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After a 25 year career in the Fire Service in South Florida, my family and I are planning on relocating to either NH or Maine to enjoy the next part of our lives. In truth, I have 23 years on but am getting more focused on the move north in 2 years. Our reasons for moving 1300 miles north are many, but mainly, we are tired of the constant oppressive heat and even more oppressive humidity.
I am posting this in both state forums to get as many opinions as I can. Also, this isn't a "sell" me on either state (we love both for different reasons), nor is this a "which taxes are worse" thread. I have a basic understanding of tax in both states. We are making a "cheat sheet" if you will about both places, and I have come up with what I think are line items I should be comparing:
Property Tax
Income Tax (as it relates to pension)
Electric
Water
Heating
Food
Gas
Clothing
Internet
Is there anything major-ish that I am leaving out? Thanks!!!
From a broad view, Maine is more expensive than New Hampshire. However, there are certainly locations in Maine that have a lower cost of living than places in New Hampshire.
You will need to determine what criteria are most important to you (ocean, mountains, shopping, healthcare, etc.), set a budget and then evaluate which communities in either state best meet those requirements.
I moved here just over a year ago from Boca, and I now live in the Lakes Region (on the "right" side of the lake ) in an 1820 large 2.5 story drafty house. Here's my numbers, given from July 2017 to July 2018:
Property Tax - $4600 per year, they break it down into 2 payments per year Income Tax as it relates to pensions - no idea, not there yet Electric* - went from $65 per month in summer to $150 per month in winter Water - I have my own well so only cost is electric used to run the pump Heating** - $1,000 for 4 cords of wood, $2,445 propane (I have 3 Rinnai heaters) Food - I live alone and had a lot of home grown veggies so probably can't really help here but I think the selection is not as good as it is in south Florida and maybe a bit more expensive overall Gas - I assume you mean for car, right now it's $2.87 or so per gallon regular. Clothing - Initial large investment of warm things - useful boots of varying kinds, flannel-lined jeans, winter coats, hats, gloves, scarves, long underwear, etc. Internet - Be very careful. Many areas here either don't have it, or have very sketchy internet. Best way to guarantee you have it is to buy a house already with it and proof of it. That said, I have Consolidated Communications (formerly Fairpoint) DSL and pay $85 a month for a small business 25/2 account but that was a 3 year deal and will probably go up after that. The DSL has been more than adequate for me for hosting a website and gaming and vpn work.
What you left out:
Cell phone: $40 per month Verizon prepaid unlimited. I had T-Mobile in Florida and couldn't get reception at all up here. If you are planning on living outside of any NH city, you will need Verizon.
Insurance house/car: You will be pleasantly shocked. I went from $4,500 house insurance to $1,000, and $2,800 car insurance to $550. Both annual costs.
Car registration: You will be unpleasantly shocked. I went from $65 for 2 years registration to $150 per year (variable, based on age and MSRP), plus a $40 annual inspection that is required.
Snow tires/plowing/snow plow: You will need either to buy gear to plow your own driveway/walkways or hire somebody to do it. I paid $345 for the snow season to have someone plow me out but I have a huge driveway/parking area and very long walkway from my garage to my house so it was quite worth it for me. A set of 4 snow tires ran me $317 and will cost ~$75 give or take twice a year to switch them out.
*Electric - My Rinnai propane direct vent heaters need to be plugged in to run so in the late spring, summer, and early fall, these are unplugged and unused. In the winter, I have those in use, the heat tapes on my water pipes in the basement are plugged in, and Christmas lights and "stuff" as well for a couple of months.
**Heating - I bought 4 cords of wood and only used half of it because I am new to this and had no idea how fast I would burn through it, so I used it very sparingly as supplemental heat and relied on the expensive propane as my main heat. I am going to do it in reverse this year to see how that plays out cost-wise. Propane is very expensive, but overall, your heating costs of any sort (wood, oil, propane, electric) will far exceed what your a/c cooling costs are in south Florida.
Clothing - Initial large investment of warm things - useful boots of varying kinds, flannel-lined jeans, winter coats, hats, gloves, scarves, long underwear, etc.
I moved here just over a year ago from Boca, and I now live in the Lakes Region (on the "right" side of the lake ) in an 1820 large 2.5 story drafty house. Here's my numbers, given from July 2017 to July 2018:
Property Tax - $4600 per year, they break it down into 2 payments per year Income Tax as it relates to pensions - no idea, not there yet Electric* - went from $65 per month in summer to $150 per month in winter Water - I have my own well so only cost is electric used to run the pump Heating** - $1,000 for 4 cords of wood, $2,445 propane (I have 3 Rinnai heaters) Food - I live alone and had a lot of home grown veggies so probably can't really help here but I think the selection is not as good as it is in south Florida and maybe a bit more expensive overall Gas - I assume you mean for car, right now it's $2.87 or so per gallon regular. Clothing - Initial large investment of warm things - useful boots of varying kinds, flannel-lined jeans, winter coats, hats, gloves, scarves, long underwear, etc. Internet - Be very careful. Many areas here either don't have it, or have very sketchy internet. Best way to guarantee you have it is to buy a house already with it and proof of it. That said, I have Consolidated Communications (formerly Fairpoint) DSL and pay $85 a month for a small business 25/2 account but that was a 3 year deal and will probably go up after that. The DSL has been more than adequate for me for hosting a website and gaming and vpn work.
What you left out:
Cell phone: $40 per month Verizon prepaid unlimited. I had T-Mobile in Florida and couldn't get reception at all up here. If you are planning on living outside of any NH city, you will need Verizon.
Insurance house/car: You will be pleasantly shocked. I went from $4,500 house insurance to $1,000, and $2,800 car insurance to $550. Both annual costs.
