Maine or NH for relocation? (Bangor, Mexico: how much, buying, university)

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Correct, but if you compare those houses in Lincoln, Maine and Lincoln, NH you'll see it plain as day.

[mainebrokerman]

If I were moving long-term, i'd rather have a southern border state of new hampshire than mass.

maine is over 90% trees and most forested state- we will remain that way for a longgggggggggg time
new hampshire is our buffer zone

[Newdaawn]

If I could find such a house within 20 miles of where I am I would buy it in a minute. Maybe those prices are now available in Milo or Millinocket area.

[Submariner]

The economy is horrible. If you depend on a job, good luck finding one.

Taxes? well, there are ways around that issue. Taxes in Maine focus a lot on businesses, which make it really hard to stay in business. Pensioners on the other hand commonly find they pay little in taxes.

If you want forest, rivers, lakes and ponds; a home on 100 acres; Maine has that a thousand fold.

I really can not offer much of an opinion of NH. I chose Maine sight unseen from a great distance from my internet research.

[movintime]

Thank you all again very much. I know this was asked in a biased forum (Maine not NH) but I was leaning Maine anyway. It seems to be confirmed more & more as I see these posts come in. I hope someday soon this'll work out down the road. Please do keep the info, pro & con, coming. It may help many others as well that are trying to decide a similar situation.

[RiverBird]

Originally Posted by movintime

Both are very equal in our vote. But I like Maine because of various reasons. I made a thread last yr about high cancer rates, though, in Maine & now NH also has high rates I see. Can anyone clear up which would be best vs all things considered?

I'd include everything from; health care rank, smoking rates (preferrably lower amount of smokers - we don't like or want 2nd-hand smoke if possible), the best economy, weather, crime rate, pollution, cancer rate, heart disease rate, etc.

Also, cost of living & other factors that anyone can add that may weigh in the decision.

Thanks alot to all for the info & help. Any clarification/feedback would certainly help alleviate confusion between the two states.

Carefully check out property taxes in NH. They are generally much higher than in Maine (which is mostly rural) and among the highest in the nation. No income or sales tax, they have to get their revenue from somewhere. Even the most modest homes have really high taxes, mostly in lower NH.

[RiverBird]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

Both states have "cancer clusters" which are mysterious.

Are these mapped, and are they tied into chemical sites, manufacturing plants, radon or nuclear sites?

[bangorme]

I'd pick NH, and in fact if my daughter weren't in Maine, I'd be living there. Once you get out of the Boston commuting area, NH is very much like Maine. NH has lower taxes and less poverty. NH is more conservative and less entitlement centered. The fishing isn't anywhere near as good in NH, but I could buy a hundred nonresident fishing licenses in Maine for the difference in the taxes there. No contest in my view.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

newenglandgirl, That's why it's a mystery. Nobody has been able to find a cause of these clusters in either state. They are not widespread. It's possible that they are simply coincidental. In addition, the internet enables the discovery of clusters that might never have been discovered in the past.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

Carefully check out property taxes in NH. They are generally much higher than in Maine (which is mostly rural) and among the highest in the nation. No income or sales tax, they have to get their revenue from somewhere. Even the most modest homes have really high taxes, mostly in lower NH.

Not entirely true. Look at the 2012 nh equalized tax rates. One can find many towns in NH with more reasonable tax rates with the corresponding lower property taxes. The more populous corridors are generally going to have higher tax rates overall. NH also has a current use policy for land of 10 acres or more that keeps property taxes lower for those that have larger land holdings. This also discourages subdivision of land into smaller parcels for development.