Property Taxes

[touretteboy65]

Originally Posted by leavingNHsoon

I live in the Lakes Region and it's quite nice. We have 5 kids, ages 22, 19,18, 17 and 2 years old. They all went to school in Plymouth NH. (Plymouth Regional High School) and they all loved it. Plymouth is also a college town (PSU). My family moved here from Tampa when I was 16 (1984). We want to go somewhere warmer now but not sure where. I love everything about NH except the winters. Taxes are higher in Plymouth than alot of other towns. I live in Ashland, about 1 mile from Little Squam lake. (where they filmed ON Golden Pond) Taxes aren't too bad here. I have a 1600 sq ft house and my taxes are $3000. year. Bridgewater NH has low taxes and that's not too far from here, maybe 5 miles. If you have any other questions.. just ask. I know everything about the Lakes Region part of the state!

Thanks! My wife and I visited the Lakes Region back in June; I do remember liking Meredith quite a bit, as did my wife. We have two young girls, so the school issue is a big concern for us. I don't mind paying my fair share of taxes, as long as we receive good results with the money used. I couldn't imagine moving away from NH, knowing what I know and seen; we live here in Florida, and in my opinion, I'd put up with the winters to enjoy what you all have (low crime, congestion, nature, 4 seasons, etc.) Good luck and thanks again.

[buck naked]

I can't recommend the lakes region enough. If you have a job that will allow you to live there, then GO4IT!

[steveusaf]

Originally Posted by touretteboy65

Yes, we don't need much. A simple home with enough room for us to grow in a nice neighborhood. I just spoke to a friend of mine who recently built a 6 0 0 0 square foot home , bragging about it. What a ding dong. Hope he has fun heating, cooling, furnishing it, let alone paying taxes on it. A fool and his money....

Not sure what one does with 6000 square feet of house, unless they have A LOT of kids. A total waste of energy, resources, tax money. And imagine how long it takes to clean it! I don't even want to think about it.

Being America, I guess if that's how you want to spend your money, so be it. I'm designing a 2000 sq ft house, and that's probably a little on the high side of what I actually need now and when the house will be an empty nest, but hey, I want to make sure my wood shop is big enough

[WannaComeHome]

wow. If i had the money and cleaning staff.... boy I'd love a house that big - well, maybe 4000 or so. We have no kids, but we have stuff. And hobbies that would love to have separate space. and no more pokey little rooms that you can barely walk around your furniture... <sigh> I can dream, can't I?! Congrats if you can do it!

[steveusaf]

When heating oil goes to $5 per gallon and higher (it will, eventually), you'll be glad you have a sensible sized house.

[MovedfromFL]

My family is in the same boat as the OP of this thread. We used to live in FL (I grew up about 10 minutes from the town that he lives in). We got sick of the crime and crowding down there, so we made it as far as north Georgia. Now we are looking to make our final move somewhere even better.

We are also looking at the lakes region, but I wonder if some areas are very touristy and crowded during the summer and then a "ghost town" in the winter? I want an area that is family oriented vs. where older folks have their summer cottages. Conway, Plymouth, and even Holderness seem kind of in the boonies. I don't want to have to drive 1/2 hour to a grocery store on snowy roads.

I want more space here in GA, but I don't want to feel isolated like we're in backwoods Alaska or something. I'm sure pretty much anything will be an improvement from our current town, so we're up for an adventure. As long as there aren't gang shoot outs and gang "beat ins" in the local high school, we're on the right track!

[MovedfromFL]

Originally Posted by leavingNHsoon

I live in the Lakes Region and it's quite nice. We have 5 kids, ages 22, 19,18, 17 and 2 years old. They all went to school in Plymouth NH. (Plymouth Regional High School) and they all loved it. Plymouth is also a college town (PSU). My family moved here from Tampa when I was 16 (1984). We want to go somewhere warmer now but not sure where. I love everything about NH except the winters. Taxes are higher in Plymouth than alot of other towns. I live in Ashland, about 1 mile from Little Squam lake. (where they filmed ON Golden Pond) Taxes aren't too bad here. I have a 1600 sq ft house and my taxes are $3000. year. Bridgewater NH has low taxes and that's not too far from here, maybe 5 miles. If you have any other questions.. just ask. I know everything about the Lakes Region part of the state!

Oh boy... I'm pretty sure you will be in for culture shock if you move somewhere warmer. When was the last time you were in Tampa? My conclusion after growing up in the Orlando area (1974-2006) and now living in Georgia is that you give up a lot in terms of quality of life just to get warmer weather. I can't think of anywhere "warm" that I would want to live & stay for the next 20+ years. You should prepare for a lot more diversity wherever you go outside of NH. My town is now 33+% Mexican. (50% in city limits) Closer to Atlanta, you see people of all races (large areas of Korean stores, etc). Orlando is of course a melting pot (less than 50% white now). Our last neighborhood had Indians (India), Haitians, African-Americans, etc. I used to work with a Muslim woman from Guyana (she was my age and one of the nicest people I know. We got along great). I think kids growing up in NH are probably in a bubble somewhat just in terms of crime and demographics.

Schools can be very diverse as well, and non-white children comprise a pretty large share of many schools in FL and AZ for sure.
My advice for sure is to visit prospective towns many times before you decide if possible. Go to real places where you might live and work, not the tourist areas where everything is fake.

[Brave Stranger]

Originally Posted by MovedfromFL

My family is in the same boat as the OP of this thread. We used to live in FL (I grew up about 10 minutes from the town that he lives in). We got sick of the crime and crowding down there, so we made it as far as north Georgia. Now we are looking to make our final move somewhere even better.

We are also looking at the lakes region, but I wonder if some areas are very touristy and crowded during the summer and then a "ghost town" in the winter? I want an area that is family oriented vs. where older folks have their summer cottages. Conway, Plymouth, and even Holderness seem kind of in the boonies. I don't want to have to drive 1/2 hour to a grocery store on snowy roads.

I want more space here in GA, but I don't want to feel isolated like we're in backwoods Alaska or something. I'm sure pretty much anything will be an improvement from our current town, so we're up for an adventure. As long as there aren't gang shoot outs and gang "beat ins" in the local high school, we're on the right track!

Meredith has low, low, low property taxes, and lot's of summer foks, but it's a solid year round communiy, and its downtown is right on lake Winni....beautiful Lakes Region town.

[MovedfromFL]

Meredith sounds good. We are definately going to spend some time there next week. Growing up in FL, I got used to living in a transient area where there wasn't much sense of stability and community, so hopefully NH will provide a better experience.

Low taxes are good but not to the extent that essential services are missing (like what we see in Georgia). What matters is wise use of the tax dollars! (Not the $3 million pedestrial bridge to nowhere that my town is determined to build in this recession)

I also see that Inter-Lakes Elem in Meredith and Ashland Elem are supposed to be award winners. Meredith might only have a 1/2 day kindergarten program, which would be an issue for me.

[Brave Stranger]

Originally Posted by MovedfromFL

Meredith sounds good. We are definately going to spend some time there next week. Growing up in FL, I got used to living in a transient area where there wasn't much sense of stability and community, so hopefully NH will provide a better experience.

Low taxes are good but not to the extent that essential services are missing (like what we see in Georgia). What matters is wise use of the tax dollars! (Not the $3 million pedestrial bridge to nowhere that my town is determined to build in this recession)

I also see that Inter-Lakes Elem in Meredith and Ashland Elem are supposed to be award winners. Meredith might only have a 1/2 day kindergarten program, which would be an issue for me.

Meredith has private kindergarten for childern at a low price.