Questions about NH... (Manchester, Nashua, Concord: transplants, sales, how much)

[be4today]

My husband and I want to move out to NH from Seattle in the next couple of years. As I stated earlier we'll be visiting some towns in NH this Fall to check things out. Doing some research now so we can narrow down our list of places to visit.

So I have some questions I'd like to ask...

What is the general weather like in NH? How much snow, rain and sun during the year? Coming from Seattle we get tons of rain and we'd love to live in a place where,hopefully, it's not raining 360 days a year! ; )

Is the postal service reliable? UPS? Fed Ex? More in some areas than others? I've just recently learned about wells and septic tanks are needed out there in many areas outside the big cities. Was quite the wakeup call.

For TV would we need a satellite dish or is cable available all over the state?

What areas are being taken over by big money businesses ie.Walmart,Sam's Club and the like? Is there a problem with big businesses coming in and ruining small local businesses?

Job market? My husband and I own a printing business doing websites, fine art printing, commercials and other media. How do small business owners fare in NH? Are there towns that are more small business friendly than others?

Where are the big college towns? I ask because both my husband and I used to live in college towns and we both hated it.

And being a Seattle-ite I have to ask about the coffee! When we visited in '04 we traveled all over NH,MA,CT and RI and our trip lasted two weeks. We had coffee everywhere we went and it was only in Boston that we had a good cup of coffee. Yes, it was Starbucks but we were desperate so we went to the old standby. For some reason all the coffee we had at hotels, B&B's, gas stations, kiosks, Dunkin Doughnuts etc. was bitter and/or burnt and/or too strong. Please note that when I say strong I don't mean French Roast strong but toe curling strong. We couldn't believe that it was like that everywhere so we kept trying out coffee at different places and still we only had good coffee that one day. So where in the heck are the good coffee places hiding in New England and New Hampshire?!



Thank you!

[ourownplace3]

Hello! I have lived in NH for most of my life, have lived in central (lakes region) and southern NH and went to college in Southern NH. We are actually considering/researching moving to NC. But Im more than happy to help with your questions, a lot of people have assisted me in my research about NC!

The weather - interestingly enough here in NH, we have a motto. If you dont like the weather, just wait a minute, it will change. Example, last week, one day it was a beautiful 72 degrees, the next day it snowed 2 inches. The transition periods from season to season are very iffy. You dress one way in the morning and either peel off layers or wish you had more in the afternoon. Summers are absolutely beautiful, especially when you are in the lakes region. Lake Winnepesaukee cannot be beat. My daughter and I spend many a days at Ellacoya Beach in Gilford - sand bar, clearest water, moderately soft sand and a display of mountains that seem so close you could reach out and touch them. The transition to fall is almost non existent. It comes very quickly. Its 80 degrees one week, falls to 60's the next and goodbye summer. The leaves change color pretty quickly and foliage lasts a good 4-6 weeks, longer in the North. Once fall comes everyone pretty much starts buckling down for the winter. First snow can come as early as Halloween, as late as New Years as it happened this year. But always seems to be, we get the Nor'easters no matter what. We had no snow in Oct, Nov or Dec 2006 but then we had "February Furry" and "March Madness" and yes, we had a lot of snow and even worse, a lot of wind. Right now, end of March starts mud season. The ground starts to thaw, the snow melts and EVERYTHING turns from solid to loose. We have mud boots. My daughter was born in March and the book the hospital gave her when we left was called simply "Mud." Because the weather is very warm then cold again then very warm ect it takes a bit of time for the ground to thaw and dry. About end of May should be good and then we wait for the nice hot days we've been waiting for all winter to come. Usually start in June, hottest days come in July and or August. Then just when you thought summer started, it ends. Hope this helps with your weather question. Its actually an interesting cycle. I know it well

If you dont have kids and dont plan on having kids then public education isnt an issue for you but property tax will be. Our education system is funded primarily by property tax. So, if you live in a well to do town such as Gilford you will pay dearly for tax - Im talking 4-6K a year. An average school system, about 2.5-3 a year. Poor school systems are less ect.

