I'm 100% in at UNC (deposit paid!) for MCH - if you search my old posts I wrote a long post about why it was the best choice for me.
But I'll add to that:
As far as job opportunities go, I do think that UNC has such a great reputation you will definitely not have trouble finding things in NYC/DC/where ever in public health. This link might be helpful:
http://www.sph.unc.edu/student_affairs/careers_in_public_health_324_7817.html I really appreciate that they are so transparent about where their students end up after graduation.
For the small town part - CH is definitely small size and population wise (about 50,000), but it does have many of the benefits of a larger city, especially when you count Raleigh and Durham in too. With all the universities in the area comes a lot of culture - museums, plays, lectures, etc. The food scene is pretty good around the Triangle too. I love Ethiopian food and was super happy to find a few between CH and Durham. And there are free buses all over town! You will be able to drive literally 5 minutes out of town and be in farmland if you want, so if that's not your deal, CH might not be either. I am personally super psyched to be getting away from the congestion of DC!
As far as housing goes, we're looking off campus - if you look at the CH transit website, they list many of the bigger complexes and which buses run to them. It was really helpful in starting the search process.
Also, I definitely suggest calling your department and asking to speak to a current student, I think they would be happy to help and would give you a lot of good insight.
Good luck everyone with your decisions!