Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I live in Southern California. My wife is from Western Mass. We thought about moving to New England for the scenery, the better schools, the slower pace of life (we never considered Boston!) and because I like the fact that much of it is not growing. New England turned out to not be so feasible for us in the end. Plus, I love sports in the Western time zones. It sounds trivial but Monday Night Football is so much better at 6 pm than it would be for me at 9 pm!
We are leaving So Cal in 18 months but chose Idaho for a variety of business and personal reasons. I could not agree with Captjob more about why people are leaving and where they are going. I hope most Californians are not leaving only to change their new home to be move like the one the wanted to leave. I am less optimistic than Captjob that New England is safe from the metastisis that is occurring.
If it is any consolation, CometVoyager, Californians are generally pretty good recyclers!
As sad as it is, I think that it would be naive to think that "it couldn't happen here". Granted, we don't have the large tracts of unincorporated land that is available in the larger western states; we're not going to see any new towns spring to life. However, subdivisions (roads to nowhere) are so much more common now than 10 years ago. I had to become acclimated to it in Missouri, now they are becoming the neighborhoods of choice for the majority of transplants from other areas.
In just the past decade or so, moreso in the southern part of the state, New Hampshire is becoming much like Massachusetts, both in political climate, and in the rate of development. Many of these developers are from MA, as there are few tracts left to build on in northern MA.
My 16 year old daughter sees it coming, and wants to move to Canada!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Captjob
It is sad to see and read about states becoming inundated with people who move and then want to make it just like the state they left. Jobs, low cost housing, reasonable taxes, and a solid educational system are what will attract the masses and inevitably force the changes that come with a changing demographic.
We are planning to move from CA to NH this summer (have roots going back a long way and family in central NH) and I was really shocked by the amount of congestion in southern NH. But I don't think you can blame Californians any more than anyone else. We're looking for an antique house - I love them and they are part of what I love about NH. But two different realtors told me only about 1/25 homebuyers is willing to consider one. Everyone wants a brand new house. Between that, population growth, and the need to keep houses semi-affordable, suburban sprawl and subdivisions are inevitable. I hate to see it, though.
As sad as it is, I think that it would be naive to think that "it couldn't happen here". Granted, we don't have the large tracts of unincorporated land that is available in the larger western states; we're not going to see any new towns spring to life. However, subdivisions (roads to nowhere) are so much more common now than 10 years ago. I had to become acclimated to it in Missouri, now they are becoming the neighborhoods of choice for the majority of transplants from other areas.
In just the past decade or so, moreso in the southern part of the state, New Hampshire is becoming much like Massachusetts, both in political climate, and in the rate of development. Many of these developers are from MA, as there are few tracts left to build on in northern MA.
My 16 year old daughter sees it coming, and wants to move to Canada!
Great post-cannot rep you till I spread more love around. NH was the fasetst growing of all 6 New England states and one of the fastest-if not the fastest in the northeast. The amount of change that I have seen even in the past 5 years is huge-every day you hear about a new subdivision popping up. To say it "could never happen here"-well yes it can and it is. It will never be California but the landscape and climate of NH could be changed forever if out of control growth is not tamed.
In addition to residential growth, commercial growth is out of control. Every town has to have one of everthing. God forbid you have to drive more than 5 minutes to get to Home Depot, etc. I know we are all busy but geez-you do not need 1 of every single chain in your town. I do not understand. I move into a town knowing that the nearest Home Depot is x minutes away. I would never think of moving in and say ok now build me every store imaginable. Then, if the townspeople fight it-some judge rules they can build it anyway
I am happy that NH has one of the best land conserving organizations in the country. The Society for the Protection of NH Forests is great. We are members and when they had their 100th anniversary in 2001, they started a very ambitious project called NH Everlasting-to permanently conserve 1 million acres. They are doing a great job. They have helped to save many farms etc. Sometimes they partner with other groups like local cities, the Nature Conservancy, Audubon, etc. I like them because they are not some crazy anti-growth organization. They are actual forresters who also realize a lot of people make their living off the forest. They realize that there is a need for "timbering" but in a responsible way.
I've seen immense changes on the seacoast in less than three years. The population of Exeter has tripled since the 80's. The quiet town of Greenland after years of fighting is now opening its doors to a Stop & Shop, Target, and Lowe's along Rt 33. I echo the sentiment of nicolem. The first thing that crossed my mind when I heard this announcement recently was, do we need a Lowe's? I can not believe with Home Depot in Hampton, Seabrook, and Portsmouth, as well as several Lowe's and ma and pa's, that there is any demand for another Lowe's. Rt 108 thru Newmarket and upwards to UNH and Dover is a headache, and 125 isn't alot better. Epping at the cross hairs of 101 had a few gas stations and a Toyota dealership just a little more than three years ago. Now Epping more resembles Nashua since the opening of the super Wal-mart (and a Lowe's two years ago within a stone's throw). Relatively speaking, I still feel I've got it easy in coastal New Hampshire. But the wind is a changin' and most indicative of that is the fact that real estate prices are pretty stagnant around here which is more than can be said in comparison to the declining prices in most other places. And so long as the current crop of politicians put in power continue to be put in power by the incessantly deranged in the rest of the northeastern states, the migration into New Hampshire will continue.