Never had a problem with UPS USPS or FedEx.

TV - depends on the area. Also FYI a lot of areas you only have one cable provider. For example, Barnstead you have metrocast. Verizon, Timewarner, Comcast ect which are all available in bigger more populated areas are no where to be found. Same thing with phone & internet. Also, cell phone service is only decent in southern/central NH. And even then isnt that great, sucks your battery trying to find signals and keep them. But they have been getting better.

Big business - I would say no. People are pretty active in their towns regarding that. And many times its a welcome addition. I live 18 miles north of Concord. I have to either drive to Concord 25 mins to find Walmart, Shaws, Hannafords, Target ect or drive 35 mins north to find them. Hannafords was just put up last year in Alton NH. Its the only grocery store for miles and miles.

Big college towns - Manchester/Hooksett has SNHU, UNH ect which are the biggest universities in the area. Plus a lot of night life there ect. People call it 'Manch Vegas' - its become the mini Boston. Durham has the main UNH campus. Keene also is a college town.

Uh Dunkin Donuts IS the BEST coffee - ask any New Englander We are obsessed with Dunkins. Work is about 20 min away and there are 3 DD's en route Concord just got a starbucks and they are probably in the other larger cities like Nashua, Portsmouth and Manchester.

Hope this helps!

[OREGONRAIN]

Hi: Your post made me laugh, only because I am sitting here in Portland not the one in Maine, thinking about returning to New England where I hail from. I am from Mass. however I have been considering NH, since I could never afford or would want to live in Mass again. I will try to answer some of your questions for you. I also do not like college towns, I am 57 now, I did retire but work part time now, and all the retirement publications keep pushing retirees to college towns, bad news I think, but then to each his own. With that said, stay away fromt he Durham NH area, UNH. a party school to say the least. I think a nice town to live in is Portsmouth right on the coast about 1 hour or little more north of boston, You definitely will find your coffee there, and I really had to laugh at the dunkin donuts, I don't drink coffe, but when my sister visted me in Portland her and her husband wanted to go to one here, I said I am so glad they are not out here, so they went to starbucks but it is too strong for them. If you want a larger city, but not really big, and good air service now is Manchester, I believe they are doing alot of renovating on that area, Nashua towards the mass NH border is strongly populated by Mass transplants, and they commute into boston and the north shore area to work, and as u know there is no state or income tax in NH, a big plus for me as a retiree, however property taxes are very very high, but then how else can they fund the state with no other taxes. There is Derry, and Hampton, newmarket just outside Portsmouth. I don't know how far up in the state you get, it will get real rural fast. I didn't get the impression you wanted the sticks so I mentioned only southern NH, countryish but not too hick, plenty of shopping, yes there is walmart, but not like down south, only a few. Large malls though to get those Mass shoppers to come over the border to save on the sales taxes. I miss the town centers, and quite frankly I found the people friendlier back there, and not all this druggies and homeless coming at me everytime I go out here, I am fed up with it. I don't think you would have a problem with your business there, although I can't really speak on that subject, I don't know enough about that end of it. It is a cold climate to say the least, there definitely is snow and blizzards at times, but the past few years as the climate everywhere seems to be changing, it has snowed less. Rain, yes it rains sometimes alot, but nothing like out here, no comparison, the long gray months of wet wet wet, that is not part of the makeup back there. Check out the Portsmouth area, if you can afford it, it has gotten expensive there. Well I hoped this helped, I don't know if seattle's best coffee is in NH, I know they are in boston at several locations downtown.

[JMX]

On my recent trips to New Hampshire and Maine, it seemed like there was a Dunkin Donuts every three blocks. Kinda like Starbucks in Seattle and Portland.

Maybe you and your husband could combine your coffee and business expertise and open a gourmet coffee house.

From what I've seen and the research I've done, NH in general seems to be small-business friendly. Those NH folks are pretty smart; they know that small businesses are good for the community.

[salvador.limones]

Dunkin Donuts IS the BEST coffee - ask any New Englander

I hope that was a joke... and Bud is the best beer, right?

