Possible move - What can you guys tell me about New Hampshire, Rindge, and surrounding areas? (Manchester: appointed, sales)

[motoracer51]

Hi folks!! I don't post much here, but have used the many resources of this website to move before, and I'm hoping I can once more, although this time I'd like to use the forum.

Well, to make a long story short, my wife HATES Colorado, and you can say that I'm 90% happy here. She hates being so far from family, and to be honest, I'd like to be a little closer. It seems that we'd be able to fly our to visit my father in Florida pretty easily, and about a 4hr drive to see family in NY, so that seems reasonable.

I've been checking out the land out there, and it seems somewhat affordable. I'm looking for about 20 or more acres.

If you guys can give me some info on the following, I'd really appreciate it.

1. Politics? Is it conservative? From the info from city data, it seems so. I'm a die hard, and prefer to live among people like minded.

2. Land prices? We've been looking at a property around Rindge. What other areas would have what I'm looking for, affordable, and within 1 hr of a city of about 50K?

3 Taxes- Property - Do they kill you on taxes? How do they calculate it

4. Demographics? From the info on city data, seems predominantly white. Does that seem accurate?

5. Economy? Are people hurting out there? How is the job situation? My wife is an attorney, and I'll be starting a business. More than likely she'll be making the commute to a larger city, perhaps Concord.

6. Crime? Do you have to lock everything down like I did in South Florida. I'm pretty sure not. Hopefully it's like it is out here in Western Colorado - I leave everything unlocked.

7. Schools? Are they good for the kiddies? We plan on having kids one day.

8. Weather? How is the weather? Is the humidity oppressive. How often does it rain? Is it cloudy alot? How are the winters like? I grew up and lived on Long Island for about 23 years, and I know that the winters are more harsh, but how much? Do they shut the roads down, adn you can't leave your house? Do you get snow every/every other day? Etc...

9. Heating costs? The house we are looking at has 2 wood burning stove, and I'm sure with the price of oil, we'd be using it quite a bit.

10. Overall, how do you like living there? Will you ever leave, or have you left to come back? Don't hold anything back.


That's I guess the things off the top of my head for now. I'm sure I'll come up with some more things as I think about it more and after some people post some replies.

We're planning on driving out there in about 3 weeks, and just want to get a mental image somewhat before we arrive.


Thanks

John

[nicolem]

Originally Posted by motoracer51

Hi folks!! I don't post much here, but have used the many resources of this website to move before, and I'm hoping I can once more, although this time I'd like to use the forum.

Well, to make a long story short, my wife HATES Colorado, and you can say that I'm 90% happy here. She hates being so far from family, and to be honest, I'd like to be a little closer. It seems that we'd be able to fly our to visit my father in Florida pretty easily, and about a 4hr drive to see family in NY, so that seems reasonable.

I've been checking out the land out there, and it seems somewhat affordable. I'm looking for about 20 or more acres.

If you guys can give me some info on the following, I'd really appreciate it.

1. Politics? Is it conservative? From the info from city data, it seems so. I'm a die hard, and prefer to live among people like minded.

Well it is turning more liberal and less "live free or die"- I am hoping in November people will wake up and vote back in people who are more for personal freedoms and less for overbloated budgets.

2. Land prices? We've been looking at a property around Rindge. What other areas would have what I'm looking for, affordable, and within 1 hr of a city of about 50K?

Not sure but I think the closest city of 50k would be Nashua and that is more than an hour from Rindge-esp in the winter.

3 Taxes- Property - Do they kill you on taxes? How do they calculate it

Property taxes differ by town. We do not have a sales or income tax so property taxes are higher. However, NH is consistently ranked as on e of the states with the lowest overall tax burden. Coming from NJ, my overall tax burden is much less here.
4. Demographics? From the info on city data, seems predominantly white. Does that seem accurate?

Yes it is predominantly white but not as much as it used to be.

5. Economy? Are people hurting out there? How is the job situation? My wife is an attorney, and I'll be starting a business. More than likely she'll be making the commute to a larger city, perhaps Concord.

First of all-I would not recommend a Rindge to Concord commute- to me that would be a nightmare-especially in the winter. Some people are hurting, some are prospering like other places. However, starting a business in this economy is another thing. I would really do your research-as I am sure you will.

