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I'm from Long Island. Lived there for the first 30 years of my life. I've been in Northern New England for the past 13 years. The winters on LI are NOTHING compared to the winter in N.N.E. (Upstate NY, sure... L.I., not even close!). LI is considered the Northern part of the Mid-Atlantic states, and is greatly tempered by the ocean.
This is not to dissuade you, I love it here! Just something to think about.
Thank you for that info. I've lived all over long island (north shore, close to NYC, and then all the way out on the east end of the island) and the south of new York down the coast. Thank you for bringing up heating costs and the winters, thats a good point that we may not have thought of. The winters were pretty bad out east on long island, although im sure they are worse in NH. I've read typical heating costs are around 1500 a year, would that be an accurate estimate? Are air conditioners needed in the summer? We spend about... 900-1000, I would estimate, on energy costs (a little bit of heating & mostly cooling) per year. We have natural gas here, which is definitely cheaper and our air conditioner runs off of electricity. When growing up on long island we never had air conditioning, we just had a big fan in the attic that would suck all the hot air up and out, when we needed it during the summers. I HATE AC, so we will not use it unless we have to! And my husband would be thrilled to be allowed to buy a 4 wheel drive vehicle, haha! I won't let him where we are because it's unnecessary!! No rain, no snow, nothin! :-)
It's difficult to say what is an average price to heat a home in New England because there are so many variables: what are you using for heating fuel, how big is the home, how well is the home insulated, what temp do you like to keep it at, how much sun does the home get etc etc etc
One thing I would reccomend is when you're buying the home you should have an inspection done and speicifically ask about things pertaining to the heating/cooling systems. I am in the process of switching from oil to wood pellets for heat and revamping the insulation in my attic. I hope to save lots of money by doing so. After you move into the house you can easily do a lot of free research online to educate yourself about how to make your home more heat/energy efficient.
AC is not needed in NE as much as you would use it in southern CA. It does get hot and muggy but it's not like that every day of the summer. We turned the ACs on a few weeks back ran them for 2-3 days and haven't had to use them since.
Another thing is that if you're going to be in a rural to semi rural area you will probably not have town water and sewer. You will have a well and a septic tank. It's important to have both of these things inspected prior to buying any home and servicing them annually or semi annually to ensure that they stay in good working order. You will want to test the well water to make sure it's safe for you family to drink. You probably want to have the home radon tested. Radon is a gas that seeps up from the ground here in NE and can be dangerous to your health.
I'm from Long Island. Lived there for the first 30 years of my life. I've been in Northern New England for the past 13 years. The winters on LI are NOTHING compared to the winter in N.N.E. (Upstate NY, sure... L.I., not even close!). LI is considered the Northern part of the Mid-Atlantic states, and is greatly tempered by the ocean.
This is not to dissuade you, I love it here! Just something to think about.
I figured as much :-). Luckily, I love snow and have camped in upstate ny during the winters without a complaint. I do think my husband will be in for a major adjustment if we end up there. He has been reading all of this and doesn't seem dissuaded yet! Hopefully we can pinpoint a good area on our visit- wherever that might be!
Upstate NY is nice especially the Adirondacks but I've always found it to be a bit boring.
My wife and I both grew up in New England and neither one of us skiis, snowmobiles, iceskates or does any of the winter stuff. The only use we have for the snow is shovelling it and cursing it all winter long. We thought about moving south and/or west to some place warmer but nothing ever came of it. I guess we both have New England in our blood and nothing will ever change that. Last Saturday we took the kids out to Fort Foster in Kittery for the day and as I was driving there I was thinking "is there any better place on earth to be this time of year than coastal NH/southern Maine?" For me there isn't.
Autumn in New England is also very nice too. Country fairs, the foliage, apple/pumpkin picking, the Patriots.
For the OP...check this out....it's one of those you're know your from such and such a place when lists about new england
Ahaha! I love those "you know youre from...." lists. They are always so spot on. I learned a lot from this one, actually, and some I knew already from having friends from new england!! So funny.
The more I look into new hampshire, the more it really feels like the right place... for me anyway. Its so incredibly beautiful!! Growing up in NY, I always wished for more snow and was always disappointed when it wasnt a white christmas.
I do wonder, what do you guys do during the winters besides play in the snow?? What do little kids like to do? I know I could keep myself busy very easily, but its not so easy with kiddos who might get cold? I have zero experience with my kids in the snow!! We visited the snow last winter up in the mountains and they had a blast sledding. It was so fun, but we just got in the car and drove home.
Maine is absolutely stunning and beautiful too! How is the weather comparable to say, northern NH? I assume its not much different depending on whether youre inland or coastal?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Declan's Dad
Upstate NY is nice especially the Adirondacks but I've always found it to be a bit boring.
