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Thanks so much NHdriver!! It's nice to know someone has that experience coming from Washington! We lived in Seattle and Everett and still felt like those weren't places we wanted to raise our future family. We love Bellingham, but there are hardly any job opportunities here and the median house is roughly 350,000! I thought of New Hampshire because I started googling what states are the best to raise families and NH came up! So I started looking into it and it truly seems like a beautiful state! We have a couple of friends that moved to NC as well and NC is also a state that's on the list of best places to raise a family! However, I'm like you and prefer the seasons!! Your post was so insightful!! Thanks so much!!! 👍
That's insane how much the property has gone up even in Bellingham. Marysville I remember was less than $200K for decent sized homes but that was in the late 90's (my parents bought their 1970's ranch with small yard for $136K if I remember correctly). How that house is worth almost $300K is beyond me.
I feel living here for 10 years now, NH is on the sweet spot as far as being around nice people (NC was even nicer in that regards), decent job opportunities with some travel but also able to enjoy surrounding states like VT, ME, and MA. There's this aura about NH that makes you feel at home after awhile.
I can assure you though one thing you won't miss about WA are the crazy traffic, rude people that seem to come along with overpopulation even in Marysville, and just general stress. It's not the same place I remember 20 years ago. Massachusetts really feels that way. Fun place to visit but personally I don't care for the idea of living there (many NH residents do work there).
I live in western WA and grew up in New England. WA does have really high house prices, it has skyrocketed in the last 5 years, some areas have literally doubled in price last 5 years. But NH has REALLY high property taxes, much higher heating costs, higher electricity costs, and a older home stock with homes that may require a lot of fixing up and expensive ongoing maintenance. WA state has the lowest electricity bill costs in the nation I think because of all the hydro power. No need for AC in western WA and easy to heat homes in winter with mild winters. So when you add in the much higher property taxes of NH, much higher heating costs, much higher electrical costs, snow tires, plowing, etc...NH may be just as expensive if not more so than a lot of western WA.
I do like the more winter sun in NH. Western WA state can be mostly gray overcast from October sometimes in to June. The lack of sunshine can really get to you. Like the previous poster said, I would rather have 15 degrees and brilliant sunshine than months upon months in a row of dark gray skies 42 degrees and drizzle. But WA stays green all winter, new england can get very stark looking in winter with no green & bald trees. Also winter lasts long in NH, March can be a full on winter month, where WA weather is very mild by March and spring comes earlier in WA. It is A LOT colder in NH than WA and summers are MUCH more hot and humid.
Traffic to Boston is absolutely horrible. Seattle has brutal traffic, but I think Boston is worse. Boston is absolute hell to drive in, far worse then even Seattle.
There is a lot of opportunity in western WA, lots of population growth, development, providing good jobs, its a very dynamic economy with Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, Tmobile, Costco, Zillow...and so many more headquarted right there in the Puget Sound area. NH is pretty good, but growth is not like WA State.
Both places have nice scenery. NH is closer to the beach, but beaches are jam packed with tourists all summer and roads congested. WA has the Cascades which are more dramatic then the white mnts of NH, Olympic Nat Park, Puget Sound, access to British Colombia. Change of seasons is nice in NH, fall is so lovely. But climate is MUCH harsher overall than WA.
The rental housing and apartment stock seems to be older and less plentiful in NH. Lots of converted old houses in NH as rentals. They have built a lot more larger apartment complex's in the last 30 yrs in western WA to accommodate renters. But rents are very high in WA too.
You may want to also consider places like upstate NY, Western PA, Ohio, MI, WI...4 seasons and housing costs are MUCH more affordable than NH (both rents and house prices).
I have thought of moving back to new england to be closer to aging family. It is a tough call. Sometimes you don't appreciate where you are until you move. You don't really know how good it is until you experience somewhere else for a while. I think some things I would like and others I would not like about moving back to northern new england.
But WA stays green all winter, new england can get very stark looking in winter with no green & bald trees.
Depends where you are in NH -- we might not compete with the evergreen state for oldest or biggest evergreens, but we have a good mix and a much higher percentage of forest cover.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ctr88
So when you add in the much higher property taxes of NH, much higher heating costs, much higher electrical costs, snow tires, plowing, etc...NH may be just as expensive if not more so than a lot of western WA.
I agree -- I would never advise somebody to move to NH strictly for financial reasons. That's like moving here because you like the fall colors.
There's the reasons to move to NH -- politics, representation, tax policy (not just low taxes) and liberty. Or in my case, because you can't stand migratory californians.
We moved from Lacey to Sunapee in 2011 for jobs in New London. We're back in Olympia now, but miss our NH life dearly.
I am an IT guy also, but more specialized in infrastructure and information security.
