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My wife and I are considering moving to NH. We have 2 kids under 7 years old, live in Vermont, and will be working from home (internet business).
We like it here in Vermont, however, because of the good things we have heard about NH, we want to live in NH before choosing a state to settle in long-term.
Based on our research, we are trying to decide on one of these places: Lebanon, Hanover, Keene, Grantham, Plainfield, Enfield, and Etna.
What are the pros and cons, and other areas that we should check out in NH?
The essential things for us are:
1. Diversity (a more liberal area).
2. An unschooling community.
3. Internet access (very important as we earn our living online).
4. Access to organic foods and stores.
5. A place to rent for our first year. Ideally, a house with land. We hope to settle down in NH if everything works out for us.
6. Healthcare - Good Chiropractors and Naturopaths.
7. Access to educational activities/events/museums etc. for our kids.
I hope to hear to hear from you. Thank you for your honest advice in advance.
You certainly picked the right towns for your needs
You certainly picked the right towns for your needs (and politics)!
That said, even in those towns you may find much of what you are looking for lacking in New Hampshire, especially items 1,4,5 & 7.
With the possible exception of Amhest/Manchester/Concord/Portsmouth, I can't think of anywhere in NH with multiple museums worthy of the name. Same goes for organic food stores. Can't comment on Chiropractors.
Internet access can be tricky, there are entire threads here on the topic -- keep in mind that generally "a house with land" will be outside of the compact part of town, which generally means slower Internet speeds and more frequent outages. Plan on paying for both broadband (cable or DSL) and also a good cellular data plan as a backup for when the wired service goes down.
After reading that list, your collective desires seem more suited to Vermont than NH, but here goes...
1. The Upper Valley is not very diverse, on either side of the river. Hanover is a fairly liberal town politically due to the presence of the college.
2. I'm not sure what you mean by "unschooling." Home schooling does happen. OTOH, Hanover has arguably the best schools in the state, and some of the other towns you mentioned send their students there as well. Take a look at the tax rates because NH homeowners pay a relatively high amount for school taxes, and decide if you want to pay both to not use the public schools and to school your children at home.
3. There are areas in the Upper Valley with no high speed internet or cell phone service. Check to make sure that any home you're considering currently has service, because being on a utility company's coverage map doesn't mean you can actually get it.
4. The grocery stores here have organic produce and a small selection of organic packaged foods. There's no Whole Foods store...the nearest one is in Bedford. There are farmer's markets and CSA's with local foods in the summer, but they may not be organic. As for other shopping, West Lebanon has a Home Depot, Walmart, JC Penney's, Kohl's, Staples, Michael's, BJ's, Best Buy, TJ Maxx, KMart all on a congested eyesore of a shopping strip. For anything more upscale, you need to go to Manchester or Burlington.
5. Check Craigslist, the Valley News, and use a local realtor. Other than Keene, which is in another part of the state entirely, the towns you listed are all bedroom communities for the college and the medical center, and housing demand is high.
6. No idea.
7. Dartmouth College has museums and exhibits but they don't seem to be geared towards children. Montshire Museum of Science and Vermont Institute of Natural Science do have programs for children, but they're small. Google their websites.
HTH. I think you'd find better access to these things in Keene or southern NH in general.
NH has no income tax but has relatively high property taxes. In VT, if you earn less than $100,000 or so, you get a reduced property tax, but then pay income tax.
I live in the Upper Valley. It's nice. All your necessities are available, but you do have to travel if you want "real" shopping. The stores I miss are Target and Macys.
Why are you not considering the Seacoast or greater Manchester area? In my opinion, much better options for most of what you are looking for.
I have lots of unschooling friends. If you want to be added to the unschooling and homeschool FB groups in the state, DM me on FB and I'll send you the links or add you. That way you can get a feel for the community.
We didn't want to be too close to the bigger city or the nuclear plant. We are not worried about a 45 min or so drive to anything as we work from home and our time is flexible. We will keep the seacoast in mind though. I will send you a message on facebook tonight, Thank you.
Nonesuch,
That is very good to know about the internet, thank you. We hadn't thought of concord. It looks like another opportunity, except that it is close to a prison. Thank you.
