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My boyfriend and I want to move to NH when our apartment lease is up next February. We are looking for a small to medium city where he can work as a chef, warehouse worker, general laborer, or fisherman, and I can work in legal/clerical/secretarial position. I have 5 years experience as a paralegal in both private practice and for the state bar association. He's always done whatever he had to do to earn his own keep and is pretty good at everything except sales.
We are staunch libertarians, opposed to the government's constant meddling of every aspect of our lives, and would ideally like to purchase a few acres of property with a well and septic field already in, and install solar panels to be independent of city utilities (and utility bills). We are interested in the cob building method, which is an ancient building method using simple materials that is fireproof, earthquake-safe, easy to build and remodel, and stands for centuries with proper upkeep. Many of the local building codes (in and around Portland, Oregon) forbid cob houses, presumably because they don't enslave you to hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
We also hope to have chickens for eggs and a couple of goats for milk (and so we don't have to mow 3 acres of lawn), as well as a large vegetable and herb garden.
We hope to start a family in a couple of years and want our children to be raised in a healthy, outdoor environment (not sat in front of the TV all the time) and to not grow up around the self-entitled kids these days that think they're owed something by others just for being born.
Can someone tell me what the job markets, building codes, and neighborhood regulations are like in NH?
I'm a lawyer in NH. (Not hiring right now, unfortunately). The job market is okay, but be advised that BigLaw has virtually no presence in the state; there are a lot of solo practitioners, several small firms and some mid-sized firms. While the pay is often good for lawyers (with hourly rates not too far from the Boston market, especially closer to MA), it really varies for assistants, secretaries and even paralegals. My recommendation is to contact the state Bar Association (224-6942) and ask for a subscription to the Bar News. (It comes free with Bar membership so I don't know whether there's a charge for nonmembers). The Bar News is a NH Bar Association publication with a classified section that lists job opportunities for legal professionals. When you zero in on a specific part of the state, find out what the biggest firms and other legal employers are and submit your resumes to them along with a cover letter.
building codes are there to protect you, they are very basic common sense minimum standards. you be amaze at the so many fly by night house builders that think they can build a house. its not the code that is the problem. Its the government that makes a profit off the code.
building codes are there to protect you, they are very basic common sense minimum standards. you be amaze at the so many fly by night house builders that think they can build a house. its not the code that is the problem. Its the government that makes a profit off the code.
Every time I hear "Common sense" and "the government is here to protect you" I cringe. I don't understand why people want the King's permission to do what they want on their property. As usual the government in any form over steps its bounds every time it's given a little bit of power over the serfs.
If someone wants to build a log home on their property the .gov shouldn't be able to step foot inside to see if it's up to the .gov's standards. IMO anyone who thinks otherwise is scared of freedom.
My condominium owners are paying he price for lax or nonexistent building standards or codes. We are rebuilding all of our over only 40 year old units because of substandard design allowed for extensive water damage, undersized roof structures risk collapse and the wiring did not meet the code in 1974 let alone now. When these early condominiums were built I am not certain the town had either a code or an inspector. Our buildings are the result of the resulting cheap construction.
Building and, mostly zoning codes, have been abused to enhance and protect high property values. The home owners want the speculative gain and the town, being completely dependent on property taxes to fund the very expensive school systems, want the high assessed value and tax revenue. Nobody, at lease nobody with an existing house, wants some kids to move in and build a 600 ft. sq. log cabin and send a couple or more kids to the schools without paying enough taxes to meet the cost of their education.
To the OP. Good luck finding jobs with enough pay to support your dream of a stand alone house on a few acres near a good sized town. I hope you are patient because that will cost over 300 grand (in some places a lot more then 300k) with operating expenses and taxes around 30 grand a year. Southern New Hampshire specializes on upper middle and upper class housing. Even rents are exorbitant.
Going to be interesting how the towns handle some of the new building fads. Nothing is more American then buying land and building a small house to start your adult life, Especially now with the debt carried with college grads. The good news, is many millennials are either not having children or waiting much longer to bring more little brats into this disgusting world, Sorry got of topic there.
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