Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello Everyone! First time poster here with a question all the New Englanders.(Im sorry I sure you guys get this question all the time, but any help would be appreciated)
Its just me and the wife and we are looking to move to Vermont, Maine, or New Hampshire. We are a young couple looking to start a family up there. We are currently located in Jacksonville, FL. And we can handle the extreme cold. We looking to buy a some land and build house. Which state would be most affordable for that? We like the slower-paced lifestyle and would like a small town but be atleast 40-45 minutes away from a larger city. We enjoy the mountains and ocean so both inland or coastal would be fine.
In New Hampsire we are looking at the Laconia area, in Vermont we are looking at the Burlington Area, and in Maine we are looking at the Bangor area. Right now we are leaning towards Maine and are looking at the town of Ellsworth and Belfast. How far of a drive is it to Bangor? Hows Bar Harbor? And info would be helpful.
If your passing thru N.H. from Maine take a look at the Carroll County area.There are some really nice towns in that area. Madison, Effingham, Freedom to name a few. It is between the lakes region, Mt Washington Vally and is about a hour from the ocean. There is everything you need there. As soon as i sell this place in Florida i'm headed home. If there's any questions i can help you with please let me know.
I think the affordability issue varies quite a bit by town. Some towns in New Hampshire have very high property taxes, but we don't have a sales tax or state income tax. Those taxes are relatively high in Maine and Vermont. I think NH might rank better in terms of overall "affordability," but it does depend a lot on the town.
Out of curiosity, what is your definition of a "small town" and a "larger city"? Laconia is only about half the size of Burlington and Bangor, although it is close to Concord, which is about the same size as the other two.
As for Maine, I think Ellsworth is about 30 minutes from Bangor while Belfast is closer to 50 minutes. It is a beautiful area, though (well, the entire coast of Maine is). Acadia is also stunning, but like many national parks can feel very crowded in the high season. Bar Harbor, while quaint, is very tourist-oriented and in the summertime it's kind of a mad house.
Keep in mind that downeast Maine is an isolated area. It's a long ways from a major city - Boston is about a 4 hour drive from Bangor. Personally I'm fond of the mid-coast region between Brunswick and Camden, but unfortunately there aren't many large-sized towns in this area.
Can you tell us any more about why you chose Bangor, Laconia, and Burlington in particular?
I live near Laconia and I think it's a beautiful area, with lots of great little towns nestled among the lakes. From Laconia you're only about 45 minutes from the highest mountains in New England and about an hour and a half from the ocean (which, unlike the water in Downeast Maine, isn't *too* unbearably cold to swim in during the summer). In that sense, I think it's the most "well-located" of your choices if you really want to enjoy both the ocean and the mountains.
If your passing thru N.H. from Maine take a look at the Carroll County area.There are some really nice towns in that area. Madison, Effingham, Freedom to name a few. It is between the lakes region, Mt Washington Vally and is about a hour from the ocean. There is everything you need there. As soon as i sell this place in Florida i'm headed home. If there's any questions i can help you with please let me know.
I can only attest to NH. Laconia is a nice enough area, and you're closer to Manchester there. I was born and raised in the area Ken is talking about, and am currently in Ossipee. Ken, you're right about this area! If I could, I would choose Madison. Nice small town, great elementary school. The only problem with this area is that the Mt. Washington Valley is a tourist area, so job opportunities may be limited, depending on what you do for work. I want to stay in Carroll County, but we're actually looking into relocating to the Gorham area as my husband is being transferred up there. That seems more cut off to me, but since he has a good job, it will be worth it.
So anyway, IMO, your best bets in NH are Carroll or Belknap Counties. Good Luck!
Ellsworth and Belfast Maine are up there and out in the middle of not much!!! It is beautiful though....and pretty cheap real estate! Laconia NH puts you in a very nice area, but a little closer to civilization. I guess it just really depends on what you are looking for.
I can only attest to NH. Laconia is a nice enough area, and you're closer to Manchester there. I was born and raised in the area Ken is talking about, and am currently in Ossipee. Ken, you're right about this area! If I could, I would choose Madison. Nice small town, great elementary school. The only problem with this area is that the Mt. Washington Valley is a tourist area, so job opportunities may be limited, depending on what you do for work. I want to stay in Carroll County, but we're actually looking into relocating to the Gorham area as my husband is being transferred up there. That seems more cut off to me, but since he has a good job, it will be worth it.
So anyway, IMO, your best bets in NH are Carroll or Belknap Counties. Good Luck!
We recently bought a cabin in Effingham.I really like everything about that area. Cant wait to get up there.
Burlington is beautiful. I have a friend who lives just outside and loves it. You can look across Lake Champlain to the Adirondacks and watch the sun set over the lake. The Green Mtns of Vermont are not far to the east for skiing.
Maine is actually my favorite state in the country for beauty. If you want a small town near a nice city, I'd be looking at towns in the region of Brunswick and Portland. Portland is the biggest city in Maine (and still not big ;-)), and has a lot of interest there, and Brunswick is a very pleasant smaller city as well.