Car registration: You will be unpleasantly shocked. I went from $65 for 2 years registration to $150 per year (variable, based on age and MSRP), plus a $40 annual inspection that is required.
Snow tires/plowing/snow plow: You will need either to buy gear to plow your own driveway/walkways or hire somebody to do it. I paid $345 for the snow season to have someone plow me out but I have a huge driveway/parking area and very long walkway from my garage to my house so it was quite worth it for me. A set of 4 snow tires ran me $317 and will cost ~$75 give or take twice a year to switch them out.
*Electric - My Rinnai propane direct vent heaters need to be plugged in to run so in the late spring, summer, and early fall, these are unplugged and unused. In the winter, I have those in use, the heat tapes on my water pipes in the basement are plugged in, and Christmas lights and "stuff" as well for a couple of months.
**Heating - I bought 4 cords of wood and only used half of it because I am new to this and had no idea how fast I would burn through it, so I used it very sparingly as supplemental heat and relied on the expensive propane as my main heat. I am going to do it in reverse this year to see how that plays out cost-wise. Propane is very expensive, but overall, your heating costs of any sort (wood, oil, propane, electric) will far exceed what your a/c cooling costs are in south Florida.
Agree with everything except heat. We have a 2000 sqft house and have never spent over $1k; 11/12 the shortest winter in recent memory was closer to $500. We burn pellets and keep the house in the 72 - 74 range.
OP, are you retiring? Or planning to work here? One of the biggest factors will be finding a job. Are you looking for a rural or urban location?
Retiring. IF I have to work, it will be to offset health insurance costs. As far as rural/urban, we've been to NH many times (have a time share in Loon Mountain) and have looked all over. We really like Hanover (because of Dartmouth and the hospital), New Boston area, and around Concord. I also really like Littleton, but that might be to far removed for us.
I moved here just over a year ago from Boca, and I now live in the Lakes Region (on the "right" side of the lake ) in an 1820 large 2.5 story drafty house. Here's my numbers, given from July 2017 to July 2018:
Property Tax - $4600 per year, they break it down into 2 payments per year Income Tax as it relates to pensions - no idea, not there yet Electric* - went from $65 per month in summer to $150 per month in winter Water - I have my own well so only cost is electric used to run the pump Heating** - $1,000 for 4 cords of wood, $2,445 propane (I have 3 Rinnai heaters) Food - I live alone and had a lot of home grown veggies so probably can't really help here but I think the selection is not as good as it is in south Florida and maybe a bit more expensive overall Gas - I assume you mean for car, right now it's $2.87 or so per gallon regular. Clothing - Initial large investment of warm things - useful boots of varying kinds, flannel-lined jeans, winter coats, hats, gloves, scarves, long underwear, etc. Internet - Be very careful. Many areas here either don't have it, or have very sketchy internet. Best way to guarantee you have it is to buy a house already with it and proof of it. That said, I have Consolidated Communications (formerly Fairpoint) DSL and pay $85 a month for a small business 25/2 account but that was a 3 year deal and will probably go up after that. The DSL has been more than adequate for me for hosting a website and gaming and vpn work.
What you left out:
Cell phone: $40 per month Verizon prepaid unlimited. I had T-Mobile in Florida and couldn't get reception at all up here. If you are planning on living outside of any NH city, you will need Verizon.
Insurance house/car: You will be pleasantly shocked. I went from $4,500 house insurance to $1,000, and $2,800 car insurance to $550. Both annual costs.
Car registration: You will be unpleasantly shocked. I went from $65 for 2 years registration to $150 per year (variable, based on age and MSRP), plus a $40 annual inspection that is required.
Snow tires/plowing/snow plow: You will need either to buy gear to plow your own driveway/walkways or hire somebody to do it. I paid $345 for the snow season to have someone plow me out but I have a huge driveway/parking area and very long walkway from my garage to my house so it was quite worth it for me. A set of 4 snow tires ran me $317 and will cost ~$75 give or take twice a year to switch them out.
*Electric - My Rinnai propane direct vent heaters need to be plugged in to run so in the late spring, summer, and early fall, these are unplugged and unused. In the winter, I have those in use, the heat tapes on my water pipes in the basement are plugged in, and Christmas lights and "stuff" as well for a couple of months.
**Heating - I bought 4 cords of wood and only used half of it because I am new to this and had no idea how fast I would burn through it, so I used it very sparingly as supplemental heat and relied on the expensive propane as my main heat. I am going to do it in reverse this year to see how that plays out cost-wise. Propane is very expensive, but overall, your heating costs of any sort (wood, oil, propane, electric) will far exceed what your a/c cooling costs are in south Florida.
Wow Boca? I grew up in West Boca (Palmetto Pines) and currently live in Boynton. Thank you for all of that. It is exactly what I was looking for.
Agree with everything except heat. We have a 2000 sqft house and have never spent over $1k; 11/12 the shortest winter in recent memory was closer to $500. We burn pellets and keep the house in the 72 - 74 range.
Old house? New house? (Remember, my house is old, and 2500 sq ft) Good point for OP to take note of - heating costs can vary greatly depending on type of house, age of house, size of house, quality of insulation, and type of fuel used, but I'd think that would apply equally to NH or Maine.
Wow Boca? I grew up in West Boca (Palmetto Pines) and currently live in Boynton. Thank you for all of that. It is exactly what I was looking for.
Oh wow, small world. I was most recently in Boca Chase. I also couldn't stand the heat/humidity and it was just getting too crowded.
If you end up choosing NH, take a look at my prior threads from the past couple years as there is a lot of great info offered from other posters and no question was too stupid for me to ask!
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) in an 1820 large 2.5 story drafty house. Here's my numbers, given from July 2017 to July 2018:
