Considering move, please some info? (Carroll: real estate, apartment, rent)

[CaraRandall]

My husband and I (45 and 40 respectively) are considering a move to New Hampshire within a few years (when the economy might let us sell our home)

We love living in the country, and I am in love with the types of homes I saw on realtor.com which are in the NH area. SO PRETTY! And I like that many of them have acreage and it doesn't make the total package priced out of our range!

I'm a nurse, and will be a nurse practitioner by the time we'd move. My husband works as a network engineer in IT. We'd be looking for a country home (3 beds, 1.5 bath) with perhaps 3-5 acres, priced 200,000-220,000 (we hope in that range, not much more) that is 15-20 minutes from a thriving town that has arts and cultural activities, some kind of civic interest (large library, privately owned stores, etc., in other words, something going for it...if you saw the dead, burned-out town we live 5 minutes from right now in southeastern Indiana, you'd know what I mean...ack!).

We're also concerned about the tons of snow, and the fact that we'd be considered essential personnel that had to get to work no matter what. Do they make sure the roads are plowed and things are in good shape for people to get to work? This is a sticking point for my husband, who hates the snow and ice we have to battle through in the winter on our hour's drive to get to work each day (one way). We're hoping for a country lifestyle but much closer to the real work. That doesn't exist anyplace around here without being VERY expensive..and we'd never get a nice home AND 3-5 acres without going way beyond our price range. If I could show him we could have a pretty home with some ground that wasn't a long ways from his work place, even the snow might not be such a big deal.

Well, I thought I'd toss this out there and let the people who'd know give me some advice and info.

Thanks!!

Cara

[dognh]

I'll address the winter driving. NH does get snow. So, winter driving is just a fact of life.
Interstates and State Roads are well plowed, but not always at the moment you are on them - the plow loops are long and during a heavy storm, snow can certainly build up between plow loops.
(the day after a storm things are fine)

I've also noticed that as the winter progresses the plows don't seem come out as much for lighter storms (under 6 inches), but that could just be me.

Side roads and residential streets are another story. Most get plowed, but because the towns are just using small trucks and may not be running 24/7, the roads often are not down to pavement until the sun does its magic (many residential roads in my area of S. NH are still hard packed snow/slush covered.

If you have an AWD car or snow tires, I wouldn't worry too much -- after a year or two you'll be an expert.

[sgthoskins]

Originally Posted by dognh

If you have an AWD car or snow tires, I wouldn't worry too much -- after a year or two you'll be an expert.

+1 Depending on what you drive will make a difference.

[jthibodeau]

One quick consideration for having your road plowed a little more often or earlier is if your road is on a school bus route. These roads will tend to be a bit more maintained during snow storm then more secondary road.

[touretteboy65]

Originally Posted by CaraRandall

My husband and I (45 and 40 respectively) are considering a move to New Hampshire within a few years (when the economy might let us sell our home)

We love living in the country, and I am in love with the types of homes I saw on realtor.com which are in the NH area. SO PRETTY! And I like that many of them have acreage and it doesn't make the total package priced out of our range!

I'm a nurse, and will be a nurse practitioner by the time we'd move. My husband works as a network engineer in IT. We'd be looking for a country home (3 beds, 1.5 bath) with perhaps 3-5 acres, priced 200,000-220,000 (we hope in that range, not much more) that is 15-20 minutes from a thriving town that has arts and cultural activities, some kind of civic interest (large library, privately owned stores, etc., in other words, something going for it...if you saw the dead, burned-out town we live 5 minutes from right now in southeastern Indiana, you'd know what I mean...ack!).

We're also concerned about the tons of snow, and the fact that we'd be considered essential personnel that had to get to work no matter what. Do they make sure the roads are plowed and things are in good shape for people to get to work? This is a sticking point for my husband, who hates the snow and ice we have to battle through in the winter on our hour's drive to get to work each day (one way). We're hoping for a country lifestyle but much closer to the real work. That doesn't exist anyplace around here without being VERY expensive..and we'd never get a nice home AND 3-5 acres without going way beyond our price range. If I could show him we could have a pretty home with some ground that wasn't a long ways from his work place, even the snow might not be such a big deal.

Well, I thought I'd toss this out there and let the people who'd know give me some advice and info.

Thanks!!

