Cost of living and general ?'s

[Dwatted Wabbit]

Originally Posted by OCCASparky

Here's this year's list:

http://www.nh.gov/revenue/property_tax/2006/2006tax_rates.rtf (broken link)

Thanks, Sparky. So you multiply the rate times the property valuation and that's the tax bill?

[frozintime]

Well...you figured about right. Cost of living here is definitely a lot higher than Ohio...but I would hope your job will compensate for some of that. Housing is very high along the seacoast and even in general in New Hampshire, but lessens the further you get from the coast and Massachusettes. Other than that it is beautiful here...very little crime overall...great community....awesome outdoors....nice people too. I go through Ohio quite a bit....a definite upgrade.

[NeverTooLate]

Fishnfool-

Here is a link to statistics on all NH towns that may prove helpful!

http://www.nhes.state.nh.us/elmi/communpro.htm



I am a Realtor but don't cover the area you are looking in. One of the strongest Markets right now (for value) is the condo market. You may want to consider starting out in a condo till you know what areas you like. You may find it more affordable in the Dover area yet still within commuting distance.(Anything in the Route 4 corridor or even 101 would work!)

If you would like a referral to a Realtor in the area I would be glad to give you the name of a contact that I met when taking some educational classes last year. Just let me know!
Good Luck...this is a great state and you will really like it here!

[jenks9]

unless both you and your fiancee each make about $40,000 to $50,000 then it will be hard to afford it here, especially on the seacoast. The cost of living here is higher than in Ohio. The cost of a home, start home around 225,000 and property taxes that cost 4,000 to 5,000 a year will be hard on anything less then making $40,000 to $50,000 a year. I love NH but it is just getting too expensive.

[WIMU]

I live in Ohio right now but lived in NH for 13 years and am in the process of moving back there. I live in SW Ohio and personally I hate it here and would give an arm to be back in NH right now. Our property taxes on a 260000 house are 4800 and rising about 3-400 a year. We are looking in Deerfield which is between Manchester sort of and the Seacoast but not hard to get to and from say 101 going either direction. Homes and taxes are a little less. We are a little older and are looking for a smaller home but the taxes on a 300000 home are not much more than we are paying for a cheaper home. Generally you can get anywhere in NH fairly quickly.

[OCCASparky]

Originally Posted by Dwatted Wabbit

Thanks, Sparky. So you multiply the rate times the property valuation and that's the tax bill?

Yep--take where I live (Rochester) which is $18.34 per 1000 assessed value, and if your house assesses for 200K, you're looking at a tax bill of $3668 for the year.


Tax rates vary from town to town (and vary widely, as the list shows) but your assessment is done only once every five years.

[GregW]

My wife and I have lived in NH for 24 years and are ready to go somewhere else because of the taxes and the traffic. We are a one-income household living in a condo in Londonderry (just south of Manchester on I-93). I work in Massachusetts because the pay is about 40% better than NH. We can barely afford our current condo because between condo fees and property tax we have to spend over $5000 per year. We have no chance of ever having a house around here.

I would suggest you BOTH have employment before you move here. If you don't mind a commute there are small cities and neat towns Northwest of Stratham that may be affordable. The housing costs are driven by Mass refugees that made a lot of money in the 70s to 90s military and pharmacy tech boom but didn't want the crowding if the RT 128 suburban belt.

The state of NH does not fish in the deep end of the employee pool because, without any state income tax or sales tax, it just cannot afford to. This leaves the cost of education to the town tax base. In Londonderry this is 2/3 of the town budget. My gripe is simply I do not have, no ever have had, any children but I am paying a huge amount to supply a grade A education to the other peoples kids. As far as education is concerned most of the NH schools are not very good. The seashore is not too bad because the inhabitants can and pay for good schools. Outside of that and the area on the border with mass the schools are mediocre at best. In the true North Country they are about the same as the West Virginia hill country. As in bad.

So, if you are moving here, good luck and be certain the money and jobs are there first.

Oh – politics is one of the most popular participant sports around here.

[HockeyFan]

Reading the property taxes... are there really communities with a 0 property tax, as the 2006 chart seems to indicate?

[Yankeehombre]

National Cost of living data suggests that costs in N.H. are 20% abouve the national average. You might look up Ohio, so your comparisons are on scale.
Regarding waterfowl, getting access to waterways can be problematic, although I must admit our Fish + Game Dept. spends a good deal of money buying expensive waterfront land and creating boat ramps. You will need a sneak-boat, to get up or down-river from the numerous incessant housing projects here on the seacoast. Be prepared for the transpanted city-dwellers to report you for legitimate shotgun shooting anywhere on the seacoast.