My kids have been homeschooled for the past 7 years. Their "peers" are adults or kids with the same goal-oriented mindset. Each of the kids is happy, well-adjusted, self reliant, "street smart," and responsible. Two (ages 16 and 18) have jobs; the third (age 17) cares for our animals and is looking towards a degree in veterinarian medicine. They have avoided the "cliquishness" which can be found in public schools, the bad influences, overcrowding, lack of time per student, and (what we considered) unrealistic workloads.
They were removed from the mainstream "education" system because of what we saw as it's many failures; special needs children being shunted off to the side, inadequate and understaffed classrooms, ill-prepared teachers (some, not all), "teaching the test" instead of teaching the courses, and safety issues relating to student-on-student and student-on-teacher violence.
The kids are not taught "boiler plate" subjects, but are encouraged to think outside the box; if my 18 year old is reading current events and disagrees on a hot topic, she will not get a "D" because she didn't follow the party line and answer as expected. We DO expect reason and logic in their disagreement, not just a feeling! The emphasis is on learning, not on parroting.
Homeschooling is a big step, requiring dedication on the part of the parents and motivation on the part of the kids. There are probably homeschool associations in your area that would be happy to assist you in determining if it is "right" for you. A good one to start with is
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/NorthCarolinaSupport.htm
Good luck, and let me know if I can help!