Pros & Cons of New Hampshire? Your opinions please (Manchester: real estate, low crime)

[daniellefort]

Crazy4NH... wow you did a lot of research on those posts but your right, to compare how bad FL was to how bad NH is now, I don't know which was is worse. i just don't think either state is the right one to live in.

[fishnfool]

The cost of living is about the only I thing I can say I dislike about here. You have to have an open mind, REALIZE where you are moving and things that are associated with it. I honestly think Tarastomsgirl's experience would've been different if she knew a little more about where she was moving and/or had small town experience before. I'm pretty close to her age and made a similar move (although I'm used to cold weather). My experience on the seacoast has been about the exact opposite.

You can't apply one town to the entire state, even if it is one of the smallest.

The greatest part about this state is the outdoors aspect of it. Ocean, mountains, northcountry, wildlife, etc. It truly is a 4 season state with great sports available for each season. Plus you have Maine and Vermont only a short drive away. If you get bored here it's your own fault.

I LOVE the libertarian aspect of life and local politics here too. I practically hold my nose when I have to drive into Mass.

[Tarastomsgirl]

Originally Posted by fishnfool

The cost of living is about the only I thing I can say I dislike about here. You have to have an open mind, REALIZE where you are moving and things that are associated with it. I honestly think Tarastomsgirl's experience would've been different if she knew a little more about where she was moving and/or had small town experience before. I'm pretty close to her age and made a similar move (although I'm used to cold weather). My experience on the seacoast has been about the exact opposite.

You can't apply one town to the entire state, even if it is one of the smallest.

The greatest part about this state is the outdoors aspect of it. Ocean, mountains, northcountry, wildlife, etc. It truly is a 4 season state with great sports available for each season. Plus you have Maine and Vermont only a short drive away. If you get bored here it's your own fault.

I LOVE the libertarian aspect of life and local politics here too. I practically hold my nose when I have to drive into Mass.

The seacoast of NH and the western part or more secluded parts are drastically different.. The seacoasts are used to tourists, and many people from all over coming and going constantly. They are up to date and more savvy in technology.. you get into the smaller towns and people aren't used to that because no one really goes there except locals.. I see now why I kept getting asked "why keene" by everyone, why indeed.. I did my homework, and I knew about the town but I think we can all agree that vacationing somewhere and living somewhere are two different things Things you can tolerate on vacation or even reasearching a town that don't seem so bad at the time can wear you thin when dealing with them daily instead of a couple weeks at a time..
There are many things to do in the state but not all winter sports are for everyone and imo its not as fun when I'm shivering. I've been to Maine and Vermont and except for the seacoast of Maine both states are mostly just small small farming communities with nothing much to see but open land and a local mom and pop shop downtown. Plus its a drive to get anywhere and you can double the time in the winter. The mountains are beautiful but after a while a mountain is a mountain is a mountain there were only so many pictures I could take of them before it was like okay I have 15 pictures of mountains and they all just look like a mountain. Kinda like once you've seen a beach you get the idea, sand water and sand... Naturally I'm speaking for where I'm living and not the whole state

[Valerie C]

I admit that I would go a little stir-crazy living in the extreme western portions of the state. I wonder sometimes Tara, if you'd be headed back to FL if you had settled in a different area of the state, closer to the seacoast or even the Nashua area, with lots of shopping, restaurants, etc. I know at this point you're over it and looking forward to getting back to life as you knew it.

A good lesson for incoming New Hampshire residents who like the idea of living a more secluded lifestyle... I have family members who moved to Deerfield 25 years ago, and now need to move further north or west because of all the new housing going in past 10 years. They couldn't understand why I wanted to live in a "crowded" place like Londonderry, and in actuality, it's *almost* exactly where we needed to be!

[fishnfool]

There are many things to do in the state but not all winter sports are for everyone and imo its not as fun when I'm shivering. I've been to Maine and Vermont and except for the seacoast of Maine both states are mostly just small small farming communities with nothing much to see but open land and a local mom and pop shop downtown. Plus its a drive to get anywhere and you can double the time in the winter. The mountains are beautiful but after a while a mountain is a mountain is a mountain there were only so many pictures I could take of them before it was like okay I have 15 pictures of mountains and they all just look like a mountain. Kinda like once you've seen a beach you get the idea, sand water and sand... Naturally I'm speaking for where I'm living and not the whole state

I get what you're saying to a point, and I'm not trying to pester the issue. You obviously are happy with your decision and that's all that matters, but...

If you dress right there is no reason you should be shivering. I usually sweat my butt off when I'm skiing and have to peel layers off to stay cool. I duck hunt and literally break ice and stand sometimes waste deep in the water for hours.....and I'm rarely cold. Again, the gear makes the difference. Hiking is the same way.

As for the mountains, if you just drive through them then yes, it definitely starts to feel like that. If you get out and hike and camp in them you see something totally new each time. Each trail is different. You appreciate the views, the waterfalls, and the wildlife when you work so hard to get to that point. Climbing Mt. Washington was one of my favorite experiences period. It's still cool when I drive by mountains I've climbed and on clear days can map out my hike from the roads.

