What is better for me? (Manchester, Nashua: sales, real estate, condo)

[TITANIUMCHICK]

Hello, I am a 27yr old female looking for a new area. I live in VT and am not liking it very much...WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!!!! What can anyone tell me about new hampshire? I already kno it doesnt have Sales tax,no seatbelt law,no income tax and alot of M*******s come over to shop. But what else does NH have to offer....Schools? recreation? Small town living? Social living? Life for singles? How would NH rate in raising a family,married life...Last BUT not least JOBS/CAREERS? I am looking to get OUT OF VT.....Help!!!! Should I stay in VT or get out?

[hennypenny]

I have lived in NH my whole life and visit Vt now and again. I have always found the 2 states to be very similar. I don't think moving to NH is going to be that much of a change financially. Housing is expensive and not easy to find sometimes in the area you are looking. My daughter and her family are close to your age and have 2 BR apt with heat and hot water that cost $220.00 week. They are moving to a 3 bedroom restored barn/ into condo that is $1200.00 with heat and hotwater. The southern part of the state from Concord on is more city and more jobs and social seen. It depends upon what you are looking for. Vt. can't be that bad is it?

[newhampshiregirl]

I, too, have lived in NH my whole life, so I can't compare VT to NH, other than I've been to VT A LOT and I grew up in a town that bordered VT (very rural).

I, too, think they're very similar, but New Hampshirites may be less influenced by New York(ers) than Vermonters are.

Come visit and spend some time driving around the state and check out Northern New England Real Estate Network - Official Website of the Northern New England MLS for real estate prices in NH.

[BF66389]

My wife and I (both your age) moved to NH from the greater-Washington DC metro area last summer. We love it and recently purchased a home in Hollis; an hour to Boston, 5 minutes to downtown Nashua, awesome schools, big properties, tons of outdoor recreation if desired. This all comes at a price- but cheaper than Boston.

I've never lived in VT but have been there many times imagine southern NH would have a bit more going on compared to most areas of VT.

[WannaComeHome]

Originally Posted by TITANIUMCHICK

Hello, I am a 27yr old female looking for a new area. I live in VT and am not liking it very much...WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!!!! What can anyone tell me about new hampshire? I already kno it doesnt have Sales tax,no seatbelt law,no income tax and alot of M*******s come over to shop. But what else does NH have to offer....Schools? recreation? Small town living? Social living? Life for singles? How would NH rate in raising a family,married life...Last BUT not least JOBS/CAREERS? I am looking to get OUT OF VT.....Help!!!! Should I stay in VT or get out?

The Mass-folk coming in to shop are really only in the border cities - like Nashua. If you're above that, you won't run into it as much.

I think NH is probably a bit cheaper than VT, because VT has a lot more social programs to fund than NH

Schools are mixed: some are great, some are good - it varies by the town. although usually (not always, but frequently) a really great school will be hand in hand with a town that has high property taxes.

Recreation depends on what you're looking for. If you like hiking, boating and stuff.. there's plenty to do.

Small town living? sure! the state is full of small towns. And medium towns, and small cities.....

Social life and jobs... ah, that can be the rub. See, you need to be closer to the cities to find that, and more of them are in the southern part than northern (although maybe Littleton? there seems to be a lot going on there to read the posts. I thought it was such a sleepy little town. seems to have grown!).

NH is definitely a great place to raise a family. Sure, small towns can be boring - but it all depends on what you want to make out of it.

You didn't say which part of VT you're in, so it's hard to tell which part of NH might be better for you. Portsmouth sounds like a place with a lot of singles action and possibly a bit more jobs at least in the general area.

[fishnfool]

Portsmouth sounds like everything you'd want....but the price. I think all of New England is $$$$$$$.

[Valerie C]

Portsmouth is great but high $$... Personally I like Dover, great downtown with things to do, not too far from Portsmouth with all there is to do there... Southern NH as was mentioned, especially the border towns (think Nashua/Salem/Plaistow/Seabrook) are full of MA people shopping and THAT is why they are built up the way they are--build it and they WILL come...

[vter]

I know quite a few people who have lived in BOTH NH and VT and they all say that the cost of living was about the same. Me thinks it's a myth that living in NH is cheaper. But I don't know first hand, because I havent done it .

That said, if you are looking for more opportunities for jobs, more housing, etc., you'll want to be in Southern NH. Northern NH is pretty dang similar to Vermont economic wise - lots of small towns with little industry.

The Manchester area seems to be growing which is a good sign - I get down that way about 4x per year and there is always something new being built every time I'm down there. There are some nice small town commutable to Manchester if you'd rather be in a more rural area.