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I'd wait till spring if it were me. The transition will be difficult enough as is, adding in freezing temps/ice/feet of snow/etc for people who have never been in those conditions before can make it more difficult. You may end up starting off with a not so favorable NH experience.
We moved from the Seattle area to NH in October 2011 (we since moved back to WA). A week after we arrived, we got 16" of snow. We weren't prepared for it, so that was no fun.
The appeal of going on an adventure and moving to a new area is strong for many people, but there are also harsh realities of life. NH is a great place to live if you plan and do it right. NH can also be a terrible place if you aren't prepared for the lifestyle change. I'm not trying to discourage you, I just hope the excitement of the move doesn't cloud the realities you will face.
You'll get tons of great advice from the folks in the NH forum. Keep asking your questions and we'll keep giving you honest answers to help get you ready.
Thanks mike. I have actually read a lot of your posts all over the NH threads and I really like the honest advice you've given. I'm trying to put everything in line before we make that jump. Thanks again
I moved here from the Orange County area after living in California my whole life, at age 50. I was a paralegal for 20 years, and my salary for the same position was cut from $55,000 a year to $32,000 a year when I moved here. Salaries are very low in the support legal field here, and the cost of living is high, so it doesn't balance out very favorably. Also, many of the paralegal jobs require a bachelor's degree. I am no longer employed, but still check craigslist ads for paralegal/legal secretary jobs every week. Jobs are very few and far between, are generally located in Portsmouth, Manchester and Concord, or in Massachusetts, generally around Andover. Of course, if your husband wanted to commute to Boston, there are many more jobs with higher pay, but you have to commute and pay taxes in both states. The jobs listed in NH are generally rarely full-time, but are part-time to about 35 hours, and come with no benefits.
Just as a comparison, I used to live in San Clemente, a beautiful beach community in Orange County, and I now live in Londonderry, which is inland 45 minutes from the ocean, and has become basically a bedroom community for workers who commute to Massachusetts. Here are City-Data stats for each:
Mar. 2012 cost of living index in Londonderry: 132.7 (high, U.S. average is 100)
Mar. 2012 cost of living index in San Clemente: 128.5 (high, U.S. average is 100)
Estimated median household income in 2011, Londonderry: $90,398
Estimated median household income in 2011, San Clemente: $85,201
Median gross rent in 2011, Londonderry: $1,337
Median gross rent in 2011, San Clemente: $1,658
As you can see, it is not exactly cheap to live in New Hampshire. Before you think about autumn (which is lovely, but short, and I don't think it is a good reason to move here), you need to think about whether or not you can afford living here.
That's all I have time for right now, you can do a search for my name and "winter" and find several posts I have made about the seasons and info a Californian might find useful. I am generally very positive about New Hampshire, and am glad I live here, but there are downsides too that you should be aware of before you make such a drastic change in your lives.
Nobody cares about an Irishman/woman marrying a Mexican.
What is making you guys want to leave CA? Taxes, Crime, full ER rooms, poorly performing over crowded schools?
Um, not all of CA has all of these problems; I can assure you there are good schools, excellent medical facilities and places where taxes are lower than NH. geesh.
Um, not all of CA has all of these problems; I can assure you there are good schools, excellent medical facilities and places where taxes are lower than NH. geesh.
San Diego is where the OP is from. I was stationed there, I know. geesh
San Diego is where the OP is from. I was stationed there, I know. geesh
SD has one of the best public schools in CA. Crime in most areas pretty much does not exist - easy to check on this same site. Hospital system in SD is also one of the best in the country.
Which SD you lived in? May be you didn't get to go out much since you were "stationed"?
We want leave California because we'd like a new start and seasons. I know or at least the change in weather will be tough to handle at first but I we want fall, we want snow.
We'll definitely be renting. I plan on finding a job working with children. I'm a stay at home mom at the moment but before I was a teacher. My husband is a paralegal and has been for 8 years.
Do you have family in CA?
I'd reconsider moving across country if you do, and maintaining close relationships with them means anything.
Why not look into Northern CA? I've heard it's beautiful up there. What about WA and OR too?
This is our third winter here and I am soooooooooo ready to leave. We moved here from San Diego, wanted seasons and all that.....yeah the first snowman is awesome and all that but you know..........I'm so over it.
I would rather have raised my kids somewhere other than San Diego but they turned out ok anyway.
One just graduated from UC Davis and the other is finishing up here at SNHU.
so the CA schools aren't that bad. Depends on the kid.
I would definitely rethink NH before you move here. I did a ton of research before we moved here and still was unprepared for the cultural differences as well as the weather differences. It is very rural here compared to San Diego. Starbucks are few and far between. Dunkin Donuts is the thing here and I still don't like them.
That may sound trivial but it's just an example of the differences. The everyday conveniences you take for granted in San Diego, you won't find here.
We are now thinking of moving to Seattle. In fact I am dead set on it. My daughter moved there this summer after graduating college.
We don't really want to go back to San Diego but definitely out of NH.
Yes the harsh realities are too much for me.
We moved here in Oct 2011 also just in time for that freak Halloween storm.
Yep, ready to get out!!
Leisa
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ5150
I'd wait till spring if it were me. The transition will be difficult enough as is, adding in freezing temps/ice/feet of snow/etc for people who have never been in those conditions before can make it more difficult. You may end up starting off with a not so favorable NH experience.
We moved from the Seattle area to NH in October 2011 (we since moved back to WA). A week after we arrived, we got 16" of snow. We weren't prepared for it, so that was no fun.
The appeal of going on an adventure and moving to a new area is strong for many people, but there are also harsh realities of life. NH is a great place to live if you plan and do it right. NH can also be a terrible place if you aren't prepared for the lifestyle change. I'm not trying to discourage you, I just hope the excitement of the move doesn't cloud the realities you will face.
You'll get tons of great advice from the folks in the NH forum. Keep asking your questions and we'll keep giving you honest answers to help get you ready.
[quote=cvlp;32839380]This is our third winter here and I am soooooooooo ready to leave. We moved here from San Diego, wanted seasons and all that.....yeah the first snowman is awesome and all that but you know..........I'm so over it.
I would rather have raised my kids somewhere other than San Diego but they turned out ok anyway.
One just graduated from UC Davis and the other is finishing up here at SNHU.
so the CA schools aren't that bad. Depends on the kid.
I would definitely rethink NH before you move here. I did a ton of research before we moved here and still was unprepared for the cultural differences as well as the weather differences. It is very rural here compared to San Diego. Starbucks are few and far between. Dunkin Donuts is the thing here and I still don't like them.
That may sound trivial but it's just an example of the differences. The everyday conveniences you take for granted in San Diego, you won't find here.
Best of luck to you!
Leisa[/quote Are you still down by Baxter Lake?
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Seattle