6. Crime? Do you have to lock everything down like I did in South Florida. I'm pretty sure not. Hopefully it's like it is out here in Western Colorado - I leave everything unlocked.
Crime is more prevalent in the big cities. However NH is a very safe state.


7. Schools? Are they good for the kiddies? We plan on having kids one day.

Schools are schools. I personally think you don't need the "best" school. I think a lot of school is what you make of it-JMHO.

8. Weather? How is the weather? Is the humidity oppressive. How often does it rain? Is it cloudy alot? How are the winters like? I grew up and lived on Long Island for about 23 years, and I know that the winters are more harsh, but how much? Do they shut the roads down, adn you can't leave your house? Do you get snow every/every other day? Etc...

Winters can be bad or mild. Last winter was the snowiest winter on record for my city-Laconia-we had over 140 inches. We can get snow starting in October and through the end of May. When I lived in Concord-it got very humid. Here in Laconia it is not quite as bad. We just got out of a period of over a week with very bad thunder storms-hail-etc everyday. Some people can handle the weather and some cannot. I think that you need to take the weather into serious consideration. No things do not shut down-except schools. You are expected to be a work.

9. Heating costs? The house we are looking at has 2 wood burning stove, and I'm sure with the price of oil, we'd be using it quite a bit.

Heating is very expensive. I am fortunate that we have propane and not oil. Our prices have risen but we are not expensive as oil.

10. Overall, how do you like living there? Will you ever leave, or have you left to come back? Don't hold anything back.

If it is ok with you-I would rather DM you this one as I don't want to start any type of problems on the board. We have had problems in the past on this board./ Let me know and I will drop yu a DM


That's I guess the things off the top of my head for now. I'm sure I'll come up with some more things as I think about it more and after some people post some replies.

We're planning on driving out there in about 3 weeks, and just want to get a mental image somewhat before we arrive.


Thanks

John

I will be glad to answer any other questions that you have. As you will see, you will get a wide array of opinions. Good luck

Nicolem

[WannaComeHome]

Hi John,

well, I'll try to answer what I can...


1. Politics? Is it conservative? From the info from city data, it seems so. I'm a die hard, and prefer to live among people like minded.

In general, the state tends to be fiscally conservative and socially... 'mind your own business' kinda liberal. But different towns are different. Everything in NH really is on a town by town basis, not county or state.

You were asking about Rindge also. while I've never lived there, I was talking with a friend who lives in Lyndeborough who commented that religiously Rindge tended towards ultra conservative - almost bible-belt like (for NH)! just her opinion.


2. Land prices? We've been looking at a property around Rindge. What other areas would have what I'm looking for, affordable, and within 1 hr of a city of about 50K?

the real estate folk would know best. Mostly I get a map and starting hitting the online real estate sites and see what comes up on different searches.

3 Taxes- Property - Do they kill you on taxes? How do they calculate it

best thing is to go to 2007 and download the pdf for 2007 taxes - it will give you the breakdown and total taxes for every town in NH. Now, that's for last year and some towns have gone up. When you find a town you're interested in, google it and see if it has a town website (many do) which will quite often list the current tax rate.

4. Demographics? From the info on city data, seems predominantly white. Does that seem accurate?

lol: this is NH! the whole state is predominantly white. Not exclusively, but largely. You tend to find more diversity in the cities and maybe around the colleges.

6. Crime? Do you have to lock everything down like I did in South Florida. I'm pretty sure not. Hopefully it's like it is out here in Western Colorado - I leave everything unlocked.


depends where you are. Some town websites even have their police dept call logs available online! Many towns are pretty laid back. In general there is very little crime in NH. YMMV when you get to more populated places.

7. Schools? Are they good for the kiddies? We plan on having kids one day.

8. Weather? How is the weather? Is the humidity oppressive. How often does it rain? Is it cloudy alot? How are the winters like? I grew up and lived on Long Island for about 23 years, and I know that the winters are more harsh, but how much? Do they shut the roads down, adn you can't leave your house? Do you get snow every/every other day? Etc...