Good coffee can certainly be had in many cities/towns in NH - Portsmouth, Exeter, Keene, Peterborough, Lincoln, Hanover, New London, Hillsborough, Amherst just to name a few. Typically it's locally-owned cafes or bakeries.

[nhyrnut]

Originally Posted by salvador.limones

Dunkin Donuts IS the BEST coffee - ask any New Englander

I hope that was a joke... and Bud is the best beer, right?

Good coffee can certainly be had in many cities/towns in NH - Portsmouth, Exeter, Keene, Peterborough, Lincoln, Hanover, New London, Hillsborough, Amherst just to name a few. Typically it's locally-owned cafes or bakeries.

NOT Dunkin Donuts coffee SUCKS big time. I know what you mean about the coffee here. We do have Star bucks in NH Now. And you can but it in the stores for home brew. There is also Green Mountain coffee here. Not as good as star bucks but is the next best thing. New england People don't know coffee all that well. LOL Most drink with Cream and sugar to kill the bitterness. They don't realize good coffee isn't bitter at all.

[be4today]

ourownplace3- Omigoodness! Such a helpful post! Thank you! : )
I read some of it to my husband and he thought it helpful too.
Sounds like your weather motto is similar to our motto. More like if it isn't raining then just wait cause it will be. ; )

So just instant winter in a sense. And that mud does NOT sound fun! BUT still though I've always wanted a pair of wellies, the tall kind, and never had a reason to need them. Sounds like I will now! LOL! : )

Oh yes the New England summer. Was in CT in June of '96 and thought I was going to die from the heat. Hardly any trees in the area I was in and almost no breeze. So not fun. Maybe though if we live near the coast it'll be OK.

Yes I am learning about the property tax. I think it's sneaky that they trumpet the whole "Come to NH! There's no tax!" and then you find out about the high property tax. And then this new(?) view tax? VIEW TAX!!! WTH?! Insane...

We're planning on having kids but hopefully not till we're out there. Education is important to us so we're also keeping an eye out for private schools. Thank you for that info.

Ok about the mailing systems. We needed to know since we'll be relying alot on it for our business and can't have a so-so delivery system.

Thank you for the cable, internet and cell info! Will be writing that one down and keeping it in mind for sure.

Nice to know about the big business. I sign every anti-Walmart petition I run into and just hate what they are doing to the communities they set up shop in.

Will keep that in mind about the big college towns you listed. Manch Vegas! LOL! That's funny. : )

" Uh Dunkin Donuts IS the BEST coffee - ask any New Englander. "

LOL! Oh yes so I've heard! And seen! ALL OVER New England! LOL! I told my husband before our last visit in '04 that DD's was to New England like Starbucks is to WA State. BUT being a doughnut lover I do love DD's doughnuts so maybe I'll have to just suck it up when it comes to their java. ; )

Thank you so much !

OREGONRAIN- Oh we're avoiding Mass. like the plague. Not just costs but the driving! We were there for four days and by the second day on the road we knew we weren't making it up about the way they drive down there! Hasn't anyone heard of a BLINKER?! Noone uses their light signals (!) they just go where they want with no forwarning! And that when someone wants to change lanes that does NOT mean that you speed up so they can't get in! And people driving on the shoulder just to get ahead of everyone! It was insane! Sorry about the rant but Mass. is definitely not on our list of places to live. ; )

Odd that retirement mags are pushing college towns. I agree that that sounds like bad news. Maybe the market in those areas are not doing well?
Will put Durham on my list too. Will take note of Portsmouth.

After reading your Starbucks being too strong comment I remembered something. When I worked there for a season in 96-97 I forgot that Starbucks used to make my stomach churn due to it's strength. I also used to be put on coffee grinding duty in the mornings. I used to get big headaches and see stars and sparkles when I ground the coffee in the grinder. It was the strangest thing. Took a long time for my stomach to agree with Starbucks. So I understand the too strong comments. I'd forgotten about that! LOL! When my Uncle, who's from New England, came out here to visit a couple years ago he brought his own coffee, yes Dunkin Doughnuts, with him. I think it's still sitting in my parents freezer. LOL! ; )

Will take note of Nashua and Manchester. And yes I know about there not being property or income tax. But as I stated earlier I think this new view tax they got going just sucks big time.

