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This has been a great thread for me. I am relocating to NH in May from Orlando. Why? I've heard it was one of the cleanest "Air" states and provides lakes and mountains and the coast. Also, I am just acheing for a better way of life. I'm a great administrative assistant/manager/teacher and I would like to know how the economy is doing. Can I really plan on retireing their one day (still 39 --- not yet) but I want to find a community I can think about really settling down and buying a home one day. What does everyone think???
Thanks!
This has been a great thread for me. I am relocating to NH in May from Orlando. Why? I've heard it was one of the cleanest "Air" states and provides lakes and mountains and the coast. Also, I am just acheing for a better way of life. I'm a great administrative assistant/manager/teacher and I would like to know how the economy is doing. Can I really plan on retireing their one day (still 39 --- not yet) but I want to find a community I can think about really settling down and buying a home one day. What does everyone think???
Thanks!
Southern areas of New Hampshire are like a suburban extension of the Boston metro area. Hillsborough County NH does not have air quality as good as other areas of the state. Northern areas of NH have excellent air quality. In terms of jobs most of them are concentrated in areas generally along and south of Concord. Other areas with a good concentration of jobs is in the Lebanon/Hanover area in the Upper Valley. If you are looking for a more rural town I would suggest Littleton or Lancaster. If you want to be near the ocean or a lake then a Portsmouth or Laconia could fit.
Looking for fresh air, beautiful views and a great location? Consider the Ossipee Lake area. You are 30 miinutes from Meredith, Wolfeboro, North Conway, and Maine. I have met many people who have come to this area and just could not leave. Portland ME and Portsmouth NH are an hour away if you need a city kick and Boston is about 2 hrs. drive. You have skiing, fishing, boating and many other activities at you door and the price of lake access homes are reasonable compared to Lake Winnipausaukee. The people vary from professional to part-time handyman. I cannot get over the friendliness and the honesty of the people in the area. Take a look on some of the web sites to view the Ossipee area including Mt. Chochorua and other beautiful sites. Coming from the Boston area this is my dream location.
Peaceful and beautiful....but close to most anything! I am one mile from a grocery store, bank, liquor store, golf course, hardware store-but off near a pond and lake where I can hop in a kayak in the summer or snowshoe from my backyard in the winter.
Looking for fresh air, beautiful views and a great location? Consider the Ossipee Lake area. You are 30 miinutes from Meredith, Wolfeboro, North Conway, and Maine. I have met many people who have come to this area and just could not leave. Portland ME and Portsmouth NH are an hour away if you need a city kick and Boston is about 2 hrs. drive. You have skiing, fishing, boating and many other activities at you door and the price of lake access homes are reasonable compared to Lake Winnipausaukee. The people vary from professional to part-time handyman. I cannot get over the friendliness and the honesty of the people in the area. Take a look on some of the web sites to view the Ossipee area including Mt. Chochorua and other beautiful sites. Coming from the Boston area this is my dream location.
Peaceful and beautiful....but close to most anything! I am one mile from a grocery store, bank, liquor store, golf course, hardware store-but off near a pond and lake where I can hop in a kayak in the summer or snowshoe from my backyard in the winter.
I have to agree with you 100%.The Ossipee area is one of the nicest areas around as far as being near some mountains and lakes and still within reasonable travel distance to shopping ect.I grew up in that general vicinity and recently bought a log home in Effingham. I'm pretty much stuck down here until the market improves and i can sell this house.
I am a native Vermonter currently living in Virginia and I find that a lot of folks are very, very negative especially when someone asks about retiring in Vermont. Oh, the winters are the hardest, the taxes are the worst, the cost of living is just so horrible. I to have been comparing Vermont and NH....NH property tax rates are through the roof for me....I'm not sure but do they still have the view tax? Vermont tends to have a lot of incentives to 'get around' the property taxes....oh, you still have to pay them but they might be less which can always help. A state will always have to support itself so the money does have to come from somewhere.... I've been looking at factors such as insurance, personal property taxes, income taxes, etc....
I would suggest Burlington, Vermont area so you can do some substitute teaching and there is an expressway to Montreal. Northern NH is hard to get to and to get anywhere from. Been there, done that. What you loose in Vermont income tax you also loose in New Hampshire property and "dividends and interest tax." What you gain in Burlington is Lake Champlain and a liberal politics.
GregW - Can you expand on the dividends & interest tax; also property tax. I live in Texas presently and want desperately to move back to my New England. So retirement cost are important to me.
.NH property tax rates are through the roof for me....I'm not sure but do they still have the view tax?
NH property taxes vary greatly by town, but are always going to be higher than in a state where town budgets are supplemented by income tax kickbacks from the state, sales tax revenues, oil money, etc.
The term "view tax" refers to a 2005 Bill, HB245, which failed. So no, there is no explicit "view tax". That said, there is often an entry in the assessment that takes into account that a house with a good view is worth more than a house that looks out onto a pig farm, but that's just common sense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ikswodnawel
Can you expand on the New Hampshire property and "Dividends and Interest Tax"?
Most NH towns derive the bulk of their operating budget from real estate taxes (property tax) and vehicle registration fees; the exact tax bill depends on the tax rate of the town you live in, so two identical properties in adjacent towns could have vastly different tax bills.
The state's dividend and interest tax is comparatively simple. It's a straight 5% when your income from dividends+interest exceeds $2,400/year/person. Hit age 65 and you get an extra $1,200 exemption.
Here's my general rule: If your retirement plan involves...
More assets than income ----> VT
More income than assets ----> NH
Since you'll be receiving a decent income for the rest of your life (more than my grandparents' SS, anyway) and probably won't be making a cash purchase, I'd take a serious look at northern NH. Your income won't be taxed by the state, and the cost of living is much lower than elsewhere in NH. Since you'll be retired/semi-retired, access to shopping, healthcare and a friendly downtown community factor into my list of recommendations.
So here's my list of recommendations: Bethlehem, Littleton, Whitefield and Lancaster, roughly in that order. Maybe Woodsville. $80K is enough to buy a home in need of some repairs outright, with no mortgage, in these communities. Move-in-ready homes in these communities begin around $100K, but every now and then there's a bargain. Property taxes are much lower in this part of the state as well. You'll also have easy access to some of New England's finest ski resorts and forest trails; it would be a great place to entertain your family from Montreal when they come down to visit you. All of these towns are charming, friendly and boast hospitals, restaurants, shops and pleasant downtowns. In my opinion, this is the best part of New England for retirement. Unless you have your heart set on something much warmer, the quality of life/affordability ratio is hard to beat.
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Vermont versus New Hampshire