Well, you live in CO so you're probably used to snow. and cold. that's good, because winter is probably the longest season - followed by bug season (well, it sure feels longest!). Rindge is into the 'snow belt'. It's on the southern border with MA, and it's a bit east of Keene, but it's going to get snow. You might check on the City-Data page for whichever towns you're looking into, C-D has 6 or 7 charts relating to weather. The humidity is not as opporessive as the mid-atlantic or down south. in southern NH, it can get humid - but it doesn't usually stay that way for months on end! This past winter was an unusually (for the more recent years) snowy one, with snow hitting regularly. No, in general things aren't shut down or the state would grind to a hault. They plow. Actually, for the most part, they plow pretty well - but you still have to drive carefully for it, they don't always plow to bare asphalt. But during an active snow, it's best to stay inside and off the roads so the plows can do their work.


9. Heating costs? The house we are looking at has 2 wood burning stove, and I'm sure with the price of oil, we'd be using it quite a bit.

yeah, well... it's high. there's no getting around it. When winter gets into O and -.. there's not much you can do. You layer up, you consider any alternative (solar, wood/pellet stoves, just being cold..) you can. There was a thread relatively recently about heating for next winter. That may give you an idea.

10. Overall, how do you like living there? Will you ever leave, or have you left to come back? Don't hold anything back.


I left after high school because I was bored out of my mind and wanted a fresh start away from people I grew up with. I discovered that I like NH best and have been trying to get back ever since! Luckily my DH also thinks NH is pretty great, so when he retires we're moving up. At least I have no illusions about the weather, or that there still won't be anything much to do - but I'm more grownup about it and with the internet life will be sooo much better. And I also have friends all around NE so I've been networking early. Much better situation for me than growing up with few friends.

[smileybug86]

I grew up in NH, but am not old enough to really have a firm grip on politics etc here vs. elsewhere. I can tell you some though.
>>I agree with WannaComeHome, each town can vary SO much from the next one over. So, keep that in mind.

>>Crime is one of the lowest in the US in NH overall. But don't get too comfortable. My father-in-law is a police officer, and sometimes kids who are really bored rob the houses is the country b/c they almost expect them to be unlocked. Criminals are everywhere, not just the city! I was robbed once when I lived in Philly, (we think it was our maintenance). Big city, or small town --it's just not worth it. Just my opinion there.

>>Weather/Snow? I live in Keene, myself, and in general the smaller towns like Rindge don't always get plowed very well. In general NH ppl don't let a snowstorm keep them from going out, but the more rural you are the harder it is to always get out. Also consider how close your house will be to a main road. And when your road gets plowed - it may be one of the last ones to be plowed in a storm.

>>So, I'm only 22 - but I've been married since 19, and we've lived in ID and PA, ID being very small town and dif., and as I'd mentioned, the Philly area. We came back for several reasons, and my husband has expressed that he doesn't mind where we live as long as its in NH. Overall it's a great state to live in.

Currently my husband is applying to become a police officer himself and so we're researching the whole state. Some towns we know, others (like the eastern coast) we have no idea. But, what we've found so far is that outside some of the cities there are small rural towns that are pretty much like suburbs to a city. Only they can have a dif. feel than most suburbs do.
You might try looking at places like Pembroke, NH. Basically, we've found that Pembroke is mostly residential, and almost all of the employment and shopping is a 10 min drive to Concord. (check mapquest distances vs. time though! b/c sometimes something can be 15 miles and just over a 30 min drive! and that's mapquest (without our winter snow)!
So, hope that helps - just what we've found in our search.
Best of luck!

[JCPTNH08]

I grew up in Rindge and have lived in the surrounding area since then. There isn't much to Rindge, so I guess it really depends on what you are looking for. If you and your wife are homebodies and aren't looking for any sort of nightlife, then you'll probably like it. All of south western NH has easy access to outdoor activities - hiking, fishing, camping etc., so if that's your thing, Rindge will be a fine choice. If your wife likes to shop...she'll be sorely disappointed, as Rindge offers two grocery stores, a WalMart, and just a couple of shops in one of those plazas. I myself am planning a move out west for a job, and am really looking forward to having shopping, conveniences and things to do on my doorstep

As for proximity to a city...Concord is a long haul, as will be Nashua and Manchester NH. You'll be looking at at least a one hour drive in good weather. In the snow, much longer.

I believe the politics in Rindge tend toward the conservative side. Things are moving left in some areas of southern NH but I'm not sure it's true in Rindge.