Cara

Your husband and my wife should get together . Just kidding. I've badgered her to the point where she has exhausted every reason not to move to New Hampshire, but I have prevailed!!!!! We're looking to move there within two years. I feel that once she sees the way of life and how beautiful the state is, she realize it's worth the cold winters. If not, too bad! Psych! Anyway, good luck with the future move; I wish I could move there now, but my job committment is keeping me here for another two years. It'll be here before I know it, so I'm constantly looking at realtor.com and nneren (northern new england real estate network---a very good website for homes and property). We're planning a trip in June and will be checking out a lot of the communities in the Belknap and Carroll counties. Again, good luck with everything and stick to your guns!!!!!

[CaraRandall]

Originally Posted by touretteboy65

Your husband and my wife should get together . Just kidding. I've badgered her to the point where she has exhausted every reason not to move to New Hampshire, but I have prevailed!!!!! We're looking to move there within two years. I feel that once she sees the way of life and how beautiful the state is, she realize it's worth the cold winters. If not, too bad! Psych! Anyway, good luck with the future move; I wish I could move there now, but my job committment is keeping me here for another two years. It'll be here before I know it, so I'm constantly looking at realtor.com and nneren (northern new england real estate network---a very good website for homes and property). We're planning a trip in June and will be checking out a lot of the communities in the Belknap and Carroll counties. Again, good luck with everything and stick to your guns!!!!!

Thanks so much to everyone! And yes, your situation sounds like ours, somewhat. I think it will help when we go and visit the state. I was thinking about June, too! HEHEH. We might both we running up and down the roads telling our spouses, "Oh my GARSH, look at how wonderful all this is!!!" Randy says he's been to a rural part of New Hampshire, and it was pretty, so he isn't against it, per se. He's just leery of the cold, and there have to be good job prospects for him to even try it.

Thanks for the site info...we'll just have to keep working on 'em!

Cara

[CaraRandall]

ACK! A new question! My husband pointed out the extremely high cost of heating a house in NH via oil heat. Aren't there any electric heat homes in NH? Here we pay about 165 or so during the warmer months, and this winter has run pretty high for us...285 or more for heating, but we are all electric. We have no water bill because we have a well. I guess we'll have to crunch the numbers, but it does sounds like heating is going to be a LOT higher...does it balance out with lower bills the rest of the year since it doesn't sound like it gets as hot up there?

What is an average winter heating bill for a 3 bedroom home when you have to use propane or oil??


Thanks!
Cara

[WannaComeHome]

believe it or not, oil is still a lot cheaper to heat with than electric! and for a fully electric house (you're talking central? a/c & heat?) you'd probably be talking a heat pump. Baaaaad idea! heat pumps can't handle the cold. Heck, here I am in the mid-atlantic where heat pumps are the norm, and I can't get my office warmer than 68d no matter what it's set at because the heat pumps just don't work. and it's a little warmer here than in NH. electric is very expensive. Best is if you can use some passive solar (south facing windows are best) for heat.

There's a chart I pulled out of a magazine somewhere that shows the general costs of oil vs propane vs elec, I'll have to dig it out.

btw: in summer, most people can manage with fans or a couple window a/c units. in southern NH you can get some warm days, but not that many and not for too long at a time.

[motoracer51]

What are you guys paying per KwH there in NH? I was looking at the NH.gov website, and based on 500KwH usage, they claim your electric bill should run about $80-$100/month.

That comes out to roughly $.20 KwH....WOW, that's expensive.


Here in Colorado, we're paying roughly $.075/KwH.

OP:

Just look at your electric bills, and find out how many KwH you used for certain months, and multiply that by $.20, and that should get you a rough estimate of the cost in NH.

[buck naked]

ACK! A new question! My husband pointed out the extremely high cost of heating a house in NH via oil heat. Aren't there any electric heat homes in NH?

it's not the electricity that is so expensive, it's the high power transmission delivery fees. Our electric bill is roughly $40. per month with $60. in tacked on delivery fees. Once upon a time, DD lived in a 2 room apartment that had electric heat. Her electric bill was more than her rent fees. Electric heat is not viable in NH.

As far as finding a home in the $200K range with acreage, your choices are limited. You may be able to find something in the far north or in the far west and sparcely populated part of the state. There are other things to consider if you do choose to go to those areas. Cable is not available everywhere, for example.

As a nurse/nurse practitioner, you should have no problem getting a job. The IT job, OTOH, is limited to the southern part of the state and there are 500 applicants for every job that becomes available.