars there, however the quote for insurance was significantly higher than what I pay in NJ.
The trick is to shop around. I got quotes from about five different companies and the range was pretty large. Take a look at NJ Cure, NJ Manufacturers, Geico, Esurance, or Mercury. There are others, but I've had the best luck with these.
You can always keep the NC registration and insurance. I see lots of people doing that, and there doesn't seem to be much enforcement. FL is another option: I think there are more Florida-registered cars in NJ than in FL!