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My wife and I live on the outskirts of Dallas and we're frankly sick of the whole state.
The weather here in unbearable and the environment itself isn't our kind of place. We went to Virginia once and absolutely loved the dark green grass and tall trees, aside from the great weather so I'm only assuming that New England would be greener and even colder.
Questions here would be:
- How snowy does it get in New Hampshire and are all 4 seasons visible?
- How is the job market? I have a Bachelors degree in Criminology and intend on working in law enforcement for maybe Manchester or Portsmouth.
- How friendly are New Hampshire natives?
- What town or neighborhood would be great? Were looking for a safe, friendly suburban neighborhood in a fair distance from Manchester or Portsmouth.
- Also, should we decide to rent an apartment for a while, what kind of prices am I going to look forward to?
- What political side does NH lean to? My wife is a conservative but I'm more on the centrist side
- Is it safe overall? In Texas we have many and I mean many thefts, murders, rapes, drug deals and labs and so on.
- Is there ancestral pride? In all honestly, I'm not a fan of multiculturalism and have pride in our British and Italian heritage, and I know the Northeast has alot of White people. Frankly, nobody gets along in Texas, no matter what you are. Unity is power, I say.
- How is gun control in the state?
Any other advice would be warmly welcomed
Last edited by TheWarriors; 04-26-2016 at 10:51 AM..
My wife and I live on the outskirts of Dallas and we're frankly sick of the whole state.
The weather here in unbearable and the environment itself isn't our kind of place. We went to Virginia once and absolutely loved the dark green grass and tall trees, aside from the great weather so I'm only assuming that New England would be greener and even colder.
Questions here would be:
- How snowy does it get in New Hampshire and are all 4 seasons visible?
Depends on the winter.
2014-2015 was record breaking amounts of snow. 100+ inches
2015-2015 was record breaking as well. barely any snow...
are all 4 seasons visible? Ugh yea, sometimes you even get all four seasons in the same week.
- How is the job market? I have a Bachelors degree in Criminology and intend on working in law enforcement for maybe Manchester or Portsmouth.
I would think you could find a job no problem in that field. NH has the lowest unemployment in the country. some will say thats due to people being under employed as well as the proximity to boston
- How friendly are New Hampshire natives?
We are not fake friendly, and we can be seen as standoffish and cold until you really get to know us, however I do find northern new England to be much more friendlier then southern new england.
- What town or neighborhood would be great? Were looking for a safe, friendly suburban neighborhood in a fair distance from Manchester or Portsmouth.
throw a dart at a map. anything in a 20 mile radious of either of these cities should suit you just fine, things to focus on is quality of schools and tax rates.
- Also, should we decide to rent an apartment for a while, what kind of prices am I going to look forward to?
yes probably a good idea. prices i cant help you with, check craigslist.
- What political side does NH lean to? My wife is a conservative but I'm more on the centrist side
Sounds like you will fit in just fine. NH is fiscally conservative but socially democratic.
- Is it safe overall? In Texas we have many and I mean many thefts, murders, rapes, drug deals and labs and so on.
It is consistently listed as one of the top 5 safest states in the country.
- Is there ancestral pride? In all honestly, I'm not a fan of multiculturalism and have pride in our British heritage, and I know the Northeast has alot of White people. Frankly, nobody gets along in Texas, no matter what you are. Unity is power, I say.
I find people have state pride and are proud to be NH natives, with that said, as logn as you dont try to change NH or the NH way of life or bring TX to NH you shouldn't have any trouble. NH is a very accepting place as long as you accept it for what it is.
- How is gun control in the state?
can you be more specific? I find NH to be pretty lenient as far as guns go, however I believe Maine and Vermont are little more lenient.
Any other advice would be warmly welcomed
Do more research and if you decide NH is for you, dont come here and try to change it. Think long and hard if you really want to move somewhere that its crappy weather 7 months out of the year. The grass is FINALLY starting to turn green again since October. OH and guess what, we are getting snow today....
Thank for your clear answer, friend. I don't aim to change New England at all, in fact we want to embrace the culture and lifestyle.
Also, from what you've seen, is the heroin epidemic in New England really as terrible as the news depicts?
Thank for your clear answer, friend. I don't aim to change New England at all, in fact we want to embrace the culture and lifestyle.
Also, from what you've seen, is the heroin epidemic in New England really as terrible as the news depicts?
Just my opinion here but i think it was blown WAAAAAAY out of proportion during the NH Primary. I think people in NH dont realize how good they have it here and have nothing else to complain about so it made the national spot light. I am not saying its not a problem, but I every time i hear its an epidemic i shake my head. I highly doubt its unique issue to NH or its any worse here.
I believe chris410 hit every point extremely well. Although we haven't moved up there yet, I'd like to expand on one point regarding how friendly the people are. I'll start with most of my experiences are within the area we are building (Lakes Region) and we have found everyone to be extremely friendly, especially if you make the first gesture. It appears most do not want to bother you so they will drive/walk by and wave, but will not stop unless you make an effort to greet them. After that you will most likely have a new friend and we have found everyone to be open and honest. So far we have only built a barn to store our RV and some household items, but already know most of our neighbors and that is considerable since every house is on 6+ acre lots so we are not exactly on top of each other. Their generosity has been overwhelming. One neighbor offered to let us park our RV in his yard where he has water and power available when we come up and my wife and I have been over their house for cocktails. Several others have extended invites for upcoming parties and events and we have only met them once or twice.
