Considering Relocating to NH Hearing Impaired Child? (Concord, Berlin: car insurance, daycare)

[do-i-move?]

My husband and I are seriously considering a move to NH. We've always loved to vacation up there a few times per year. We've found that the people are always very friendly, and that's what we want.

Our dilemma is that we have a 1 year old who is hearing impaired. She requires hearing aids and has a moderate hearing disability. I'm trying to find out what schools are most receptive/helpful when it comes to educating a hearing impaired child. I don't want to have to fight tooth and nail for an FM system. We're looking for a family friendly town in the South to Middle of NH. We're finding Massachusetts is getting more and more "aggressive," for lack of a better word.

I don't think that property taxes will pose a huge issue for us since we're used to having a higher property tax bill here. We're currently paying about $4500/yr for a 1500 sq ft house with 1.5 acres of land. We currently have septic, so we're aware of how that works, and pay about $300/yr for water. We pay approx. $400/year for excise tax on the cars. This season we paid $3-4000 in heating oil. Electricity runs us about $100/month. Cable, telephone, internet about $140/month. Gas for the water heater about $40/month. Trash pick up is about $500/year. Car insurance is $1400/year. Gas here is at $3.95/gallon currently.

Is there anything that I'm missing above that I should be aware of in terms of cost of living? Are there any "hidden" fees/use taxes that I'm not aware of in NH?

Any assistance anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[daniellefort]

Well i can tell you my situation. I'm originally from northern, VERY northern NH and lived here in FL for 14 years but i'm going back to NH next month. I have a daughter who is blind and of course schools were of concern being so far in the country i wasn't sure what to expect. I notified the school system i was moving back last November to give them plenty of time to prepare. Since then, the school system got the necessary equipment she will need such as talking computer program, braille books, necessary classroom aids to help her throughout the day, etc. Currently they are in the process of hiring a teacher of visually impaired for her. She will be starting high school and attending the same school i graduated from. I must say, i have been quite impressed with their preparation so far. I guess it may help that the director of ESE also has a handicapped child so has some understanding of special needs. I know of one hearing impaired child who will also be attending high school with her and currently they have a job opening for a teacher of the hearing impaired. I know your child is only 1 but the sooner you can inform any schools, daycare, etc that your coming, the better prepared they will be for you. In comparison of FL vs NH, i think NH's preparation far beats FL school systems and i just noticed NH schools spend more $$ per child in the school system than FL. almost $1000 more. Anyway, i don't know if that helped you any but anytime i see some concern about people with handicapped children, i have to throw my 2 cents in.

[do-i-move?]

Thank you so much! That definitely helps. May I ask what town you're moving to?

[daniellefort]

Originally Posted by do-i-move?

Thank you so much! That definitely helps. May I ask what town you're moving to?

Berlin, NH north of Mt. Washington.

[NeverTooLate]

Originally Posted by do-i-move?

My husband and I are seriously considering a move to NH. We've always loved to vacation up there a few times per year. We've found that the people are always very friendly, and that's what we want.

Our dilemma is that we have a 1 year old who is hearing impaired. She requires hearing aids and has a moderate hearing disability. I'm trying to find out what schools are most receptive/helpful when it comes to educating a hearing impaired child. I don't want to have to fight tooth and nail for an FM system. We're looking for a family friendly town in the South to Middle of NH. We're finding Massachusetts is getting more and more "aggressive," for lack of a better word.

I don't think that property taxes will pose a huge issue for us since we're used to having a higher property tax bill here. We're currently paying about $4500/yr for a 1500 sq ft house with 1.5 acres of land. We currently have septic, so we're aware of how that works, and pay about $300/yr for water. We pay approx. $400/year for excise tax on the cars. This season we paid $3-4000 in heating oil. Electricity runs us about $100/month. Cable, telephone, internet about $140/month. Gas for the water heater about $40/month. Trash pick up is about $500/year. Car insurance is $1400/year. Gas here is at $3.95/gallon currently.

Is there anything that I'm missing above that I should be aware of in terms of cost of living? Are there any "hidden" fees/use taxes that I'm not aware of in NH?

Any assistance anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi,
I am a volunteer with an organization here in Concord, that serves the whole State. They serve Children and Familys of Children With Disabilities ( PIC)the phone number is 603-224-7005.
I am certain they can answer all of your questions....they are a wonderful resource!
Any questions...just give me a holler-Joan