My wife and I both grew up in New England and neither one of us skiis, snowmobiles, iceskates or does any of the winter stuff. The only use we have for the snow is shovelling it and cursing it all winter long. We thought about moving south and/or west to some place warmer but nothing ever came of it. I guess we both have New England in our blood and nothing will ever change that. Last Saturday we took the kids out to Fort Foster in Kittery for the day and as I was driving there I was thinking "is there any better place on earth to be this time of year than coastal NH/southern Maine?" For me there isn't.
Autumn in New England is also very nice too. Country fairs, the foliage, apple/pumpkin picking, the Patriots.
For the OP...check this out....it's one of those you're know your from such and such a place when lists about new england
Autumn in New England is also very nice too. Country fairs, the foliage, apple/pumpkin picking, the Patriots.
For the OP...check this out....it's one of those you're know your from such and such a place when lists about new england
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Autumn is my favorite time of year. I dont bake much anymore since its so hot out here, even around thanksgiving and christmas (which does NOT feel natural, or cheery at all, haha). But, I do manage to get my house smelling super delish during the holidays despite not baking much
tmooon No TV is different. You may well make in NH after all. I know of families with no tv.... They are very close family's for it.
It is not any question of can't afford, but is more a matter of toxic tv will not be allowed in these homes.
I have a rattlesnake hide. I skinned it on Pine Ridge SD out on the rez.... I was after a loose horse and found it dead, struck on the head by a car. One fang was there one fang was missing, I was very careful.
I wanted to case skin it but feared that missing fang, so I just opened it up like a heat band would be.
I made a stretcher from cardboard and old fence wire staples. It was staples made of fence wire I made. Under the sun that hide was dry in a short time.
I made a small fire and cooked the head to ashes, but left the meat out for feral cats.
SNOW! I used to live for snow and i still like it. The colder it is the better I like life.
This spring is colder than any I can recall. We almost had a frost last night, and riding from North Woodstock NH off the Kanc, to Alton circle as a MC tour guide last night there were houses running wood stoves!
I ain't neva' evea' seen that before Ahya'
My Bride will go snow camping with me and sleep in a down bag in a mt tent with no heat. Got pics of that too.
Ahaha! I love those "you know youre from...." lists. They are always so spot on. I learned a lot from this one, actually, and some I knew already from having friends from new england!! So funny.
The more I look into new hampshire, the more it really feels like the right place... for me anyway. Its so incredibly beautiful!! Growing up in NY, I always wished for more snow and was always disappointed when it wasnt a white christmas.
I do wonder, what do you guys do during the winters besides play in the snow?? What do little kids like to do? I know I could keep myself busy very easily, but its not so easy with kiddos who might get cold? I have zero experience with my kids in the snow!! We visited the snow last winter up in the mountains and they had a blast sledding. It was so fun, but we just got in the car and drove home.
Maine is absolutely stunning and beautiful too! How is the weather comparable to say, northern NH? I assume its not much different depending on whether youre inland or coastal?
Winter is one of my favorite seasons as long as its COLD and SNOWY. a winter that lacks snow or one where its warm then cold and brown is depressing for me.
What do I do in winter time?
Primarily this:
Some say that can be an expensive hobby, so there is also snowshoeing which allows you to see this
There is also playing with the dog in the snow too!
I do go skiing and snowboardign occasionally as well.
Others go ice fishing, ice skating, play hockey etc etc. winter is what you make of it. Even staying inside by the fire can be fun too!
Ahaha! I love those "you know youre from...." lists. They are always so spot on. I learned a lot from this one, actually, and some I knew already from having friends from new england!! So funny.
The more I look into new hampshire, the more it really feels like the right place... for me anyway. Its so incredibly beautiful!! Growing up in NY, I always wished for more snow and was always disappointed when it wasnt a white christmas.
I do wonder, what do you guys do during the winters besides play in the snow?? What do little kids like to do? I know I could keep myself busy very easily, but its not so easy with kiddos who might get cold? I have zero experience with my kids in the snow!! We visited the snow last winter up in the mountains and they had a blast sledding. It was so fun, but we just got in the car and drove home.
Maine is absolutely stunning and beautiful too! How is the weather comparable to say, northern NH? I assume its not much different depending on whether youre inland or coastal?
It's one thing to take a day trip to the mountains and play in the snow. It's something else entirely to wake up on a Tuesday morning with 10 inches of heavy wet snow in your driveway and you have to be in work in an hour but the snowblower won't start.
There are a lot of plow guys up here but a good deal of them are meatheads that will either not show up on time, tear up your lawn or both.
How old are your kids? Mine are 1 and 2 so I don't really know yet how they will like the snow. Most kids who haven't already developed an unhealthy video game addiction seem to like playing in the snow. It can be a little overwelming and annoying at times when you finish shovelling and then you have to do it all over again 24 hours laters, and in April!
Aside from having a 4wd vehicle I'd recommend picking up a set of snow tires for your vehicle and putting them on in the winter. Not every can afford it but sometimes you can find deals on tires on Craigslist. A quality pair of snow tires makes a big difference.
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