We have no plans to change NH in any way (why mess with perfection) and cannot wait to start construction on our house and move. I also agree the people in northern New England are much more friendlier that those in the southern NE states (CT -where we currently reside, RI and MA).
Lou
Last edited by sailor_lou; 04-26-2016 at 10:49 AM..
Be aware that LL Bean Outlet stores will become your friend. Also the best time for shopping in the Lakes Region is September just as things are closing for winter.
NH features all four seasons: snow, mud, tick, and tourist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheWarriors
My wife and I live on the outskirts of Dallas and we're frankly sick of the whole state.
The weather here in unbearable and the environment itself isn't our kind of place. We went to Virginia once and absolutely loved the dark green grass and tall trees, aside from the great weather so I'm only assuming that New England would be greener and even colder.
Questions here would be:
- How snowy does it get in New Hampshire and are all 4 seasons visible?
Yes, very green, very cold, 80% forest.
We have all four seasons -- snow, mud, tick, and tourist (aka 'leaf peeper').
Quote:
- How friendly are New Hampshire natives?
- What town or neighborhood would be great? Were looking for a safe, friendly suburban neighborhood in a fair distance from Manchester or Portsmouth.
Once you get away from the cities and interstates, things get rural fast; moving quickly from traditional green lawn suburban housing developments to Currier and Ives and finally truly rural new england, with stone walls and neighbors who take minding their own business as a solemn pledge.
Friendly is difficult to categorize, IMHO, yankees aren't as instantly acquaintance-friendly as flatlanders, see also sailor_lou's post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheWarriors
Is it safe overall? In Texas we have many and I mean many thefts, murders, rapes, drug deals and labs and so on.
. . .
- How is gun control in the state?
Crime rates and lack of gun control in Maine, Vermont & New Hampshire make Texas look extreme
New Hampshire has statewide knife and gun law preemption, so no worries about towns with their own strict laws. Overall, gun control in ME/VT/NH is as close to non-existent as you can get in the USA. Just be careful if you cross the border to New York or Massachusetts, they have all the laws.
Also, from what you've seen, is the heroin epidemic in New England really as terrible as the news depicts?
Well, it is and it isn't.
If you look nationally in a lot of poor, rural or urban areas there are issues with drugs whether it be meth or heroin or painkillers, etc. Northern New England just tends to have more heroin than meth.
If you're looking at suburban Manchester/Concord or the coast? None of those areas really have high, concentrated, pervasive poverty, though certainly some poverty exists.
There's going to be more issues with drugs in the poorer neighborhoods of Manchester/Nashua and the poorer rural areas, including a few spots that might surprise (like Laconia away from the touristy areas).
I.e. the severity of NH's drug problem fragments along class lines, much like just about anywhere else in the U.S. And of course the number of DUI arrests in NH in 2015 was I believe more than double the number of heroin cases.
So there's that.
So if you're talking about Amherst/Londonderry/Exeter/etc. the drug behavior starts to look like it would in other middle/upper-middle class suburbs. Less heroin, maybe a bit more pot/cocaine, about the same amount of alcohol and pain-killer addiction.
I don't find NH particularly remarkable when it comes to addiction, personally.
- Is there ancestral pride? In all honestly, I'm not a fan of multiculturalism and have pride in our British and Italian heritage, and I know the Northeast has alot of White people. Frankly, nobody gets along in Texas, no matter what you are. Unity is power, I say.
Any other advice would be warmly welcomed
I hate to break it to ya, but NH is quite culturally and racially diverse, and the people here tend to be more genuinely accepting of multiculturalism than those I've encountered anywhere else, and this is coming from someone who grew up in SoCal. I find New Hampshirites (generally speaking) to be openminded, authentic and genuine people who have no problem with getting along with each other. The attitude, overall, that I've noticed has been, "I'm okay, you're okay. Let your freak flag fly, I don't care." So if you were looking for a place with "a lot of white people," I don't know what to tell you. Please don't think that I'm picking on you, I just want to be honest because moving from TX to NH is a big move.
If you really want pale white folk with funny accents and boring cuisine, move to Vermont ;)
Personally, other than the difficulty in getting certain ethnic cuisine, I don't mind the status quo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Love2Travel83
if you were looking for a place with "a lot of white people," I don't know what to tell you.
New Hampshire is inarguably a place with a lot of white people, no matter how much we try to downplay it. We can try to chase off the people who see the ABC News story declaring Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire the least ethnically diverse states in America as a positive thing. Meanwhile, some people see our various different kinds of Caucasians (Acadian and Irish being the most common) and think that the state is already too diverse for their tastes.
Manchester and Nashua are relatively diverse (compared to the rest of the state), yet both rank near the bottom of US cities for "diversity" (though we are more diverse than El Paso or Laredo, TX.).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Love2Travel83
the people here tend to be more genuinely accepting of multiculturalism than those I've encountered anywhere else, and this is coming from someone who grew up in SoCal. I find New Hampshirites (generally speaking) to be openminded, authentic and genuine people who have no problem with getting along with each other.
I agree on all but terminology. I think New Hampshirites are tolerant of other cultures, but few have bought into the extreme version of progressive multiculturalism promoted by a subset of liberals.
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NH features all four seasons: snow, mud, tick, and tourist.
