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Hello All! My partner and I have been going back and forth between these two states as far as which we would rather settle down in. Currently we're in SW MN so we are used to summers that hit 100 and winters that plunge to -40. I'd like to avoid both of those extremes. Especially the heat - I hate the heat. Snow is a plus. We're outdoorsy people who enjoy camping and hiking. We'd prefer a rural place away from dense populace. Woods are a must. We're, I would say, Liberal Libertarians. We like guns. We like small government. We like civil liberties. We like the environment. We are gay so a place that is accepting of various people with different lifestyles is important. She is currently in school to be a psychologist so I'm not sure as far as jobs go if either state has a need. Thanks for any and all opinions!
I grew up in MN, northern Hennepin County. NH is a lot like MN without the extremes that you are trying to avoid. MN has better fishing and hunting, however NH has a lot to offer for people who like the outdoors. For a libertarian couple NH might be a better choice than WA. Keep in mind I have not lived in WA, I'm just looking at election voting trends as it seems WA likes big.gov.
NH can get down to -40, and will be on the mountains in winter. It can get up to around 100, and be some wicked humid too.
If it is a small modest Govt you seek, there is no place left of earth for you. We just voted in 4 new poly tics of which 3 are big spenders and one just loves new taxes.
NH has too many cops too. Last Saturday Night we had a little bit of wet snow, drizzle becoming ice on contact, and to drive home from my sons i passed by no less than 8 cruisers all parked on the side of the road wasting tax payers monies.
The length of that drive is just a little bit over 14 miles. The first one was blocking the exit of the Kanc which caused me to wonder what was going on..... As usually nothing was going on, and the cop was just parked in a strange manner.
Often times in NH the cops will park on the side of the road to your right at night, but be facing you with head lights ON. Do not attempt to go by them, 'in lane' or you will end up out in the woods/swamp.
Why would i say this? Because since about 1980 everyone here knows NH is a police state.
On being Gay......... Don't make that my business, and i won't make my straight marriage any of yours. In other words in NH there are only a few places where displays of affection in public would be considered ok..
Locals just don't do anything like that except at weddings, maybe at funerals in support of the living, and that's about it so far as i would know.
Male gays tend to make spectacles, and then wonder why other people are upset.
I have lived in both...currently in Sunapee, NH since October 2011. I lived in Lacey, WA for 30 years before that. My recommendation is you look closely at NH. WA has most of those things you want, but I think they are in more abundance in NH.
There is more snow and guns in NH, probably the same on camping and hiking.
In order to live somewhere to work as a psychologist, you'll have to live in a more populated area in WA, but if you don't mind a 45-60 minute drive one way, you can get out in the less populated woods and have that privacy in WA. To me, you have more less populated areas in NH than WA, but still relatively close to working areas. For example, it takes less than 30 minutes to get out in the sticks from Hanover (where Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center is located). That same scenario for WA puts you more like 45-60 minutes.
I don't follow politics, so I can't speak to your requests there.
WA is a big place, so you could probably find some exceptions to my generalizations. I just think you can get to your nirvana easier in NH than WA.
central or northern nh would be great for you, if you can find work! As you know, not a lot of jobs in semi rural areas (maybe that's why they are semi rural)
I lived about 20 miles from MJ5150 in Washington and am now in NH. Lived in WA for over 20 years and have only been in NH for a short while. You will not get any weather extremes on the western side of WA but you have to endure incessant rain in the winter (and possibly spring and fall). It only breaks 80 degrees on average 5 to 10 days per year and rarely drops below 30 degrees in the winter. Won't see much snow unless you head up to the mountains or go to the eastern side. Western Washington is very liberal and should have no issues with your sexual preference there. I would agree that WA swings toward larger government due to the massive influx from California over the past couple of decades.
NH weather will be more extreme. You will see more snow in NH than WA. As Mac said, most will not care that you are gay so long as you are not sticking any views right in others' faces. It is much more rural in NH than WA. I would suggest visiting both states for a more personal comparison.
So this thread is a couple of yrs old...but given the question, I might help another person...
Raised in NH 68-93. Lived in Tacoma Wa 96-2013
BACK in NH....stayed ONE YEAR...LEAVING!!!
It SUCKS BIG TIME!!!!!!
Winters are bitter cold -20. Summers are hot HOT and HUMID!
$4000 on heating... and $$ on AC too!
BUGS!! Mosquitoes, horseflies, deerflies and in May?!! BLACKFLIES!!
