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My husband and I are considering moving from Colorado to New Hampshire. Both of us can work from home and we LOVE SNOW! - the cold weather and the four seasons.
However, something happened today which scared my husband about NH. His friend told him that he had a friend that moved from Colorado (A CO Native) to NH and they hated it...mostly the weather. I still have not figured out where they actually moved to. We are looking more Southern New Hampshire - Rockingham and Hillsborough areas. We also have two small children and don't mind high taxes.
We live in the Denver Metro area, where there is A LOT of crime!, the Summers are too hot - 100+ degrees, there is no ocean, and 1 acre or less of land with a house runs around 1 million $'s. Sure you can find property for less than $1m- even in the more rural areas -if you want to live out on the high desert plains where the buffalo use to roam or have a house with your window staring right into your neighbors bathroom. There is also too much diversity....
We are trying to find out if anyone else has moved from Colorado to NH and absolutely loved it, (I'm hoping to change my husbands mind). I have been to Maine, New York (upstate), CT, MA, and I love it. I am just hoping to deflect some of the negativeness keeping in mind that I am a Colorado Native and I love snow and the ocean. We are going to take a trip next fall so that I can show him the east coast, but I need to ease his fears. Also, I know a lot of Colorado people who tried living elsewhere and hated it. They always came back. I have lived in Arizona and So Cal. I like those places for different reasons, but I don't want to live there. I have also traveled extensively across the US and I liked The New England area the best compared to anywhere else.
If you love both snow and ocean try looking along Rt 16 from Somersworth to Portsmouth. The NH and Maine beaches are nearby and the ski areas a couple of hours north. The weather is north east seasonal with the winter and summer temperatures smoothed by the ocean. We have basically three seasons; winter, rain, sunshine and leaf peeping.
I suggest taking a vacation in the area this fall and just looking around. We are a small state and you could spend a few days in the mountains and near the ocean.
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JukieF is a regular on these boards. She moved to Manchester from CO last year, and could probably give you lots of perspective. Try sending a message...
why would someone move and hate it...? perhaps they didn't do enough research into where they wanted to move and picked a town that wasn't the best suited for them. Perhaps they didn't give it enough of a chance? It's not easy moving where you don't know anyone; hard to say. There's another thread about moving from CO and a little side discussion about the climate differences (well, skiing differences anyway )
CO is largely desert and NH has a definite water table and a lot of trees. I know that was one thing when I visited CO that made me not want to ever live there: I need grass and trees to be happy! I don't care for scrubby sage and that much empty (we flew into Denver, stayed in Winterpark, drove up to Wyoming and out to Colorado Springs - just so you know what I was comparing with). For people used to scrubby sage and a lot of wide open... NH may feel damp and claustrophobic?
northern NH usually gets more snow than southern, especially coastal. so if you really want to have winter, then coastal may not be your cuppa. If you can rent first, its' better because you can use that as a base to roam around and see where you do like best to settle.
You really need to give NH a couple of years to settle in. people are friendly, but somewhat reserved because they want to see if you're going to last, and if you're not going to turn into someone who moves there and immediately wants to change things.
Actually, I was thinking you might check the west side of Hollis or Amherst. Good schools, nice towns..... All of NH is low crime so don't worry about that. schools are decent most places, with the best schools in the southern area (well, it's got more people with jobs, so it can afford better schools), but that doesn't mean that an upcountry town in the north (more/longer winter) would have bad schools. Maybe look around Littleton?
Definitely try to come out for a vacation and look around!
My wife and I live in Palisade, Colorado. We've tried a few times to fall in love with NH, but for some reason, we just find that it comes up short to where we are now.
Our main reasons to move would be to get closer to family, and to facilitate our trips to Italy, where we have all our family. We're both from the north east ( Long Island, NY ), so we're both familiar with the area.
We ( actually me ) chose NH over other states in the region for many reasons. Personal freedom was a major motivator, as well as the Free State Project. I also have other tax situations I need to be privy to when choosing a place to live.
I've spent time all over the state, trying to find a place we could like. From Keene to Rindge to Rumney to Epson to Weare to Sutton and so on. I spent 3+ weeks driving all over the state checking it out.
Here are some of the reasons we personally feel keep us in Colorado:
1. Fixed costs of living. Housing, taxes, and utilities are WAY less. This enables us to work less and enjoy life more. I'm going to Italy for 6 weeks - partially due to the fact that I only pay $40-$100/mo for electricity/heat.
2. I feel the people are a bit more friendly here in Colorado. I'm not saying that NH people aren't nice, it's just that people seem more welcoming here in western Colroado.
3. Weather - Huge issue for me. I could live without the 100 degree days here in Colorado, but I'd take them over not seeing the sun for weeks ( I remember NY all too well ). Lots of cloudy/rainy/dreary days in the north east. DONT get me wrong - living in Colorado, sometimes I wish we had more days like I did in NY, but whenever I go back to the north east, I always say to myself how crappy the weather is.
