Moving to maine or new hampshire? (Goshen: condos, house, job outlook)

[BLUE COLLAR]

HI,I started a thread on the Maine forums,would you please take a look and maybe respond,thanks for the help.
BC

[bryfry]

Here it is for those who don't want to move around:

Hi,(this might be long but please bare with me)my wife,4 yr. old daughter and I live in Sussex County NJ and we want out.I've wanted to move for a long time but my wife was reluctant to move away from her family but about a year ago my wife finally became fed up with living here,the cost of living,rude people and how crowded its getting.During Christmas I reconnected with my family that I hadn't spoken to since my Mom died about 10 years ago,we were invited to a family reunion over the summer in Goshen,NH and to spend a few days with my Aunt and Uncle in Hope,ME,we went,we loved my family and we also loved ME and NH(we were never in New England but had always wanted to visit)we want to move.My wife drives a school bus,is a police dispatcher and a volunteer EMT.I work in a sporting goods store,selling firearms(something I've done for over 20 years)and have a small landscaping(cut grass and plow snow)business.We're looking for a place to raise our daughter thats safe,friendly where we can work hard and be part of the community and not change things.The area we live in was rural not to long ago and people started moving in,building bigger homes,condos,street light higher taxes,etc.We would like to have a hospital within 1/2 an hour,some shopping and good schools,hunting,fishing,etc.We're looking for an affordable area,that we can buy a modest house with some property or build a small house in the next few years.We plan to heat primarily with wood and we do eat venison,so trees and deer,even moose are important.Any suggestions would be appreciated,please.How do NH and ME compare.My cousin who lives in VT said VT taxes are just to high and NH would be a better choice,I als thought about upstste NY but the job outlook dosen't seem to good.Thanks for any help you can give us.
BC

[BLUE COLLAR]

bryfry,thankyou.
BC

[buck naked]

My cousin who lives in VT said VT taxes are just to high and NH would be a better choice,I als thought about upstste NY but the job outlook dosen't seem to good.Thanks for any help you can give us.

VT taxes are not as high as Maine's are - Maine is one of the highest in the nation

[BLUE COLLAR]

What about the job market in ME compared to VT?
BC

[buck naked]

Last summer Maine teens had the third-highest employment rate in New England at 55.7 percent. Only Vermont, at 60.8 percent, and New Hampshire, at 59.7 percent, were higher.

don't know any statistics for adults - would say they are pretty much even IMO

[newhampshiregirl]

I just attended a Central NH Economic Forecast Forum a couple of days ago. One important factoid that I garnered from this forum is that NH's unemployment rate is currently running around 3.77% vs. the national average of 6.1%. Keep in mind that NH has once again been ranked the most livable and safest state in the nation.

Granted, I'm a NH native and very biased, but I can't imagine living anywhere else but NH!

Based on what you and your wife want to do for work and the type of environment in which you want to raise your daughter, I suggest you come up and spend some time visiting central & northern NH. Your description of what you do and how you want to live sounds just like a number of people I know already living right here in central NH.

DM me if you want to ask more direct questions about this region.