Vermont vs New Hampshire (Londonderry, Lebanon: sales, rental, house)

[30apples]

hello all. Aside from the no state income tax and the lack of a sales tax in NH, what would the advantages and disadvantages of these two states?? Thanks to all for their w/ input.....

[mountainstream100]

I, too, am curious about the pros and cons between the two states. I'll be looking forward to hearing some responses.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

The differences between these 2 states really come down to politics. Both have simalar scenery & topgraphy (lots of mountains, forests, and lakes) and both have their New England charm and history but thats where the simalarities end.

New Hampshire is very pro development and is probably the fastest growing area in the New England states. Primarally lots of people from, Mass, NY & NJ moving there for a lower cost of living and a semi rural lifestyle. Cross the state line into many border towns from Mass into NH and you'll notice a lot of shopping & strip malls as NH has no sales tax which draws in the shopping crowds. Also southern New Hampshire has developed into a semi suburban bedroom community area with many commuting to Mass for jobs. New Hampshire seems to becoming more liberal in recent years but it will always be more conservative than Mass and Vermont and residents love it that way. There seems to be a big libertarian mindset in NH, in other words, they don't like paying taxes.

Vermont on the other hand is more pro environment and liberal. Vermont has done very well at keeping out the development, strip malls, and Wal Marts that NH seems to welcome. Vermont is much more rural and less populated. Small towns and villages are the lifeblood of the state. Burlington VT even had a socialist party as a mayor. Vermont has also had some new arrivals from Mass, NY,NJ, & even California but even the people relocating there have a much different miindset, people who appreciate the open pastures qand green environment of Vermont and limited development. Burlington is a prime example of an earthy, greeny, liberal college town, almost like a little Berkeley or mini San Francisco of sorts.

[nhyrnut]

VT high taxes very anti- business, NH low taxes pro- business.

[GregW]

If I had been offered jobs in New Hampshire and in Vermont when we moved back to New England I probably would have chosen to live in Vermont. In the 25 years we have been in Londonderry, NH I have watches suburban sprawl engulf the town. I consider the greatly increased traffic on weekends to be a nuisance. I also find the politics of the selfish “I don’t need no services and won’t pay for them.” to be quite tedious.

I really think I would prefer living in a place that did not worship the commercial real-estate development dollar quite so rabidly. Politically I would find Vermont much more pleasant but in the meantime I am working to change the NH politics into a much more reasonable stance.

[Sporin]

I've lived on both sides of the river and find VT quite nice. Don't see the state sales tax as a giant burdan because most of the stuff you buy regularly isn't taxable (food, clothes). I recognise that I might bfeel differntly if West Lebanon NH shopping wasn't on my drive to and from work each day.

I actually prefer VT's sales tax then cheap registration for cars over the NH method which nails you year after year with very high registration fees. Transfering plates saves you a lot of $$ on taxes as well.

I prefer the more liberal, pro-environment mindset of VT.

I do wish the state was more pro-business and the current Gov. is working towards that, but looking at the insane growth of some NH towns makes me realize that nearly unchecked growth in the name of "business" isn't the answer either.

[30apples]

Thanks to all who answered my post concerning pros &cons. I noticed on a Vt. map of lyme tick distribution that for Vt., the state was cut in half R to L, and the northern half of the state had practically no lyme ticks. Does anyone know why that is? Is so. Vt. and so. NH the same in terms of the presence of lyme ticks?
I like to walk thru fields and woods etc, but don't fancy drenching myself in pesticides and wrapping my pants legs in duct tape. I read that landscapers and people who work outdoors in so. NH do that. Also, having to check yourself throughly after every exposure to woodlands and or brush, looking for a tick the size of a poppy seed, would seem to provide a LOT of opportunity for overlooking one, esp. if it's in an place hard to see! Regular ticks are no problem to see and remove, plus don't usually leave lasting problems....

[GregW]

I do not know the details of the Lyme tick distribution but an East /West line may be a sampling artifact. I would suspect the distribution to be controlled by the availability of hosts and minimum temperature. Temperature minimums are altitude as well as N/S related. Interesting observation.

[DareToDream]

For us (coming from NY state), the no state income tax was more of a factor than no sales tax. I can't compare living in New Hampshire to living in Vermont, as I've never lived in Vermont

The area in NY from which we relocated had a major problem with ticks - deer ticks, wood ticks, etc., and Lyme disease was rampant. Here in northern New Hampshire (we've been here since April of 2006), my husband, myself and our dog have not had any ticks on us....Both the house we rented and the one we bought have trees around it, deer that come into the yard, moose, turkeys, etc. and we've walked through the woods at the rental and some of the trails around this house, still with no ticks. I don't know if we've just been lucky or if the tick problem isn't as bad up here in the "north country."

Jobs were not a problem for either my husband or myself - I work from home for a national company, so brought my job with me, so to speak; hubby changed careers from a sytem analyst with IBM to a woodworker and had no problem finding a job. Naturally, our income took a "hit" but it was worth it because of our quality of life here over what it was in NY.

[Sporin]

I forgot to mention income tax.... hmmm.. hard to say as I am making a lot more money since I moved to VT (not related to the state, just my career has progressed) so it's hard to say whether it's a huge impact. Obviously I'd like to see that extra $90/month± in my paycheck each month, but ultimately it isn't a lifestyle changer for me. Growing up poor I certainly understand that it can be for some folks.