4. Outdoor activities - sure NH has plenty, but CO is just a a bigger playground. BLM, Natioanl Forests & Parks, etc - there just isn't any comparison. CO is a bigger state, with a lower population density.
There are many more things, but unfortunately I don't have a ton of time this morning.
We still consider moving there as NH IS a beautiful state, and does offer a lot. Mainly for us, it would be moving close to family, and being able to get to Italy without flying for a complete day just to get to NY like it takes us now.
ETA:
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Also:
If I had to choose between the front range and NH, I'd choose NH probably. I freak out, and crawl into a ball in the back seat of the car, as soon as we come down the hill into Arvada. I used to work in NYC. Living in Palisade ( 2000 people ) has definitely done something to me in regards to people, traffic, congestion, etc.
As Steve said, I'm a Colorado native (third-generation native!). My husband is originally from New York but lived in Colorado for nine years before we moved here last summer.
I would be lying if I said I didn't love Colorado. I do. And I miss certain things about it, like the Rockies and the wide open vistas. And the Mexican food. And my family, of course, most of whom is still there.
But... New Hampshire is absolutely wonderful. We moved here from Fort Collins because my husband lost his job, and there just weren't any jobs in his field anywhere in Colorado. He got a job here in Manchester. At first, he was kind of hesitant about it because he lived in Cambridge, MA, when he went to school, and he thought Manchester would be like the Boston area. Wrong! :-) Although he still prefers Colorado, he's being won over by how great New Hampshire is. I've been a convert from day one.
Unlike you, I don't like snow and cold weather. And in about eight or nine years, after my husband retires, we plan to move somewhere much warmer (maybe back to Portland, OR, where we lived at one time). But for now, I feel extremely blessed that my husband got a job here and not any of the other places he interviewed. I love driving around this area. Manchester is surrounded by some smaller towns, but when you're driving around them, you almost think you're in the middle of the mountains or something. I love, love, love all the trees. I like the fact that you can easily get a large lot here, unlike at home. We live right in the middle of Manchester, but we have one and a third acres. And we paid less for this house than we sold our house for in Fort Collins.
You get such a great mix of scenery here. Yes, the mountains can't compare with the Rockies. But NH has mountains, the lakes region, and the seacoast. Incredible scenery everywhere you look. And now, with the trees starting to change, it's going to get even more stunning. We've only experienced one winter here, and I understand it was a very mild winter. So I don't quite know what to expect. But we live on a street that is constantly plowed during storms, and we hire someone to plow our driveway (we've found that a lot of people do that here). So, really, the snowstorms don't have much effect on us. We don't ski (knee problems), so I can't comment on that, either.
What do I like best? The seacoast!!!! The wonderful fresh seafood. Things like clams, mussels, and shrimp are freshly caught and cheap here. And lobster! We couldn't believe it when we first arrived last year that you could get a wicked twin lobster dinner for $20. And then it got it cheaper! I miss my green chile, but I just went back to Colorado a few weeks ago and got six bushels, peeled them and froze them and brought them back on the plane with me. Problem solved. :-)
I really like the climate here. I lived in Colorado for the first 40 years of my life and then moved away for seven years, living in more humid climates. When we moved back to Colorado in 2000, my face shriveled up. :-) I couldn't get over how dry it is back home. Here in New Hampshire, it's not dry like that but it's not humid, either. We seem to get a couple of weeks of hot, humid weather in the summer, but that's nothing.
The people here are very friendly. The pace of life is much slower than Denver. Even the worst traffic here in Manchester, the state's largest city, is nothing compared to what you have in Denver--or even Fort Collins. I like the fact that NH is a small state with a small population, but if you want to do things in the big city, Boston is nearby. And wait until you see some of the really old towns, like Portsmouth (my personal favorite). We like to drive out to Portsmouth for breakfast (The Friendly Toast!) and then take a drive up the coast into Maine. It's so incredibly beautiful.
Property taxes are higher here (we pay around $6300/yr compared to $2600/yr in FC), but when you consider the lack of state income and sales tax, it's much less expensive. (We lived in Rockland County, NY, for a while, and there we paid high state income and sales tax, PLUS our property taxes were $9K!) I've found some really wonderful doctors here; healthcare is quite good. My only real complaint is that there aren't any natural food grocery store chains here like back home (Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage, Sunflower in FC--my favorite!). To make up for that, though, you can buy wine in the grocery store here. It all evens out. :-) And, if you're willing to drive down into MA, they have Trader Joe's! Woo hoo!
What does your husband do for a living? You would definitely need to have a job lined up before the move. There isn't nearly as much work available here as in Colorado, and I think the commute to Boston would be hellacious.
If you'd like to talk more about this, feel free to PM me. And if you come out for a visit, we'd be happy to get together with you and give your hubby a pep talk. :-)
We're both from the north east ( Long Island, NY ), so we're both familiar with the area.
2. I feel the people are a bit more friendly here in Colorado. I'm not saying that NH people aren't nice, it's just that people seem more welcoming here in western Colroado.
