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Family and I are looking to move to the northeast for a better quality of life. We really like what we see with NH and were wondering what cities you might recommend for people in the medical/IT fields.
Portsmouth looks really nice, but is there work there?
What about Manchester or Concord and why...
Thanks in advance for all your help. We are looking to move in the spring/summer next year. We are also considering Portland, Maine. Any reason why we would choose NH over ME? Pros/cons?
Medical? Have a look at the Hanover area, it's near Dartmouth Hitchcock. Also there are some spin off companies in the region that might need IT people.
Medical/IT...I'd look near Nashua, Manchester, and Lebanon. Lebanon has the huge facility mentioned above. Manchester and Nashua both have numerous medical facilities since they are the largest cities in the state. What is your budget? What are your hobbies?
Lebanon, NH and Hanover, NH have the Dartmouth Hitchcock medical facility somewhat related to Dartmouth College. In the news lately though were layoffs from the hospital.
IT jobs are few and far between in New Hampshire. With Boston/Waltham/128 area more likely. Which means southern New Hampshire.
You both had best have skill sets that are in demand to even think about moving to New Hampshire. New Hampshire does have lower unemployment numbers but those numbers are skewed with mostly low paying jobs. Other then those who are employed in Massachusetts. And Massachusetts has an income tax.
AQctualy its the I-495 belt in Mass that is pretty much the silicon vally of the east coast. Hollis , Nashua , Hudson. Amhesrst are all doable drives to that area.
We like to do alot of things. We enjoy hiking, fishing, hunting, and snow. We are more city-oriented people, but enjoy having the outdoors on demand.
I have lived in coastal cities before, but never in New England.
What are some of the differences between the larger cities in NH as far as the general attitudes, major job focus, stuff like that? What about the general political leanings of these cities?
We would rather work and live in the same state. Neither of us likes commuting as we have both done way too much of that in the recent past and would like to avoid it. One of the reasons we are looking to move to the NE is because everything is much closer together. My last job was a 20 mile commute that took about an hour in traffic. I'm hoping to avoid that even if it means making a little less.
I'm open to the possibility of re-inventing myself in terms of careers. My experience is largely only IT. What other careers in NH are available to someone who does not wish to retrain in another degree. I simply cannot afford to go back to college at today's ridiculous prices.
Politicly NH is probably the puplest state in the nation with a plentiful helping of libertarism thrown in . Cites lean a little left . Cheshire county tends to lean left. Fyrther north ya get further right it gets.
Well, not exactly. A lot of the rural towns in Coos County and the interior of Grafton County do lean Republican, but they are balanced out by places like Berlin, the Upper Valley, and most of the towns in the White Mountains, which lean Democratic.
By contrast, some of the most heavily Republican towns in the state are the large suburban towns in southern NH near the MA border. If anything, the political division is more east-west than north-south. Here's a fantastic map showing the Partisan Voting Index for NH towns, averaged for the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections: http://maperitif.files.wordpress.com...i-2008-map.pdf
You'll see a little bit more dark blue than dark red on those maps simply due to the general political atmosphere of the past two elections, but it's true that NH is very "purple." Much more so than a lot of states, which are either politically homogeneous or have really dramatic contrasts between urban/rural, etc.
Among NH's three largest cities: Manchester is in the middle of the spectrum, Nashua leans slightly Democratic, and Concord is pretty solidly Democratic. However, the suburbs of Manchester are some of the most Republican towns in the state. Most of the Nashua suburbs also lean Republican, while the Concord suburbs are more evenly divided.
We are really torn on where to live. We know we want to live in either New Hampshire, Maine, or Vermont. We are looking for what most people are looking for: easily affordable rent, available work, and a beautiful landscape with plenty of fishing and hunting opportunities. I like some aspects of all three states, so it's difficult to pick.
We are city-oriented (smaller cities) but like access to the country for outdoor stuff. We get along with anyone politically. Is politics a devisive thing in NH more than most places or do people pretty much keep it to themselves. What about Vermont or Maine?
We are really torn on where to live. We know we want to live in either New Hampshire, Maine, or Vermont. We are looking for what most people are looking for: easily affordable rent, available work, and a beautiful landscape with plenty of fishing and hunting opportunities. I like some aspects of all three states, so it's difficult to pick.
We are city-oriented (smaller cities) but like access to the country for outdoor stuff. We get along with anyone politically. Is politics a devisive thing in NH more than most places or do people pretty much keep it to themselves. What about Vermont or Maine?
Thanks.
I think you will find that in New England (particularly northern New England), politics is something that people usually keep to themselves. People here are known for being more private and reserved than in other parts of the country. Anonymous Internet forums are one thing, but I've never seen strangers (or even friends, now that I think about it) get into a real argument about politics.
The only annoying thing is that we get absolutely bombarded with political ads during election seasons (NH being a key primary and swing state). I can't stand the ads (which are usually "factually challenged"), so I try to avoid watching the local TV channels altogether.
Right now, southern NH has the most work, although a large chunk of the population commutes to jobs in Massachusetts. Of the three states, I think NH is the "safest" bet in the current economy. Unfortunately, southern NH also has the most expensive housing prices, and some towns have very high property tax rates (as there is no state income or sales tax). For the average person, however, your overall tax burden is going to be lower in NH than in ME and especially VT.
Vermont is an overwhelmingly rural state, so high-paying jobs are difficult to find. It sounds like Burlington would be a great fit for you (and this is where most of the jobs are), but it might not be affordable, depending on your salary. Maine is generally more affordable than VT and NH, but it also suffers from being primarily rural and isolated. Most of the work is in the Portland area, which again sounds like it would be a great fit, if you can find a job there and feel comfortable with the job security.
In terms of having access to natural amenities, none of the cities in northern New England will disappoint. I do think that Burlington and Portland are in some ways more "vibrant" and "fun" than the largest cities in NH, although Portsmouth is similar on a slightly smaller scale.
If you can get a good job that pays well according to the CoL in that city, then go for it. I don't think it should matter much which part of northern New England you're in, although southern NH offers the best chances of finding work if things fall through.
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