One interesting thing about Rindge is that there is a very large Finnish community. That's not good or bad, just a fact. When I went to school there, the good majority of my classmates were Finnish and came from very large families (think 10 kids and up!). Many of the families are involved in construction/roofing/paving etc. and you'll find that they've built many of the homes in the area. If you're planning to build, finding contractors will not be difficult.

As for schools...my opinion is that the district leaves something to be desired, more in the high school (shared with Jaffrey). If you don't have kids already, then you have quite a while before you'll need to worry about that.

Anyway, good luck to you in your move East!

[WannaComeHome]

Hi JCPT-
so the Finns are in Rindge as well as NI? I didn't know that. Did Rindge have the same weird dynamics with them that NI has? I can't for the life of me understand what the big deal is! When we lived in NI in the '60s many of our friends & teachers were Finnish, and it just seems so strange to me to read about 'us vs them' relations.
There are grocery stores in Rindge? hmmm, I wonder which is closer - those or Milford. We used to go to Fitchburg, so Milford is at least a bit closer than that.

[Rexicana]

Rindge has Franklin Pierce University too, which from what I have seen in the papers, leans toward the more radical side. I haven't been to it personally though.

Are you trying to start a border business for Mass. customers? If not, it might make more sense to go closer to Concord.

We're in Peterborough and it sounds like it wouldn't be your cup of tea, but it is two towns away. There is a mix of views here, with more on the left than right (hardly CA though). I have no idea what towns are more conservative, but I do hear they are out there.

I don't know anything about its leaning, but Salem NH is an easy commute to both points in Mass and NH. I don't know what land prices are there. I know there are some farms in Pelham, which is next door.

[proud American]

good luck with your move

you will find more like minded people even on here there are many.

You'll actually find on the border with MA it has turned more republican over the years.
seems many Ma residents are fed up with how MA has gone with their high price, high tax etc
Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections

It sounds you'll fit right in.

The country side is beautiful, most people are great too, many towns are not the elitist places like they have in SO FL and places like Boulder CO/
The crime is nothing like So Fl as well
I too could never live in S Fl, North Fl is a different matter as it part of ther bible belt and many say it should be another state away from S FL.
S Fl has changed over the years and been ruined by their policies and high taxes, still they get what they vote for.
weather isn't bad, the winters can be long for some and the energy costs can be high. just have those stoves, which caqn be nice and warm plus cosy with your wife during the winter
Everyone it seems speaks English and maybe if you go right up north speak French.

You sound like me and I love NH, but as someone said make sure you get that right town as towns are different.
It is great to have the town hall meetings to decide how your tax $ are spent instead of of certain elected officials making your decision though be aware of special interest groups who turn up and stay late


I hope you make the move and do it safely and happily for

good luck to you and your wife

If you need a great person to deal with real estate then there is Valerie on here.
she will help you out and certainly do not be bashful in what you want as she will tell you everything you have asked about

[motoracer51]

Thanks everyone for the replies, as it is surely helping us in this endeavor.

The two things I'm really concerned about is:

1. The cold winter weather, and what it will cost to heat the house we are looking at. Thankfully it's on 27 acres, and the owners have two wood burning stoves in it. I guess you can say the weather in general as I'm sure it gets hot and humid there in the summer, and that will necesitate the use of A/C. Here in Colorado, the climate is great, and the highest combined gas/electric bill we've had was $118/month.

2. Politics, and especially the taxes. I seen mentioned here on the board that they've mentioned imposing either an income or salex tax to boost revenue. That would right there take away about 50% of the allure of moving there. We prefer small gov't and small budgets. Like I mentioned earlier, I've lived in Long Island, and South Florida more recently, and to be hones with you, I feel that less money goes further here in Colorado that it does in those tax and spend places.


The only thing I'm thinking is it might be wise to wait till after the elections in Nov. to see what happens to the political scene in your great state, and see if it gets better or worse.


Thanks again guys and gals, and please keep the info coming as it's greatly appreciated.

John

[donaharrell]

What the heck is bug season?

I am hoping to move there from Florida where we have more than our share of bugs! I hate them! What kind of bugs do you have and how many are enough to call it a season? If it is spiders that is it for me! AAAWWWKKKK!!!!