[Pawporri]

Originally Posted by Tarastomsgirl

The seacoast of NH and the western part or more secluded parts are drastically different.. The seacoasts are used to tourists, and many people from all over coming and going constantly. They are up to date and more savvy in technology.. you get into the smaller towns and people aren't used to that because no one really goes there except locals.. I see now why I kept getting asked "why keene" by everyone, why indeed.. I did my homework, and I knew about the town but I think we can all agree that vacationing somewhere and living somewhere are two different things Things you can tolerate on vacation or even reasearching a town that don't seem so bad at the time can wear you thin when dealing with them daily instead of a couple weeks at a time..
There are many things to do in the state but not all winter sports are for everyone and imo its not as fun when I'm shivering. I've been to Maine and Vermont and except for the seacoast of Maine both states are mostly just small small farming communities with nothing much to see but open land and a local mom and pop shop downtown. Plus its a drive to get anywhere and you can double the time in the winter. The mountains are beautiful but after a while a mountain is a mountain is a mountain there were only so many pictures I could take of them before it was like okay I have 15 pictures of mountains and they all just look like a mountain. Kinda like once you've seen a beach you get the idea, sand water and sand... Naturally I'm speaking for where I'm living and not the whole state

Sounds like you won't be happy anywhere. New Hampshire is lovely so is Maine and Vermont...If you can not see that your not looking....Carrie

[Tarastomsgirl]

Originally Posted by Pawporri

Sounds like you won't be happy anywhere. New Hampshire is lovely so is Maine and Vermont...If you can not see that your not looking....Carrie

yes they are lovely but if you're going because people say its beautiful and pretty well then thats not gonna work. .Its kinda like people who live in NY and never go to the city, or people who live by the beach and never go. Its the same after a while and you just kinda get used to it. I hardly notice the mountains now when driving cause its just part of what I see everyday. Thats all I'm saying. Don't simply move because its pretty it'll all look the same after a while

[chanisco]

I grew up in southern NH (Exeter) and then moved away to CA, FL and PA for about 10 years. I got married and we moved back up here about 9 years ago. We rented in Derry for a year and then bought our home in Kingston. I can't speak for northern NH, but here is my view on southern NH - specifically the seacoast area.

Pros:
-Very, very low crime (outside of the bigger cities anyway)
-Decent schools for the most part
-Convenient to Boston, Portland, the beach and the mountains (lots to do)
-Beautiful landscape and scenery
-No sales or income tax

Cons:
-The cold winters and the cost of heat
-A little behind the times - although we do have high speed internet, cable, etc. in all towns down here. And we have trash pickup and recycling.
-People like to gossip and can be "clique-ish" - but are generally friendly if you are.
-The bugs can be a bummer. They never used to be so bad, but I think the spraying is helping. (And I rarely see spiders. I saw more in FL and PA than here.)
-The accent is kind of odd. LOL I grew up here and never could come around to liking it. (It's worse in MA actually.) If there is an R, they drop it, but if there isn't one, they add it in. You don't drive a Toyota or a Honda... It's a Toyoder or Honder. And you do to the barber or the doctor. It's the babah and the doctah. So if you're name is Donna or Linda, get used to being called Donner (like the reindeer!) or Linder.
- Property taxes are high compared to other places in the US, but that balances out the lack of sales and income tax I think.
-Traffic on main roads coming from MA (I95, I93, Rt125, etc.)can be congested on the weekends during the summer due to MA people vacationing up north. Stay away from northbound on Fridays and southbound on Sundays if possible.

That's all that I can think of at the moment. We are actually leaving NH to move down south again. It's mainly due to my husband's health, and we're tired of the cold. If you don't mind the cold winters and snow, then I'd say give NH a try! The summers here are beautiful, and fall is gorgeous.

Good luck!

[daniellefort]

Originally Posted by fishnfool

If you dress right there is no reason you should be shivering. I usually sweat my butt off when I'm skiing and have to peel layers off to stay cool. I duck hunt and literally break ice and stand sometimes waste deep in the water for hours.....and I'm rarely cold. Again, the gear makes the difference. Hiking is the same way.

As for the mountains, if you just drive through them then yes, it definitely starts to feel like that. If you get out and hike and camp in them you see something totally new each time. Each trail is different. You appreciate the views, the waterfalls, and the wildlife when you work so hard to get to that point. Climbing Mt. Washington was one of my favorite experiences period. It's still cool when I drive by mountains I've climbed and on clear days can map out my hike from the roads.

I was going to say something along the lines as you did. A true Northerner knows how to dress to enjoy the outdoors even in coldest of winter weather. You can't just wear a sweater and jacket and think your going to be warm. uh...uh...you need long johns, ski pants, good quality boots and gloves, face mask, hats. And like you said, before you know it your taking off some of your clothes becuase you get so hot.

[WannaComeHome]

[quote=fishnfool;3244411]
If you dress right there is no reason you should be shivering.

to a point, that's true. But if you read some of Tara's posts a couple of months ago - there's something wrong with the heating in the house she's renting. Yes, layers are definitely the way to go during the winter, but when you're just at home you do not want to have so many layers that you can't move and mittens! that's just not right and being cold all the time in your own house is miserable.

So her shivering is not necessarily just because she's not dressed properly for outdoors.