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Hello all, I am new to city-data and am looking for some help.
My husband and I are looking to move in the next few years (after I finish school) and we have considered so many places, but New Hampshire is still a top choice. We do not have children yet, although that will be somewhere down the line.
We are looking for somewhere we can have a bit of land (for a garden, few animals), so more rural, but still within reach of a city/town that can offer some amenities or nightlife when wanted from time to time. We have researched Manchester but I see it is more big city like. We currently live in the DC Metro area and are looking to escape the city rat-race. We are homebodies who are looking for outdoor activities, friendly people to make close friendships with, and a little bit of country side to make our own.
Additionally, we are also lured by New Hampshire's touted libertarian population and spirit, although I know it's not perfect. From reading other posts I have been thinking of Nashua, Merrimack, Londonderry, etc. Also because of their proximity to Boston, which we love and it's close to CT where my in-laws live.
Any suggestions from anyone? I posted a new thread because I did not come across any young couples in their 20s with no children looking to move, and we're trying to find the best area.
My wife and I are in a very similar situation (although we have a baby on the way) - early 20s, looking for a slower pace and are libertarian/conservative minded. We also live in Northern VA (Alexandria) currently so we're close to you two, and I understand why you'd want to leave the area.
We visted New Hampshire 3 times before I found a job, and will be moving up in early March. I would strongly recommend visiting. Each time we visited we re-confirmed that we were making the right choice for our lives together and for our future children. I personally like the Southwestern corner of the state, more generally west of the Nashua-Manchester corridor. It has rolling hills and is beautiful, and is definitely a slower pace. Less populated which is a plus for me.
Manchester is a big city for New Hampshire, but you're coming from the DC area so take it with a grain of salt. You can be out of Manchester area traffic with 5-10 mins of driving, in DC it may take 30-45 mins.
If you like cold weather that's great - we love it and hate the heat of the Mid-Atlantic.
I'm not a native but I look forward to living in NH for years to come. Let me know if you have any questions about my experiences
Great! Thanks for sharing your similar situation. Good to know we're not the only libertarian people in DC/NOVA!! :P That is great that you and your wife decided to make the move. We are hoping to move also before we have children so we don't get stuck here. My husband is hoping to transfer inside his company to a job around NH, I did hear the job searching there was tough, at least from several posting on here. How did you find the search? Depends on profession of course. For me I would probably be seeking a freelance or other writing jobs here and there while starting and raising a family. We also hope to have a little bit of land with room for chickens, a garden, and maybe a few goats, mostly for our own consumption, although we would consider selling the goods should that become an interest.
I would like to hear an update when you make the move and after you've been there for a while. I do have to finish school first so it will still be a few years before we make the move. Thanks again and enjoy NH!
If you're not into Manchester, check out the Seacoast. I'll be living in Barrington, a small town 30 minutes from Portsmouth and 15 from Dover. You can be totally rural, but close to lots of great stuff. About an hour and 15 minutes from Boston.
Great! Thanks for sharing your similar situation. Good to know we're not the only libertarian people in DC/NOVA!! :P That is great that you and your wife decided to make the move. We are hoping to move also before we have children so we don't get stuck here. My husband is hoping to transfer inside his company to a job around NH, I did hear the job searching there was tough, at least from several posting on here. How did you find the search? Depends on profession of course. For me I would probably be seeking a freelance or other writing jobs here and there while starting and raising a family. We also hope to have a little bit of land with room for chickens, a garden, and maybe a few goats, mostly for our own consumption, although we would consider selling the goods should that become an interest.
I would like to hear an update when you make the move and after you've been there for a while. I do have to finish school first so it will still be a few years before we make the move. Thanks again and enjoy NH!
I'll be happy to share our experiences - everyone on this board has been very helpful and I've found people in NH to be just as helpful in person. My job is in the financial industry which is big in the Northeast so I was happy to land a good job which will be a raise - both in real dollars and in cost of living as compared to what we pay in Northern VA. The job search wasn't very hard because the people who reached out to me were on the ball and extremely easy to work with. It's frankly been a great process but we started planning last February so we didn't really jump into it. If you're planning years in advance, you'll probably be fine no matter how crappy the job market is - something is bound to work out.
Best thing we did was hit the highway, get off on some back roads, visit local shops (gun stores for us ), restaurants, take in the flavor, go on a hike etc. Make a decision based on pluses and minuses and if NH comes out on top you've made the right call. If it doesn't, then you still win because you go somewhere that is better for you. NH feels like home for me and the great thing about this country is that you get to pick where you live!
I moved to New Hampshire from Md. 16 years ago. Probably the best decision i could ever have done for my Family. I was living on the eastern shore at the time and transferred up with my employer.I even got a 11% cost of living raise.
The biggest thing you will notice is the level of goverment intervention in your lives compared to Md. New Hampshire does not have state or sales tax, but has higher property tax. No helmet or seatbelt laws. You don't even have to have car insurance if you don't want it! One thing i do miss is the one time car inspection in Md. Here it is yearly during your birth month and they always seem to find something wrong with your car that needs repairing.
Out of all of my friends from school i am the only one to move north. Everyone else that have moved away went to the Carolinas or Florida. The winters up here are not for everyone. I think it helps to have a winter hobby. Skiing, snowshoeing, ice fishing, snowmobiling.etc.etc..Summers here are great. I live on the side of a mountain and very rarely if at all need A.C.
As for where to live. I love the southwest area of the state. The Monadnock region. Much cheaper and less crowded than the coastal areas or manchester or nashua. while still being close enough to the cities for work.
After living on the eastern shore of Md. I just don't see the appeael of living by the ocean up here. the water never really gets warm enough to go swimming in and it is way overpriced. There are plenty of clean ponds and lakes here for swimming.
My wife and I live in the Annapolis area. I am retiring from the fire department in 2 years and we are looking at the Lakes region to raise our family. We have been visiting NH for several years now. Make sure you get up in all 4 seasons. We were there a couple of years ago in mid October and they had 18 inches of snow overnight. Getting out of the parking lot was a challenge in the morning but the roads were in awesome shape. We both have had it with high crime, taxes, traffic and overcrowded schools.
IMO moving to Portsmouth will be a better transition for them.
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), restaurants, take in the flavor, go on a hike etc. Make a decision based on pluses and minuses and if NH comes out on top you've made the right call. If it doesn't, then you still win because you go somewhere that is better for you. NH feels like home for me and the great thing about this country is that you get to pick where you live!