Don't overlook the Lakes Region in south west Maine (Sebago Lake - Long Lake region) - that is in the viscinity of Portland and Brunswick, and is also very beautiful.
If you're building a house in northern New England, get 2x6 outer walls for insulation, double pane windows and efficient gas heat - might cost a little more upfront but it will be WELL worth it for the comfort and fuel savings over time.
We likewise are looking towards a move to NH. We lived there 20+ years ago and miss it immensely. We lived in the NE hills of Tn for l8 years and now reside in Vt. Vt. is a beautiful place, but very depressed financially. Few jobs, even fewer that pay enough to cover the high cost of living. Alot of alcohol & drug issues which you wouldn't think would be here. Because NH is more progressive we are hoping to head there in t he spring, snow is too close to be planning a move this late in the season. We are thinking of the Laconia, Lake Regions or possibly Rochester area..any input there would be helpful for us. Good luck in your search.
We likewise are looking towards a move to NH. We lived there 20+ years ago and miss it immensely. We lived in the NE hills of Tn for l8 years and now reside in Vt. Vt. is a beautiful place, but very depressed financially. Few jobs, even fewer that pay enough to cover the high cost of living. Alot of alcohol & drug issues which you wouldn't think would be here. Because NH is more progressive we are hoping to head there in t he spring, snow is too close to be planning a move this late in the season. We are thinking of the Laconia, Lake Regions or possibly Rochester area..any input there would be helpful for us. Good luck in your search.
I grew up in Rochester and always liked that general area.We moved away from N.H. 8 years ago and know exactly how you feel. I always liked the area from Rochester north to Conway. There's some real nice country up that way. Although Rt 16 can get a little crowded at times there are plenty of side roads to solve that problem. Once you know those roads it's a really nice ride from Rochester to Conway. The nice thing about that area is , your within a short drive to the lakes, mountains and the ocean. Good Luck.
Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire are all beautiful states, there are some differences in cost of living, availability of healthcare and jobs. We're also a young(ish) couple looking at the same 3 states to buy our first house and start a family. Here's what we found -
Maine
We were looking around the Portland area - Falmouth, Yarmouth even as far as Bridgeton. Portland has jobs, and is a pretty cool little city. Good places to eat, shop, ferries out to the islands, higher education, hospitals. Yarmouth and Falmouth have a little more of that small town thing going on, but can be suburb-y in places. Bridgeton is a little further out, in the lakes region, but it has much more of a small town feel. There are lakes in town, the White mountains are 30-45 min West and Portland and the ocean are 30-45 min East.
We checked out the Rockland, Rockport and Camden areas. Each had a strong small town look to them and beautiful coastline. Rockland was a little bigger than the rest and has a main street and great museum. Head a little West and things turn rural quick. I think there is a regional hospital there, there didn't seem to be much work though and what work there was seemed to be in the tourism industry.
The further up the coast of Maine you drive the less expensive the property becomes - especially when you jump up above Bar Harbor. I'd imagine that services would be less and less too.
The property taxes in Maine seemed fairly low, compared to NH anyway. But the very high income tax, cost of healthcare and lack of jobs were a real turn off.
8.5 percent on taxable income of $37,951 and above Maine state taxes
Vermont
Burlington is a great city; small, vibrant, with lots of colleges and bordered by Lake Chaplain. There seems to be a lot of varied work in town and there is good access to healthcare. There's plenty to do in town as well as in the surrounding area. Houses seem to be fairly expensive in town, at least to me. $250k seemed like the entry point for a decent in town house. The lots tend to be small though. So if you're looking at finding some land and then building a house, you would have to look 20-30 minutes outside the city - Charlotte, Jericho maybe North Hero island. The Vermont forum would know.
Property taxes in Burlington were higher than Maine, and the over all tax burden was very high as well - one of the highest in the country. The cost of buying private healthcare was slightly less expensive than Maine, but only slightly.
New Hampshire
The Laconia area surrounded by lakes, is close to Concord, close to the Manchester regional airport and a couple of hours to Boston. Laconia seemed pretty build up, to me at least. If you're in the area, I would recommend checking out some of the towns in the region. Sandwich, Wolfeboro, Moultonborough, Ossippe. There's more affordable land to the East.
You could also check out the Manadnock region, there are a lot of little lakes, beautiful countryside and the "city" of Keen.
The area around Lake Sunapee is nice as well - Sunapee, Sutton, New London, Andover. Rural, but still close to Concord on 89 - or take 89 all the way to Burlington.
The White mountains are beautiful too, though a little more remote depending on where you look. There's lots of hiking, skiing, waterfalls and swimming holes.
New Hampshire has no income tax or sales tax. The property tax can vary from place to place - and get quite high, but I consider it a small trade off for the lack of other taxes. There are jobs in the cities and a great hospital at Dartmouth. The cost of buying health insurance is much lower than what I found in either of the neighboring states.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. Because NH is more progressive we are hoping to head there in t he spring, snow is too close to be planning a move this late in the season. We are thinking of the Laconia, Lake Regions or possibly Rochester area..any input there would be helpful for us. Good luck in your search.
