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We are a family of 5 in about an 1800 sf house and we have been using about 70 gallons a month this winter. We do not keep our house super warm... Mostly 65 and the family room maybe around 67 if we feel cold. So 250 in a much smaller house would last longer. We have ours refilled monthly though we have a 250 gallon tank, it never gets close to empty.
We are a family of 5 in about an 1800 sf house and we have been using about 70 gallons a month this winter. We do not keep our house super warm... Mostly 65 and the family room maybe around 67 if we feel cold. So 250 in a much smaller house would last longer. We have ours refilled monthly though we have a 250 gallon tank, it never gets close to empty.
That's good info. Thanks. Do you know what you average per month in non-winter months in oil costs? Just trying to budget it out. If you're saying you use 70g a month in the winter, what do you use the other months. Ours has to heat the water as well.
just sent you a message with info. We have an electric water heater so we don't use oil to heat water...so when not using heat, our oil costs are $0. But obviously our electrical costs are going to be higher. Plus my house is about double the size of the Dartmouth rental you are looking at which makes my costs a bit higher in terms of power usage, and I would assume, heating costs.
For reference - I had my oil tank filled exactly one month ago and we have gone through just about exactly half the tank (125 gallons) in that time. We have a 1700 square foot new (energy-efficient) house and keep the house in the mid-60s most of the time. The oil heats the house and water in a tankless water heater set-up.
During this last month we have had an extreme cold snap (teens down to well below zero), followed by unusually warm temps (40s, up to above 50.) Not sure if it all averages out to "average" winter temps or not... perhaps still a bit on the cold side.
During non-winter (shoulder seasons and summer)... we probably use one tank of oil.
If I move there, Dartmouth requires us to purchase 250 gallons of oil when we move in from Irving.
Does anyone know what this costs? I'm guessing $3.50 a gallon
Does anyone know how long this usually lasts?
a brochure for a local heating company states: A typical round number of gallons for mid- winter use during the three frigid months of December, January and February will be about 100 gallons per month (about 3 gallons per day). The other nine months of the year will use about the same heating dollars as the three coldest winter months.
The problem with this area is that there aren't very many rentals outside of Lebanon and Hanover, but every now and then a house within one of dozens of nice (if teenytiny) nearby towns comes on the rental market...and the rent is often in the ballpark of $1500. Lyme, for example, has one of the state's best elementary schools and half of its middle/high school students go to Hanover (the other half goes to Thetford Academy in VT - no idea what that's like). It's rare for a 3-bedroom to come on the rental market in Lyme, but chances are it'll rent for under $1500/month if it does. Cornish is the other NH town that sends students to Hanover High, but it doesn't comp 100% of each student's tuition like I believe Lyme does; parents must pay the difference. A number of VT communities have similar arrangements with Hanover High; information is available here: Hanover High School |Upper Valley School Choice & Sending Districts.
In addition to the NH side of the river, you might want to check out Woodstock and Norwich VT. Both of these communities are desirable, and every now and then something reasonable comes on the market. Grantham NH sends students to Lebanon middle and high schools, and condos in the large Eastman community within Grantham occasionally come up for rent. New London and North Sutton NH are about 30 minutes away from Dartmouth; they are in the highly regarded Kearsarge district. New London has some rentals (there are fewer in North Sutton, but occasionally someone rents a house), although big box shopping options around this part of the state are limited to nonexistent. Also, you might want to check out Sunapee - I've heard generally good things about the Sunapee school district, although Sunapee part of the same big-box-free part of the state as New London and North Sutton. Finally, check out Hopkinton, which is about an hour from Dartmouth. While this commute will be no fun for you, Hopkinton has one of the state's absolute best school districts, plus it's a quaint community with a critical mass of exceedingly well educated, typically progressive professionals and academics one town outside of Concord (which has just about every big box store imaginable). If you look at Hopkinton, try to find something in Contoocook (a village entirely within Hopkinton); Contoocook is in the northwestern part of town, about 50 minutes to the Dartmouth green. Homes in Contoocook/Hopkinton tend to be a little more reasonably priced than similar homes in Hanover. People commute from Hopkinton to Hanover/Lebanon, Manchester, Boston...hell, I know a guy who commutes from Hopkinton to Athol MA. People say living there is worth the commute.
Before accepting any offer, however, you should talk to Dartmouth's HR personnel: there's a good chance that the college offers partially subsidized housing within Hanover for faculty members who are new to the area. (That's how they did it at my alma matter, anyway: the college owned an apartment complex, new faculty had a wing to themselves, and their rents were drastically below market rates--and, of course, student room fees for sharing an identical unit with hormonal sociopaths. Best years of my life). Dartmouth HR's #1 job is to lure world-class talent to a rural region with terrible weather. They are bound to have all kinds of resources that will make your relocation as painless as humanly possible.
Good luck. Frankly, 3-bedroom rentals are hard to find anywhere within a reasonable drive of Hanover, $1500/month is extremely low for 3-bedrooms outside of an industrial city like Claremont's downtown (I don't want to knock Claremont's school district while the city is trying to revitalize, but it is not on my list of recommended municipalities for a reason), and that's before you consider that utilities will probably run you over $400/month anywhere in NH. So cast a wide net, look at all the communities that you think are desirable and check listings daily. But definitely see what programs and resources the college has for faculty members who are new to the area, as I am sure there are several.
Given the age of your kids, and your lack of familiarity with this area, I wouldn't worry about schools for now but get the best affordable rental for your families' needs that is close to campus, while you learn the lay of the land. West Lebanon and Wilder (Hartford) Vermont are the closest towns that have more rentals than other towns. If you can get a house in a nice neighborhood in either town, there is opportunity for walking and using a stroller which is nice at your kids' ages. You should keep a look out for Lyme, Norwich, VT and Thetford, VT to see if they have a houses that come up as well as these are wonderful family-oriented communities right near Dartmouth. For a newcomer from California, I would caution you to go to a town or do a rental that is way out there in the boonies. Come winter time, it adds a layer of aggravation for transportion and you may feel very remote and isolated. As well, make sure there is high-speed internet. For a 1500 square foot house, I budget $3000/year for propane (rarely use my wood stove for health reasons which would offset the price) and pay an avg of $85/mo electric. Garbage is about $60/month. No water charges. I live in Thetford. Good luck!
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