3. Weather - Huge issue for me. I could live without the 100 degree days here in Colorado, but I'd take them over not seeing the sun for weeks ( I remember NY all too well ). Lots of cloudy/rainy/dreary days in the north east. DONT get me wrong - living in Colorado, sometimes I wish we had more days like I did in NY, but whenever I go back to the north east, I always say to myself how crappy the weather is.
4. Outdoor activities - sure NH has plenty, but CO is just a a bigger playground. BLM, Natioanl Forests & Parks, etc - there just isn't any comparison. CO is a bigger state, with a lower population density.
I just wanted to comment on a few of your points.
My hubby grew up on Long Island. When he left NY to go to school in Cambridge back in the late 70s and then moved to Portland, Oregon, where he got his first job, he swore he'd never go back to the northeast. He, also, likes the West better, for a variety of reasons.
But I don't think there's any way you can compare life in New Hampshire to life in New York. They're like different worlds. We lived in Rockland County, NY, for a year (after being transferred back to the states from jobs in Europe--we didn't *choose* to go there). That area is beautiful, but oh man, the people! So many people! And the hot, humid weather in the summer. And the high costs of everything. We lasted a year before moving to Colorado, where my husband had never lived before.
We really feel that difference when we drive down to LI to visit my BIL. Once you get out of NH, the congestion and the traffic and the amount of people is just overwhelming. I wouldn't want to go back to that, either.
When my husband got the job here in NH, he was dreading having to move back to the northeast. He dislikes NY intensely, and he wasn't wild about Cambridge/Boston, either. He thought NH would be more of the same. But it's not. Not at all.
Maybe the people here aren't *quite* as friendly and welcoming as people in the West, but I've found everyone to be warm and friendly--from our neighbors to tradespeople to clerks in the grocery store. It's absolutely nothing like NY in that respect. It reminds me much more of Colorado and Oregon.
As for the weather, we've only been here a little more than a year, so I don't have much experience with that. But this past winter (although I hear it was extraordinarily mild) was awesome. Tons of sunshine. Not many of those grey days you talk about. I took some pictures for my Colorado family in December, when they'd already had three months of snow and we'd yet to have a single snowstorm. The grass was still green here and the days were comfortable and sunny. Check it out: Picasa Web Albums - Julie - New Hampshire...
And to your third point, Colorado has lots of awesome recreational areas, yes. But it doesn't have the variety we have here. Between the mountains, the lakes region, and the seacoast, I feel like we have many more recreational opportunities here than we had back home. We both ride motorcycles, and while I loved riding the Rockies, there really wasn't much else. You're either in the mountains or on the plains (boring, boring, boring). Here, we can ride along the coastline! You can't do that in Colorado.
I'm really happy here in NH. It's what I expected, only more so. I'd also be happy to move back to Colorado or Oregon (or Switzerland!). But you couldn't pay me to move back to NY.
Colorado is nice, but I like the ocean so it would be odd for me to live there. NH has the best of the four seasons. And, it is close to a major city, Boston, for professional sports, museums, the North End, etc....
If I could not live in the northeast, I would live in western Colorado. It's got spectacular outdoor recreation on a bigger scale than NH, it's a lot greener than the Front Range, and the pace is much slower than the Front Range. If Colorado had oceanfront property, I would probably settle there.
JukieF, I forgot all about the Mexican food. That is severly lacking in NH. But NH has whoopie pies, which partially makes up for it. The seafood more than makes up for it.
You're also right about the front range (Fort Collins, Denver, CO Springs). It's dry, windy, and congested. Get into the mountains, though, and its an awesome place...
Hi,
Thanks for all of the great info.... I won't give up on my husband.... He is actually from Bosnia and Croatia - (born in Bosnia but had houses and family in both countries). Bosnia is about as big as NH and from what I hear, the climate seems very similar. CO is too dry and deserty for him, he misses the Adriatic and the fog, the big green forests, grass, rain and the sea. So, that is one reason why I picked that state. His family does have a beautiful property in Tribunj Croatia right on the Adriatic (2000 year old city), but it takes (what seems like forever) to get from CO to Zagreb. So NH is so much closer and less expensive to get to Europe more often.
My husband owns his own frieght and logistics business so he can work from anywhere (actually he works from everywhere - even on vacation) But he loves what he does. I work for a VERY LARGE publishing company and I can work from home as well - once and while I may have to go into the Boston office - but primarily I would work from home.
I am not discouraged at all by one comment - I actually was highly defending my choice. I just realize that everyone has their place where they would like to call home and their reasons why.
And, the person who made the comment also made a negative comment about our choice of Dog (Great Pyranees) He had said that he also 'had a friend' who had that breed and that they couldn't train the dog and that the breed was stubborn. But we got the dog anyway and we love her and we trained her to sit, shake and she corrals our kids and is the MOST gentle dog I have ever had with children and protective of her people. So there you go!
For those of you who offered, Thanks for the offer to look you up! We are definately planning to come visit next fall 2011.... If you have any other interesting advice of places that we can visit while we are there, please let us know so we can make the most of our 4 or 5 days.
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