KCZ,
Thank you for all of that information! Keene looked like it would check a lot of boxes on our list. Thank you so very much.
jdhpa,
We like the difference in law and the way the state government works. Taxes would be a very large difference for us there. There seems to be a much larger unschooling community there, rather than here in VT. There also is more to do with our kids there. Cost of housing is also much lower than where we live in VT. Access to organic foods is a high priority on our list, as we have food allergies and must cook everything from home. Thank you!
ansible90,
Yes, we have talked to a CPA from NH and it would be better financially for us to live in NH. Thank you!
Last edited by Yac; 02-12-2018 at 05:31 AM..
Reason: 5 (!!!) posts in a row merged. come on.
jdhpa,
Access to organic foods is a high priority on our list, as we have food allergies and must cook everything from home. Thank you!
I'm into healthy food too. Here are some thoughts I have given before.
As far as I know there is nothing in the Berlin area. Not even sure about Conway area. The Co-op in Littleton is mediocre. Sunflower in Laconia is a good store but very tiny and limited selection. There are two small supplement shops in downtown Meredith. The Co-op in Concord is decent and also has a nice cold and hot bar of food. A-Market in Manchester is the best in my opinion. Then you have the newly-opened Whole Foods in Bedford which is one of the nicest Whole Foods I've seen in the U.S. There is a Trader Joes outside of Portsmouth and there is a Trader Joes in Nashua and one is due to open soon in Bedford. I was not impressed with any store in the Hannover/Lebanon area. If you do end up in that area, though, look up Bardo Farm in Croydon. They are unschoolers and have a good thing going on there with the farm they have created.
Market Baskets all over the state have good prices for organics but their selection is very limited. Shaws all over the state have a slightly better selection but their prices are the most expensive of the big stores. Hannafords across the state have an alright selection of organic and their pricing is between Market Basket and Shaws. None of these big stores have supplement selections like the health food stores.
It's been more than a decade since NH has had a medium/maximum security prison escape
Quote:
Originally Posted by peaceka
That is very good to know about the internet, thank you. We hadn't thought of concord. It looks like another opportunity, except that it is close to a prison. Thank you.
I wouldn't worry about the prison -- "near" is relative, and honestly I'd be more concerned about the halfway house and "Transitional Housing" on the south/west side of town. Aside from halfway house walkaways, we haven't had a real prison break since 2003.
I'm into healthy food too. Here are some thoughts I have given before.
As far as I know there is nothing in the Berlin area. Not even sure about Conway area. The Co-op in Littleton is mediocre. Sunflower in Laconia is a good store but very tiny and limited selection. There are two small supplement shops in downtown Meredith. The Co-op in Concord is decent and also has a nice cold and hot bar of food. A-Market in Manchester is the best in my opinion. Then you have the newly-opened Whole Foods in Bedford which is one of the nicest Whole Foods I've seen in the U.S. There is a Trader Joes outside of Portsmouth and there is a Trader Joes in Nashua and one is due to open soon in Bedford. I was not impressed with any store in the Hannover/Lebanon area. If you do end up in that area, though, look up Bardo Farm in Croydon. They are unschoolers and have a good thing going on there with the farm they have created.
Market Baskets all over the state have good prices for organics but their selection is very limited. Shaws all over the state have a slightly better selection but their prices are the most expensive of the big stores. Hannafords across the state have an alright selection of organic and their pricing is between Market Basket and Shaws. None of these big stores have supplement selections like the health food stores.
Just to add about organic foods in the Hanover/Lebanon area. The farmer's markets in the Upper Valley have quite a few organic vendors, including meats, cheese, yogurt and produce. There are winter markets twice a month where you can get the frozen meat, cheese and root veggies. Spring, summer and fall they are every week in Lebanon, Hanover & Norwich (different days of the week).
I would not recommend Hannafords for produce (at least not the one in West Lebanon). It's never fresh. The Coop is probably the best market (Hanover and White River Jct), followed by Price Chopper. They both have some organics - you learn what to find where after awhile.
Also, the farmers markets are a good place to take the kids. Many vendors who make crafts, woodworking, wool from their own sheep, etc. The kids can talk to these people about how it's done.
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You certainly picked the right towns for your needs
It's been more than a decade since NH has had a medium/maximum security prison escape