For the type of work the two of you do, besides near Manchester/Concord, check near Hanover/Lebanon. Hanover is crazy expensive, but the outlaying areas is where you will find affordable homes.
Rentals are more of the vacation rental option, so finding something longterm and affordable is going to take some time and effort.
Some mentioned the seacoast, and that is viable as well with the Portsmouth area and then around UNH in Dover.
Keene may even be an option, but we didn't spend much time there to get a good feel for the community.
The problem you're going to run into in southern NH is the MA folks creeping up further and further into NH looking for relief from the high costs of living around Boston, or the NH folks getting as close as they can afford to Boston, then driving the rest of the way for the high paying jobs they need to support their lifestyles.
Since I think you'll find more of what you're looking for up near Lebanon, scope out IT jobs at Dartmouth Hitchcock.
I suggest you get further up north and stay away from Manchester as that is going to just remind you too much of Seattle.
There aren't a lot of neighborhoods in New Hampshire like we're used to in WA. People like and appreciate space and privacy far more than the WA mindset.
You're going to find older homes in your price range, so one of you will need some DIY or 'handyman/woman' skills to keep the house in shape and ready for each season.
It doesn't rain in NH like it does in WA, but it gets crazy cold. Being CA transplants, then up to WA, it's going to be cold for stretches of days like you haven't experienced before. That's going to run up your propane/oil/firewood bill.
Which reminds me, not much access to natural gas in NH compared to how it's pretty much everywhere in WA.
I wouldn't move to NH with the eye on saving money as the costs others have already mentioned add up quick and make it basically a wash living between the two.
If you want to get away from the madness taking over WA, and want to live a slow, quiet, peaceful life, then you're going to totally love mid to northern NH.
NH is a great place to raise a family, but you need to be self sufficient, know how to fix/repair everything from a car starter to a boiler, understand it isn't cheap to live in NH, and be willing to fit into the NH life. Don't show up there with the idea of making NH into the things you like about WA.
One thing about the folks who call NH home, they may be a bit reserved/standoffish when you first arrive, but once you learn to fit in and become a regular in your town, you're going to make some of the deepest and loyal friendships you've ever had in your life.
Granite Staters are good people.
We moved from Lacey to Sunapee in 2011 for jobs in New London. We're back in Olympia now, but miss our NH life dearly.
I am an IT guy also, but more specialized in infrastructure and information security.
For the type of work the two of you do, besides near Manchester/Concord, check near Hanover/Lebanon. Hanover is crazy expensive, but the outlaying areas is where you will find affordable homes.
Rentals are more of the vacation rental option, so finding something longterm and affordable is going to take some time and effort.
Some mentioned the seacoast, and that is viable as well with the Portsmouth area and then around UNH in Dover.
Keene may even be an option, but we didn't spend much time there to get a good feel for the community.
The problem you're going to run into in southern NH is the MA folks creeping up further and further into NH looking for relief from the high costs of living around Boston, or the NH folks getting as close as they can afford to Boston, then driving the rest of the way for the high paying jobs they need to support their lifestyles.
Since I think you'll find more of what you're looking for up near Lebanon, scope out IT jobs at Dartmouth Hitchcock.
I suggest you get further up north and stay away from Manchester as that is going to just remind you too much of Seattle.
There aren't a lot of neighborhoods in New Hampshire like we're used to in WA. People like and appreciate space and privacy far more than the WA mindset.
You're going to find older homes in your price range, so one of you will need some DIY or 'handyman/woman' skills to keep the house in shape and ready for each season.
It doesn't rain in NH like it does in WA, but it gets crazy cold. Being CA transplants, then up to WA, it's going to be cold for stretches of days like you haven't experienced before. That's going to run up your propane/oil/firewood bill.
Which reminds me, not much access to natural gas in NH compared to how it's pretty much everywhere in WA.
I wouldn't move to NH with the eye on saving money as the costs others have already mentioned add up quick and make it basically a wash living between the two.
If you want to get away from the madness taking over WA, and want to live a slow, quiet, peaceful life, then you're going to totally love mid to northern NH.
NH is a great place to raise a family, but you need to be self sufficient, know how to fix/repair everything from a car starter to a boiler, understand it isn't cheap to live in NH, and be willing to fit into the NH life. Don't show up there with the idea of making NH into the things you like about WA.
One thing about the folks who call NH home, they may be a bit reserved/standoffish when you first arrive, but once you learn to fit in and become a regular in your town, you're going to make some of the deepest and loyal friendships you've ever had in your life.
Granite Staters are good people.