We wanted it to be country ish but not out in the booneys. Like we'd have easy access to a big city but we wouldn't have neighbors houses jammed up next to our home. We want to have a couple acres of land and a nice older home ranging from mid 1700's to mid 1800's. My husband and I love things that are old and we want an older home to live in and take care of.

Great to hear about less rain! I've grown up here in Seattle pretty much my whole life, parents moved here when I was 5 and I'm now 29. I've tried so hard to get used to the rain but I hate being soggy all the time and having my hair that I spent 20 minutes on to get "just right" to go all frizzy and look sloppy like I did nothing to it. Glad that it's not like that out there all the time.

Thank you so much for your help and thoughts. I do appreciate it!

JMX-

"...it seemed like there was a Dunkin Donuts every three blocks. Kinda like Starbucks in Seattle and Portland."


LOL! Ain't that the truth! I noticed that for the first time when I visited CT in '01. Like I said earlier DD is to New England like Starbucks is to the WA State. Crazy! And being the fanatic that I am about coffee I might just open up that coffee joint if I have to. The shop name will be easy: The Good Coffee Shop. Har har. ; )


" From what I've seen and the research I've done, NH in general seems to be small-business friendly. Those NH folks are pretty smart; they know that small businesses are good for the community."

That's good to hear. I would think that NH would be with their whole individualist and independant thinking. Since alot of New England thrives on tourists I would think they'd be open more to small businesses.

Thak you for your reply!

salvador.limones-

LOL! Well I hope I've not started a coffee war now. I know to each his own.

I thought about the whole locally bakeries and cafes. Thankfully I love trying new things so I'll have no problem being a guinea pig for awhile.

Thanks for the reply.

nhyrnut- Well I'm willing to give DD's another shot next time we visit. I understand about the dumping cream and sugar into the coffee there to hide the bitterness. That's what I was doing pretty much the whole trip in '04.

I don't think that Starbucks is the end-all-be-all of coffee. I drink coffees from other chains and independant coffee shops. In fact I'd love to find an indy coffee shop in New England who's coffee I just adored. Then I could support the little guy which I'd prefer.

Thank you for your reply!

[OCCASparky]

Originally Posted by salvador.limones

Dunkin Donuts IS the BEST coffee - ask any New Englander

I hope that was a joke... and Bud is the best beer, right?

Good coffee can certainly be had in many cities/towns in NH - Portsmouth, Exeter, Keene, Peterborough, Lincoln, Hanover, New London, Hillsborough, Amherst just to name a few. Typically it's locally-owned cafes or bakeries.

I gotta admit, Aroma Joe's is probably some of the better local coffee you'll find.

However, I usually make my own at the house using some Kona I order over the Net...

[GregW]

AFIK - Citco Stations and 7-Eleven stores have Green Mtn Coffee. Better than DD and not as over roasted as Starbucks.

Also please don't move to southern NH until I can retire and get out of Londonderry and the POSH schools and brutal taxes. In the last 20+ years the place has gone from about right to too damn crowded. At least for my taste.

Oh, A house on a couple of acres will run you about 1/2 million and be taxed about 7,500 a year anywhere south and east of Manchester. 'Nuf said.

[be4today]

OCCASparky- Thanks for the reply! Will put that on my list of coffees to try next time I'm out there! Thank you!

GregW- Taking note of GMC. Thank you.

" Also please don't move to southern NH until I can retire and get out of Londonderry and the POSH schools and brutal taxes. In the last 20+ years the place has gone from about right to too damn crowded. At least for my taste.

Oh, A house on a couple of acres will run you about 1/2 million and be taxed about 7,500 a year anywhere south and east of Manchester. 'Nuf said."

Thanks alot for your thoughts on that.