Looking to hear from people who moved from California to NH (Manchester: sales, home)

[Autumn13]

Hello,

I'm looking to hear from people who moved from (preferably) Southern California or any place in Cali to New Hampshire.

I moved from SoCal to Arizona recently. I have only moved TWICE in my life (I'm in my late 20s) - the first time being when I was 24. That lasted for 3 years until I made the decision to follow family out to AZ, so I don't take moving lightly.

While Arizona is much nicer than SoCal, I am not thriving or doing well out here (and family drama). The heat is a big issue for me, along with where I live not having a bus system (I moved out here with family, have no job, so I can't just up and relocate somewhere else in AZ) (and no, I do not have a car and don't intend to get one anytime soon).

An opportunity turned up for me to move in with a friend in NH who could use a roommate, and I am seriously considering it. I came out to AZ in hopes of getting my Bachelor's at ASU, but I have to wait a year for residency before applying. I know I'll have to do the same in NH if I move. I major in Computer Information Systems. I'm open to whatever is out there after I get my degree. I found that being too narrow in your search criteria is not a good thing, not to mention I need to rack up some experience.

I have always dreamed of living on the east coast. NH is a visually stunning state. I'm nervous about the snow, but I'm open to having new life experiences.


So my questions...

-Overall, how happy are you with your move? Where are you in NH?

-How have you adjusted to weather there...actually having seasons, and most importantly, dealing with snow?

-How is the economy out there? I saw minimum wage is $7.25! In Cali it's $8. Are jobs, even retail jobs, super hard to come by?

-Are there any serious cons for you moving to NH? What are they?

For the curious, my friend is in Dover, NH.

[unit731]

I have lived in California but I am not from there.
I have also lived in Arizona.

First you had best check the in state cost of attending any public college in New Hampshire.
Not sure today but it used to be cheaper for folks living in NH to attend college in a public college in Massachusetts and pay out of state tuition.

You really can't get by without an automobile here. Yes, there are some bus systems here. City busses are rare other then Manchester and Nashua. Not sure what Dover offers for bus system but if you lived near downtown you could probably walk.

The statistics for New Hampshire are skewed. Many of the bottom half of state work in Massachusetts.
There are many retirees in New Hampshire. Unemployment numbers are low in NH but many of these jobs are low paying jobs or part time jobs.

If you live in the Phoenix valley area or the Tucson area you are much better off finding employment.

Coming to New Hampshire with no job and an uncompleted education is probably not a good idea.
You may end up with no job and no completed college education.

Your better bet if you are healthy is to join the Air Force - learn a trade or career and afterwards get a free college eduction. For example - the salary for an air traffic controller is anywhere from $60,000 to $80,000 if that is what you did in the Air Force. That's just an example. In the Air Force you could be trained from anything from a cook to a computer programer. The sky is the limit.

If New Hampshire is in your system then it might be a good idea before you move here is to actually visit here and look around.

[avlis13013]

I know this doesn't answer your question, but I will tell you that moving to NH without a car is going to be a problem. If I were you, I would consider moving to Boston where you can probably live fairly comfortably without a car. NH is still close by if you decide to relocate there after you get things sorted.

[GregW]

My in-laws retired from San Rafael a decade ago and love living North of the Notch.

[NHForester]

Minimum wage levels are a terrible way to make a decision like that. Few people actually make minimum wage and those that do are those who you would expect. Teenagers, and very unskilled individuals. I could talk all day about how immoral the minimum wage law is. It aught to be abolished.

Having grown up next to Dover, I feel I can offer a bit of advice. I am pretty sure they do have a bus system down there. I think it's called "Coast Bus Line" or something like that. Definately has Coast in the title if you want to google it. I think you're still going to have a hard time getting exactly where you want to be without your own vehicle.

Do we is a decent town, though. Downtown seems to be doing well with small local shops and such. In state tuition at UNH is no bargain but there are lots of community college options with computer degree programs.

[krimsonphoenix]

-Overall, how happy are you with your move? Where are you in NH?

-How have you adjusted to weather there...actually having seasons, and most importantly, dealing with snow?

-How is the economy out there? I saw minimum wage is $7.25! In Cali it's $8. Are jobs, even retail jobs, super hard to come by?

-Are there any serious cons for you moving to NH? What are they?

Hello! While I have never lived in California, I have lived in NH for most of my life. I just thought I would share a couple of points about NH.

