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Considering retiring there, but want to be able to get to Boston. Would love to find a town with antique houses and lots of farmland Is the possible in Southern NH anymore?
Considering retiring there, but want to be able to get to Boston. Would love to find a town with antique houses and lots of farmland Is the possible in Southern NH anymore?
Hi! Keene is a beautiful area, though it's 2-3 hours from Boston (depending on traffic). Nashua is just over the border but everyone comes to southeastern NH from MA because we have no sales tax, so the roads are constantly snarled. Southwestern NH is much quieter, lots of farms, artist/artisan colonies, antiques aplenty, fall festivals. If you shop online, delivery is great so if you don't mind not having a big shopping center to hop to, it's very nice living.
Living near Peterborough, I can tell you that the time into Boston varies a lot depending on where in Boston and the time of day. For instance, if you have a morning appt at a medical center like Brigham (or worse, MGH) plan on 3 hours if you're going during rush hour. But on a weekend, Symphony Hall or Back Bay (heck, even Chinatown) is about 1' 40", and a pleasant drive if you take Route 2.
The towns that have what you want will be west of a line from Bedford, Amherst, Millford and Brookline. A quick glance at a map will show you what I mean. The further west you go, in general the less expensive things are. Things to watch out for are high speed internet access, if it's important, and the local tax rates, which vary a lot from town to town.
Just about every town in New England has lots of antique houses, so that's not going to be a problem :-). I live near the seacoast, and the towns right on the coast are quite expensive, but prices relax a good deal to the west of I-95. Not to the extent that they do further to the north and west, but then you're not "close" to Boston. You might like towns like Dover, Madbury, Lee, and Newfields. I suppose it depends on how big a property you are looking for - the bigger you want, the better it would be to be further out - in the boondocks. I-95 into Boston is actually pretty easy during the week, tho it can be crowded on weekends with vacationers, once you get onto Rte 1 things will tighten up. I-93 tends to be more challenging than I-95.
Kensington, Exeter & newfields area are all wonderful towns. Beautiful area with access to beach as well as under an hour from Boston (usually at least).
NH is not a low tax state- 2nd highest property taxes in US, rooms and meals tax, and massive car registration fees. There is no sales tax, but MA doesn’t tax clothes & food under $175, so you probably won’t notice. I don’t know/care about your political orientation, but the Seacoast is usually not as gun lovin’ as the 93 corridor (Windham, Derry).
Seacoast NH definitely has the feel of being in the Boston relm (if you get what I’m saying).
Seacoast is just like the north shore except it is much lest congested and bigger lots (but not necessarily for less $$).
Last edited by whippany5; 10-11-2019 at 01:22 PM..
Seacoast NH you can drive right into Boston or you can drive down to Newburyport MA and take the train in.
There are gorgeous but expensive towns like Exeter, Rye, and a few others. I think towns like Hampton or Seabrook would be cheaper but they're not as nice. Portsmouth, of course, but you need a ton of money to live there. However, it would be nice to be close to it due to all the Portsmouth offerings like restaurants, theater, a park, nice shops.
NH is not a low tax state- 2nd highest property taxes in US, rooms and meals tax, and massive car registration fees.
I'm not a NH resident yet (plan to be in 2021) but I've been researching moving to NH for years (timing was never right but it is getting close). I frequently hear the comment that "NH is not a low tax state" but I don't see how that's accurate. I guess if you'd prefer paying ZERO taxes (let me know where that is and I'll join you) but living in the US and choosing a state, it seems to me that there aren't too many other options that offer a lower tax burden than NH.
On this list, NH is #10...no MA on this list because it is 10 Most Friendly States for Overall Tax Burden (SWITCHED on this list...#1 being the lowest overall tax burden and #50 being the highest overall tax burden)
Do NH towns/cities have higher than average property taxes? Sure...but every state is going to get you one way or another. However, I prefer to look at overall tax burden rather than focusing on high property taxes. If you want lower property taxes and still want to be in NH, move to a town with a lower rate...they do exist.
And, regarding the car registration, at least you don't pay a sales tax when you buy a vehicle in NH.
Last edited by baltimoreguy1; 10-13-2019 at 12:03 AM..
Reason: missing words
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