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I am in the middle of making a decision about where I want to settle down. I've been giving this quite a bit of thought but I can't seem to narrow my choice beyond northwestern Michigan, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, or possibly the mountainous parts of western Virginia. I would like to build a house on at least 5 acres of land, and I love mountains, trees (especially white pines), water, and rolling hills. I don't have any particular preferences about population centers; while I would love to have good shopping and city centers nearby I am very much a small-town girl and I could adapt to either situation well. My primary concern will be finding work where I go; I am an English instructor and currently in the process of completing my Ph.D. I work full-time at a community college and love it and I would need to find a full-time position at another school before I move (while I am qualified for and would consider work at a university, I prefer community colleges). This basically means I need to go where the state is fairly solvent and where the schools are stable.
I would love to get some perspectives on what life is like in New Hampshire, any recommendations you might have for me about moving there, places I should explore, or things I should keep in mind before I make the move. Also, if you happen to have a perspective on the schools themselves, I would really appreciate your input. Thank you so much!!
Vermont and Massachusetts tend to be much more liberal in their leanings, their state governments provide many more programs.
Vermont is hippy-dippy/crunchy-granola in the populated parts and more redneck in the outlying areas.
Massachusetts has a much larger population plus the attractions of Boston and Cape Cod. Massachusetts has very liberal areas and some conservative areas, but the population in the east really controls the state. The central and western parts of the state have very little say in anything.
New Hampshire is much more libertarian, with a very small state government and a population that fiercely resists what Massachusetts and Vermont provide in terms of government. People in New Hampshire hate big government and will not cow-tow to newcomers who expect that sort of thing.
That said, you can enjoy life in any of these states. But which one is right for you depends on what you expect from the culture and government of each state. They are all different.
Edit: In terms of finding a job in your field, my guess is that Massachusetts would probably provide the highest salary and the most opportunities, given the educational institutions there. But you should check each state on your own and see what's available. Mass does have the most in terms of schools and universities though, so bear that in mind.
I suggest Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia in that order. New Hampshire is too cheap to consider public education a priority (the wealthy that do appreciate education live in property rich town or send their kids to private school) and tax the hell out of visitors. Maine is too empty to have either the population or money for decent education although they are better than NH. Vermont is similar to Maine.
I have a friend in Charlottesville, Virginia, and really like the culture, climate and attitude toward education. If I were to relocate for work I would consider Western, but not West, Virginia.
The culture in NH is a mixed bag. We are a great place to vacation but a tough place to live. There is some entertainment in the Manchester area but very little but bars anywhere else especially when the tourists leave or, worse, stay home. The only places with any industrial concentrations are Keene, The seacoast and a band of towns next to Massachusetts. The rest of the factories and the economy has moved away.
thank you both so much for your advice! I have heard some really neat things about New Hampshire, and it sounds as though it would be wonderful to visit, but from your replies it sounds as though the schools might not be quite as stable as I would hope for them to be to live there. I'd still love to check out the area, but I'm worried most about a stable job. I happen to hate big government anything, and I know what it has done to Michigan schools in particular, so that would be a selling point for me rather than not; however, the tough economy there concerns me. Even so, I hope I at least get to visit someday, and perhaps if there are good jobs in the offing I might be able to stay there. Thank you so much!
There is nothing wrong with many of the schools in NH, just do your research on the individual towns themselves. There are many quality schools in NH, and education is what you put into it anyway.
Have you thought about teaching private high school? There is the Holderness School in Plymouth. It's students and patrons tend to be on the extremely wealthy end, lending to a stable work environment (I would think). Plymouth also has Plymouth State.
I suggest Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia in that order. New Hampshire is too cheap to consider public education a priority (the wealthy that do appreciate education live in property rich town or send their kids to private school) and tax the hell out of visitors. The culture in NH is a mixed bag. We are a great place to vacation but a tough place to live. There is some entertainment in the Manchester area but very little but bars anywhere else especially when the tourists leave or, worse, stay home. The only places with any industrial concentrations are Keene, The seacoast and a band of towns next to Massachusetts. The rest of the factories and the economy has moved away.
I have three kids that have gone through the public schools in NH (1 in college; 2 are in high school) and they have done very well. The schools in NH are generally far better than the schools in MA unless you are in a very high end town in MA (Weston, Wellesley, Newton). I have many friends and relatives in MA (where I grew up and went to private schools), and most of those that can afford to send their kids to private schools do so, usually from 7th or 9th grade onward. My sister in law (a nurse) and her husband (a plumber) really had to economize so they could send their son to a private school at $14k per year as the high school in their town was terrible. He's at Marquette now in engineering...
As for the factories and economy, NH is doing much better than MA and most other states. Our unemployment rate is 5.4% while MA is 8.1%. Only three farming states, NE, ND, SD, have lower rates: Unemployment Rates for States
BTW, go to Michigan if you are retiring or independently wealthy. The unemployment rate is 12.8%, second only to Nevada. MI has been in decline for the past 30 years and there is no sign of any change...
That is true about Northern Middlesex, MA schools, but NH schools are definitely just as mediocre. The difference is that we have some radical educators in SNH who have drummed up a ridiculous amount of hype for academic mediocrity using educational lingo with postmodern revisionist definitions people do not generally understand (or even question) so people blindly trust them to run these schools. The tragic part is that the priority of these schools in SNH is social change, not rigorous academics. Definitely NOT worth the high property taxes.
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