1. You really should have transportation in NH. I live in Manchester (without a car), where the bus systems only operate from Monday to Saturday from 6am to 6pm. Taxi rides are insanely expensive. It really is difficult without an automobile.
2. If you do manage to get transportation, you are in for some major expenses, depending on how new the automobile is. After registration with the city and the state, your vehicle must pass a safety inspection that checks for these things:

• Registration, plates, registration certificate and vehicle identification number.
• Steering, front end and suspension.
• Brakes, including parking brake.
• Odometer and speedometer.
• Electrical system, horn and defroster.
• Lights and reflectors, including headlight aim.
• Glass, glazing and mirrors.
• Wipers.
• Exhaust system.
• On-board diagnostics system.
• Body, chassis and bumper height.
• Fuel system.
• Tires and wheels.

Then it must pass emissions. Any vehicle that is a 1996 or newer will be hooked up to an OBD machine. If your vehicle fails either of these inspections, it is not drivable.
3. Yes, the snow is a big consideration. Many -- though not all -- New Hampshire citizens are fairly complacent when it comes to snow. This last season was particularly intense. If you are not used to it, it can be overwhelming. I spent a couple of years in Tennessee, and I laughed so hard when they got less than an inch of snow. There were warnings blazing across the TV screens: "WARNING! IT IS POSSIBLE THAT WE MAY ACCUMULATE UP TO 5/8" OF SNOW!" People were abandoning cars on the side of the road, grocery stores were picked clean...in NH, if we get anything less than 6'', it is generally not considered dangerous.
4. There is no sales tax in NH...but we make up for it in property taxes and meals taxes.
5. NH has a decent community college system, and I do believe there is a campus in Portsmouth. Great Bay Community College - Home Page

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by krimsonphoenix

2. If you do manage to get transportation, you are in for some major expenses, depending on how new the automobile is. After registration with the city and the state, your vehicle must pass a safety inspection that checks for these things:

• Registration, plates, registration certificate and vehicle identification number.
• Steering, front end and suspension.
• Brakes, including parking brake.
• Odometer and speedometer.
• Electrical system, horn and defroster.
• Lights and reflectors, including headlight aim.
• Glass, glazing and mirrors.
• Wipers.
• Exhaust system.
• On-board diagnostics system.
• Body, chassis and bumper height.
• Fuel system.
• Tires and wheels.

Then it must pass emissions. Any vehicle that is a 1996 or newer will be hooked up to an OBD machine. If your vehicle fails either of these inspections, it is not drivable.

Still probably cheaper and easier than California.
Last year, I paid $150 to plate my 22 year old Volvo in CA. For one year. Then pass smog and inspection.

[maire8]

Originally Posted by NHForester

Having grown up next to Dover, I feel I can offer a bit of advice. I am pretty sure they do have a bus system down there. I think it's called "Coast Bus Line" or something like that. Definately has Coast in the title if you want to google it. I think you're still going to have a hard time getting exactly where you want to be without your own vehicle.

I haven't lived in CA...but I have lived in Dover, and I also took the COAST bus between Rochester and Dover for school for a few years, so figured I'd add my two cents. :-)

The posters who are saying that you really need a vehicle in order to live in NH are not totally off-base, because that is definitely the case in most places in NH...
HOWEVER, if you're going to be without a car in NH, Dover, Rochester, Durham, and Portsmouth are good places to be, because the COAST bus runs between all of those areas. While it doesn't run with the frequency that public transportation systems do in major cities (e.g. Boston), it's definitely workable for most people who need to commute between the aforementioned towns/cities between the hours of 7:00 AM and 10:00 PM. Wildcat Transit is the UNH bus system and I *think* it's part of the COAST bus system; it goes between Durham (where UNH is) and Dover, so that could work out for you if you were to end up attending UNH. There are also a few cab companies that run between those seacoast towns, so if you ever needed transportation during hours that the bus wasn't running, there is that option as well.

I really liked living in Dover. (I would move back there in a heartbeat if I could!) It has a cute downtown area that has some good restaurants and plenty of bars/pubs. It's convenient, in that it has a few grocery stores, banks, and other chain stores that carry necessities (that may not sound atypical but there are many towns in NH that don't have those amenities close by). Its proximity to Portsmouth is also nice (Portsmouth is a fun place to visit - check it out online if you haven't already).

Best of luck to you!

[maire8]

Oh - forgot to mention...

The C&J Trailways bus runs from Dover to South Station in Boston, so if you were ever wanting to get away from NH to go into the "big city" for fairly cheap (a little over $30 round trip, I think), that's a way to do so without a car. It also goes to Logan Airport and will drop you off at your terminal. The Downeaster train also goes from Dover to Boston (North Station) and is a really nice ride, but that's more expensive.

[Brave Stranger]

To cut to the chase: don't even think of moving to a semi-rural state like NH without a car. It's absurd. It can sort of be done, but you are going to be very limited in what you can do & where you can go.