Newswise — A new analysis of the state’s demographic trends from Kenneth M. Johnson, senior demographer at the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire, finds that New Hampshire, with a total population of 1.3 million, gained 79,000 residents between 2000 and 2006, and that most of this growth—51,000 residents—came from net migration. The report, “The Changing Faces of New Hampshire: Demographic Trends in the Granite State,” was released today.
The net migration also brought economic gains: New Hampshire gained at least $1.4 billion in income from migration between 2001 and 2006, and households moving in earned nearly $9,000 more than those leaving.
The largest source of migrants into the Granite State was metropolitan Boston (78,000), and nearly as many came from elsewhere in the Northeast (66,000). New Hampshire gained families as well as people age 50 to 69 from this migration.
Yes, of course, the flow of Mass-ites into southern NH continues........what's news about that? The Route 3, 93 and 95 corridors (up to Portsmouth and Manch) will continue to be subdivided and built up........what's news about that? Yes, the shoreline of Winnepesaukee and Sunapee will continue to appreciate.
But, droves of Californians and master planned commmunities?? Tell that to the folks in Claremont and Berlin.
I've seen immense changes on the seacoast in less than three years. The population of Exeter has tripled since the 80's. The quiet town of Greenland after years of fighting is now opening its doors to a Stop & Shop, Target, and Lowe's along Rt 33. I echo the sentiment of nicolem. The first thing that crossed my mind when I heard this announcement recently was, do we need a Lowe's? I can not believe with Home Depot in Hampton, Seabrook, and Portsmouth, as well as several Lowe's and ma and pa's, that there is any demand for another Lowe's. Rt 108 thru Newmarket and upwards to UNH and Dover is a headache, and 125 isn't alot better. Epping at the cross hairs of 101 had a few gas stations and a Toyota dealership just a little more than three years ago. Now Epping more resembles Nashua since the opening of the super Wal-mart (and a Lowe's two years ago within a stone's throw). Relatively speaking, I still feel I've got it easy in coastal New Hampshire. But the wind is a changin' and most indicative of that is the fact that real estate prices are pretty stagnant around here which is more than can be said in comparison to the declining prices in most other places. And so long as the current crop of politicians put in power continue to be put in power by the incessantly deranged in the rest of the northeastern states, the migration into New Hampshire will continue.
Oh yes Greenland-the residents gave it one heck of a fight to stop that development and I applaud them for taking it as far as they could. I only wish they would have won that fight.
And so long as the current crop of politicians put in power continue to be put in power by the incessantly deranged in the rest of the northeastern states, the migration into New Hampshire will continue.
I think you are on to something there. Living in CA and watching a lot of people leave it seems to generally be two reasons:
1) They feel like CA has gotten insanely nutty, politically speaking. Stick with me, this is on-topic. So many parts of CA are extremely crowded. On top of that, we have a bunch of politicians who roll welcome mat for illegal aliens. Then they claim there is not enough money for infrastructure. We have Governor Schwarzenegger who replaced a governor who was recalled because of out of control taxes and spending. It was only the second time in American history that a governor had been recalled by the voters. Since Schwarzenegger assumed office spending has went up over 40% and now we have a $14 billion deficit. As another example, just this month, CA proposed requiring new construction to install thermostats that the state or power company could control in an emergency because we haven't had a new power plant built in decades. They finally backed down on this idea after public outcry. Many of us leaving (myself included) feel more like refugees from a state where we have lived for most of our lives and still have family.
and/or
2) They have a lot of equity in their home and can move to an area where the wife can stay home with the kids because housing is cheaper and they have a nice down payment. The housing bubble in CA was worsened by the number of illegal immigrants coming into the state and buying or renting properties in extended families or groups.
I could go on, but this is not a forum for taxes or immigrations. These are just a couple of insights into why Californians are leaving and moving to places like New Hampshire. I don't think that most people realize that that their policiticians in DC that refuse to enforce the immigration laws are directly contributing to the influx of Californians into their state.
As a former Calilfornian, I can pretty safely say that the "McMansionization" is HIGHLY unlikely.
As long as towns specify minimum lot size (especially in areas without city water/sewer), you won't find that kind of development going on.
That being said, the area directly behind my house is going to have about 17 houses built on it. That's the bad news. The good news is that the average lot size is 2 1/2 acres. Not bad. That might not seem like much to some, but it's a helluva lot better than the 3300 square foot lot my old house in OC was on.
Maximum lot coverages are also key if you are trying to prevent buildings that are "too big" for the lot.
For those that don't like the development thats happening....if the zoning allows it, then not much can be done about it. The best thing one can do is become involved....attend planning hearings, talk to your town officers about the possibility of changing zoning, etc. From my dealings, I've found that most developers are more than willing to hear out resident (especially abutters) concerns and work with them.
OR..you could always move to Vermont
Last edited by vter; 01-23-2008 at 07:47 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. NH was the fasetst growing of all 6 New England states and one of the fastest-if not the fastest in the northeast. The amount of change that I have seen even in the past 5 years is huge-every day you hear about a new subdivision popping up. To say it "could never happen here"-well yes it can and it is. It will never be California but the landscape and climate of NH could be changed forever if out of control growth is not tamed.