Little chigger like flies that swarm by the thousands...you cant even go
outdoors, so forget your hiking!
COPS! It has become a Police State...saturated with cops looking for reasons to fine you
to bring in $$ to these Northern towms of 400 because there are no (wait for it...)
JOBS!! All potential $$ to be made is located in
SOUTHERN NH. not in Northern!
Lyme disease..none in WA. Here? You'll get it...especially if you are
going hiking!
More wildlife in WA although NH has fair amount...but fishing is
DEFINITELY better in WA...8 lb trout and 30 lb salmon. vs 7" trout and WHAT SALMON?!
REDNECKS AND HILLBILLIES here in NH...they would NOT welcome
your lifestyle here!!!! Be warned. Mindsets are still 1970. Olympia WA is your town!!
20 min out of town and you're in the sticks...
Shopping NH? ROFLMAO!! 17 mi just to get milk and then there is only
ONE food store choice- Shaws...
NHs natural beauty is wonderful...but WA. is SO MUCH BETTER in many ways!
Oh. Pot? Yeah...we legalized it in WA. NH? They will
throw you in prison for 15 yrs and a $50,000 fine for an ounce!
Although surrounding states MA VT ME. ? $100 fine...
Many people who are advocates of living in NH are living in SOUTHERN NH,
where they can GO shopping at outlet stores, go to a movie,
order a take out pizza, or see a Vetrinarian...
These people are more on the lines of transplants from MA
who skipped across the border so they could cut wood and play
at snowshoeing...Different in NORTHERN NH. when it is
averaging 20 or 30 degrees colder and 2 feet more snow and
you are using those snowshoes to wade out to your woodpile
to cut wood just so you wont FREEZE!!
Screw Norman Rockwell!
Look, WA State has everything you want. There is NO. whiitewater
rafting here...the trail system is overun, and I worry about me and
my dog with the ticks/Lyme all the time...I got no less than 15 ticks off
us this spring...and counting...
The moose population is in SEVERE decline here due to
winter tick...
OH! HEROIN IS HUGE HERE!! No kidding...You
wouldn't think "in the woods?!" Ya! And the crime/break ins are
horrible...7 houses this year on my road..including mine!
I got a security camera and remote access now...so I can monitor fom out of. state.
Bastards wont get in again!! It goes right to the cops! Plus I have to
board up everything too...
DRUGS...all for getting high...
Festivals. Biggest festival or fair you'll have here in NH? Flea market with some ****ty
band "Bob Marfly and the hooters" or something...boring boring boring
Any transplants to Northern NH are usually down on their luck, trying to
make a buck snowboarder ski bum types.
Lots of alcoholism!! Spousal abuse...
Just open the paper or drive around and you'll see signs
offering help...
People don't have much $ here...relying on tourism, and summer
to bring much needed $$... I would say 60% are on assistance...
Go to WA...You'll pay higher tax rares but you quality of
life is unsurpassed!!
I don't get these sentiments about NH, police state or hillbilly place with backwards philosophy. Doesnt NH have more libertarians voted into their politics than any other state and is constantly rated as on of the most and sometimes even most educated states. Who to believe now? What about Free State Project on turning NH into another Switzerland? There are 20 000 people just pledged to move to the state to make it even more libertarian.
As I live in California I know exactly what police state is. I can only assume that Oregon and Washington are even worse because I have impression they are even more liberal and democratic states than CA. At least I know it by the fact of homeschooling. They are much more restrictive than CA on that regard.
NH is more accessible than western Washington State. With New Hampshire, it actually feels like you are living in an integrated part of the Northeast, within easy reach of Boston, Montreal and NYC. By contrast, western Washington resembles nothing more than an island, with the Cascades serving as a real barrier that separates a highly populated strip along the Sound from the eastern half of the state - it is an area that is walled in both physically and culturally, and many residents go out of their way to paint themselves as both apart and above the rest of the country. Moreover, the only major city really within striking distance of Seattle is Vancouver, BC - because of the way I-5 has to loop around the Mount Saint Helens region, a trip to Portland is almost twice as far.
I'm probably a bad person to ask, however. I just cannot in good conscience recommend Seattle to anyone who isn't a hipster with a background in the tech industry right this moment.
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For a libertarian couple NH might be a better choice than WA. Keep in mind I have not lived in WA, I'm just looking at election voting trends as it seems WA likes big.gov.