Below shows how much WA State is skyrocketing in growth:
-NH 2010-2016 population growth:1.4% (1,316,416 to 1,334,795...added 18,379 new residents in those 6 years)
-WA 2010-2016 population growth:8.4% (6,724,545 to 7,228,000...added 503,455 new residents in those 6 years)
So WA State added almost 40% of the entire population of NH in just the last 6 years! And most of those people are getting crammed in to Western WA around Puget Sound. But up in Bellingham WA is growing a lot faster than NH too.
It's a tough call for me where to move. I have aging relatives becoming very fragile in VT and western MA. It's getting too much for me to fly across the country. I'm a single 40-something and do my business from home. But I make a lot of my income from interest off investments, so tax wise NH does not make as much sense for me. I might actually have a lower cost of living in ME or VT (especially since rents, house prices, property taxes lower there...would probably rent for minimum a year if not more).
I have to live within a few miles of a decent sized town with some decent level of "activity", "energy" business activity, airport, social networking, dating. Living in the boonies might turn me into too much a hermit. I also love attending D1 college athletics (hockey, hoops, football, womens sports), so 20-30 min to Dartmouth or UNH would be the only places I could make that work. I guess southern border near MA for UMASS/Lowell might work too, but trying to stay away from MA border.
Portsmouth would probably be my first choice but I will get killed on the rents + the NH interest/dividend tax. Its crazy but factoring in everything, believe it or not, Portsmouth NH would be significantly more expensive for me to live in than Seattle area! I'm looking also at Portland ME area, Berwicks ME (may be too small and too far from a decent small city), Burlington area of VT, Upper Valley VT/NH, Dover NH area.
Sorry I hope I'm not high jacking the OP thread Just thought my situation is somewhat similar since possibly coming from WA to NH.
Disappointed that NH isn't a REAL "no income tax state" like WA, TX, WY, FL, SD...where there is no state income tax, no strings attached, no fine print...they don't sneak in a tax on interest/dividend income like NH and TN do.
One really great thing about western WA I love is the grocery shopping here is phenomenal! In urban areas of Western WA it is hard to get more than spitting distance away from a Costco. Amazon buying Whole Foods has caused prices to come way down there and there are a lot of WF here. Trader Joes are everywhere, along with a lot of other low cost grocery chains (Fred Meyer, Winco, Grocery Outlet, etc...) all competing with each other. All that competition amounts low food prices and very convenient access. The west coast versions of Hannaford/Shaws is Albertsons/Safeway/QFC...and they are the worst of the bunch with prices and weak selection. They rely on their locations to draw customers vs. price/quality.
It looks like the Manchester and Nashua areas have great access. But appears other areas of the state including Dover/Portsmouth have less good access to stuff like Costco, TJ's, WF's, etc... I not aware if there is another solid low cost grocery chain in NH? I do see a TJ's close to Portsmouth but not a lot else other then the less than stellar chains of Hannaford, Shaws, etc...
Wegman's just across the border in MA, there's rumors of the chain coming to Nashua
Quote:
Originally Posted by ctr88
One really great thing about western WA I love is the grocery shopping here is phenomenal!
. . .
It looks like the Manchester and Nashua areas have great access. But appears other areas of the state including Dover/Portsmouth have less good access to stuff like Costco, TJ's, WF's, etc... I not aware if there is another solid low cost grocery chain in NH? I do see a TJ's close to Portsmouth but not a lot else other then the less than stellar chains of Hannaford, Shaws, etc...
Trader Joe's is in Nashua and Newington(Portsmouth area), with Bedford (Manchester-adjacent) coming 2Q2018.
Market Basket is the primary non-pretentious grocery chain in N.NE. The newer Hannaford and Shaw's stores are not bad.
For people interested in paying premium prices, along with Whole Foods we have The Fresh Market near Manchester, and a few other smaller specialty non-chain groceries.
Trader Joe's is in Nashua and Newington(Portsmouth area), with Bedford (Manchester-adjacent) coming 2Q2018.
Market Basket is the primary non-pretentious grocery chain in N.NE. The newer Hannaford and Shaw's stores are not bad.
For people interested in paying premium prices, along with Whole Foods we have The Fresh Market near Manchester, and a few other smaller specialty non-chain groceries.
Also Harvest Market. I will run up to the HM in Hollis when I need a few things as I won't hit any traffic lights, so it's a quick and easy trip. They also have good meat and seafood. Overall, not as much selection as the bigger grocery stores, but it has most of what I need for a quick shop.
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Do not move to NH solely for financial reasons
. I also love attending D1 college athletics (hockey, hoops, football, womens sports), so 20-30 min to Dartmouth or UNH would be the only places I could make that work. I guess southern border near MA for UMASS/Lowell might work too, but trying to stay away from MA border.
Wegman's just across the border in MA, there's rumors of the chain coming to Nashua
