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Just curious (and no offense taken here) of all things why do you say you're "suspicious" about left coasters moving to NH? Suspicious of what exactly?
Politics aside, it just seems like a huge leap of faith. Usually people looking to move here will mention an attraction to what New Hampshire is, having lived here before, or another reason to pick NH over the rest of New England.
Consider the original post in this thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by charmgary
I am single, 44 years old and as great as San Diego is, I am long overdue for a change. I simply can't afford to live here anymore. Plus I have always loved the East Coast. ... It is overwhelming knowing where to begin when you are desperately wanting a change.
Was NH chosen because it is (almost literally) as far away as CG can get from problems without leaving the US entirely? Looking back at posting history, New York City was also in the running!
I'm not saying nobody should ever move to New Hampshire, but rather it should be an informed decision. Newcomers need to know why they want to live here (versus Maine, Mass, or RI), and know what they're in for (weather, wildlife, taxes, etc).
If you've never lived here before I don't think there is any way to know exactly what you're in for until you've actually lived it. No amount of research or internet people's opinions, warnings or anything can do it justice. Being in the environment day to day for months at a time and experiencing the feel firsthand is the ONLY way. Going to work, doing your grocery shopping, running errands, partaking in the outdoor recreation, physically shoveling the snow, looking at the filth on your car for months and knowing any attempt at cleaning it is futile, leaving for work in the early morning and sitting in your car as it warms up in below zero temps, for weeks and weeks and months, driving home from work in a white out blizzard, seeing cars abandoned on the side of the road, not knowing if you're actually on the offramp or if your heading into a ditch. Nobody can fully understand unless they've lived it. CAN you deal with it? Are you WILLING to deal with it long term? Everyone's tolorance is different and you will only figure it out once you've lived it.
For us, the reason we chose NH over all other New England states is because we loved miu so much. J/K.. miu is cool despite the many disagreements we've had over time. I got nothing but love!
Seriously though, aside from being beautiful country the most appealing things about NH were the lack of taxes (of course), the libertarian views and the fact that people from NH are proud. Never have I experienced or heard of people being so proud of their state and that was appealing to us. Very patriotic as well. I have great respect for that.
It is sad actually that we came to the realization that NH is not for us. I wanted to like it. I tried hard to like it. And many things about it I do like, but the few things I don't care for outweighed all else. I am proud to say that we lived here even though it was for a brief period of time. We gave it a shot and therefore have no regrets.
We downplay how bad the winters are because to us, they're not. Zero is a perfectly fine temperature of you're dressed for it, which is not hard. Sure, I would not go out in a 30 MPH gale at zero, but I would not do that at 32 either. Personally, I find ice the worst, rain next and snow last.
To be honest, in Southern New Hampshire, the temps really aren't that bad in the Winter (at least IMO). Sure, we'll have some bitter 0° days here & there, but it usually sticks around in the 30s, although, colder at night, of course.
I moved here from NYC and to me, it only seems a few degrees colder here than it was there. Usually the difference that will cause the snow to stick around rather than melt between storms. Maybe it's just me though.
The experience will be much different in the Northern parts of the state. Maybe I'm just a freak of nature, but in the 11 years I've been here, it hasn't seemed all that different that NJ & NY, where I grew up and then lived for years. More snow here though, and it tends to stick around. This year, however, we had a string of 70+° days in February that melted all the snow and caused flowers to bloom. Now THAT was weird.
There is a BIG difference between 30 degrees and 0. One is cold, but perfectly comfortable to be outside and doing things as long as you are dressed right. Zero degrees is absolutely bitter and makes you only want to go out if you absolutely have to. There is quite a bit of difference in length between winters in New Hampshire when I was growing up, and winters down here in Philadelphia where I live now. Philadelphia doesn't get much snow, and when we do it almost always melts within a week or two. It doesn't stick around, unlike NH where the far more frequent snowstorms and much colder temps cause the snow to pile up for months.
That isn't even taking into account that spring isn't much more then rainy, cold mud season. I just don't understand why New Englanders try to downplay how bad the winters are, especially to someone who isn't used to them at all.
Not all of New England experiences the same Winter weather .. even in tiny RI, there is a big difference in weather from the coast to inland. Sometimes Winter is long and snowy, sometimes it's not. We had 75 degrees in February this year. But yeah, for someone who has never experienced a cold Winter it can be a shock.
Not all of New England experiences the same Winter weather .. even in tiny RI, there is a big difference in weather from the coast to inland. Sometimes Winter is long and snowy, sometimes it's not. We had 75 degrees in February this year. But yeah, for someone who has never experienced a cold Winter it can be a shock.
...and for those of us who have experienced a cold winter, like debnashua, the winters are no big deal, and no worse than other places. After all, no one ever promised that NH winter would be like Florida.
To be honest, in Southern New Hampshire, the temps really aren't that bad in the Winter (at least IMO). Sure, we'll have some bitter 0° days here & there, but it usually sticks around in the 30s, although, colder at night, of course.
I moved here from NYC and to me, it only seems a few degrees colder here than it was there. Usually the difference that will cause the snow to stick around rather than melt between storms. Maybe it's just me though.
The experience will be much different in the Northern parts of the state. Maybe I'm just a freak of nature, but in the 11 years I've been here, it hasn't seemed all that different that NJ & NY, where I grew up and then lived for years. More snow here though, and it tends to stick around. This year, however, we had a string of 70+° days in February that melted all the snow and caused flowers to bloom. Now THAT was weird.
Weatherwise, ,moving from NY to NH is one thing. Moving from SoCal to NH is another thing entirely. I would encourage people who are considering a move here from other climate zones to spend a week here in Feb. before making a commitment.
Weatherwise, ,moving from NY to NH is one thing. Moving from SoCal to NH is another thing entirely. I would encourage people who are considering a move here from other climate zones to spend a week here in Feb. before making a commitment.
Just before I moved to NH, I had temporarily moved up to Madison, Wisconsin from Chicago, and even just moving 50 miles north and 50 miles inland made for a longer winter with enduring snow cover. Or I just picked an off year to work in Wisconsin, tough to tell.
Madison did help me realize that politics, taxes, and religiosity were what I disliked about the upper Midwest, rather than the weather.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dross99_si
Being in the environment day to day for months at a time and experiencing the feel firsthand is the ONLY way. Going to work, doing your grocery shopping, running errands, partaking in the outdoor recreation, physically shoveling the snow, looking at the filth on your car for months and knowing any attempt at cleaning it is futile, leaving for work in the early morning and sitting in your car as it warms up in below zero temps, for weeks and weeks and months, driving home from work in a white out blizzard, seeing cars abandoned on the side of the road, not knowing if you're actually on the offramp or if your heading into a ditch. Nobody can fully understand unless they've lived it. CAN you deal with it? Are you WILLING to deal with it long term? Everyone's tolorance is different and you will only figure it out once you've lived it.
A lot of the climate-related issues are not all that different from other northern regions, so for people who've already built up coping mechanisms for winter (and/or if you telecommute and like to snowshoe), it is at most a difference in degree, rather than kind.
Having lived in a variety of northern climates - Boston, Minneapolis, Chicago, Pittsburgh and recently (for 11 years), Wash DC, i find people either love winter or hate it. Yes, many hate the season. For them, we have the south, which indeed is growing much faster than the north.
However, we also have summer haters, like my spouse, for whom the south is death and the north a haven.
Yeah you're right. People moving from the northern states, midwest or the mid atlantic have an idea and have a tolerance built up. Someone coming from the south or southwest have no clue.
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Spend two weeks here in February, then decide
