Pros & Cons of New Hampshire? Your opinions please (Nashua: wood floors, low income)

[Positiveone]

Hi all! Can everybody please tell me what the pros & cons are in your opinion of life in New Hampshire? And please list the town & city you live in.

I was curious about the Crime rate, Property taxes, Job Market, Public Schools, Traffic, Air quality, Utility prices, cost of living, the people, the bugs ( Ticks ), weather & so on! Add anything i missed.

Thanks!!

[DareToDream]

Originally Posted by Positiveone

Hi all! Can everybody please tell me what the pros & cons are in your opinion of life in New Hampshire? And please list the town & city you live in.

I was curious about the Crime rate, Property taxes, Job Market, Public Schools, Traffic, Air quality, Utility prices, cost of living, the people, the bugs ( Ticks ), weather & so on! Add anything i missed.

Thanks!!

Okay, I'll bite <g>. We live in Littleton. First of all, I think the pros and cons are going to depend on what you're used to and what you're looking for.

We came from NYS. For us, the cost of living, property taxes are much better here; MUCH less than what we would be paying in NY. Utilities up here are less than what we paid in NY - In NY, electric alone usually averaged about $100/month - up here electric and water total, average about $75/month.

Traffic is very little - people who have lived here for years say it's terrible, but not to us and what we were used to

The job market depends on what you're looking for. In this area, as far as I can tell, there are not many (if any) IT jobs, so if that's what someone is looking for, this area will not be for you.

Air quality up here is fantastic. We've been here 2 years and have not had the "ozone alerts" which were very common in where we lived in NY. I had terrible allergies and sinus problems before we moved - here I have had no problem (I hope I didn't just jinx myself!!!!!)

Crime is, again compared to where we were, very, very low. I feel very safe here.

The people here are very friendly and welcoming. We've made friends up here - it took awhile as people are "cautious" I guess you'd call it. They like to get to know you before a lot of socializing takes place.

Bugs, such as ticks, are not as bad up here as where we were. There are some pretty nasty looking spiders, though!

Weather is what we expected. Our first year here was much colder than this year, but we had less snow. This year we had more snow, but it wasn't as cold. Winter this year was looooonnnnggggg. Again, it's what we expected when we moved to the area, so it wasn't a big deal. Summers are delightful up here. Both summers we were here, we had maybe 3-4 days in the 90's and humid, but that was it. Most days were high 70's to 80's and little to no humidity. Summers are shorter than where we came from, but again, we expected it.

There are a lot of "gray days", but neither hubby nor I are affected by that - some people are.

There is only one thing I dislike about the area - That there is only 1 "real" grocery store in town. That will be changing as there is a Co-op coming to town. That should provide the one store (Shaw's) with some competition regarding prices...at least I hope so.

I guess also, wages up here could be better, but we're doing okay with our income. We're not rich by any means. We are able to save some money each month plus pay our bills on time and we don't feel we are depriving ourselves of anything.

People up here do not judge others by the way they dress, what car they drive, how big their house is, etc. I don't think many care about those things, at least the people we've met don't. It's more on what's inside someone than what is outside. We have not found anyone to be intrusive or "in your business" at all. I'm sure there are some like that, heck, that type of person is all over the world. In NY, many times I found myself having to set boundaries with people who asked too many questions that were none of their business and expected an answer. I haven't encountered that here. It's pretty much live and let live and "do your own thing."

There are no malls nearby, but we're not mall people, so no biggie. Most stores close earlier than what we were used to, but not a big deal once we got used to it.

We have not been bored living here. There are things do to all year long. Some things you have to really look for, others are well advertised.

The roads in the area are well taken care of in the winter. Right now we have the "frost heaves" so you have to be careful when driving around so you don't throw your car out of alignment, etc.

Car registration costs more in NH than in NY.

Houses up here cost less than than did in NY and the property taxes are also less. Had we stayed in NY, we'd probably still be renting, not only due to the prices of houses, but especially the property taxes.

We've been happy since we moved. We did not come here "looking for happiness" - We brought that with us. We came looking for a slower pace of life, a place where self-reliance is valued, common sense is as important as "book sense" and we found it. We were not sorry we made the move......although it will be nice when the temps are consistently above freezing again

[buck naked]

hey Dare ! great post! I repped you!


with the exception of the brown recluse, I leave the spiders alone. It's good luck to get a garden spider,you know, those big, fat black and yellow ones. My neighbor lady used to kill them, for she was afraid but I pointed out to her that they are non agressive, weave beautiful webs and catch and kill tons of the more bothersome insects. She's learned not to be so fast to kill.

We also have miner spiders....they look like they have a headlamp on their head. little kids are afraid of them, for they are BIG! but they are rare!

I am a native NHrite. not bragging...just sayin'. I've traveled a bit, and I always prefer my home state. I've been spoiled. Every winter I constantly say I'm going somewhere warmer but I know that in reality, that will most likely never happen. My family is here.

[nicolem]

Just curious-where would you potentially be moving from?

[Valerie C]

Hi!
I'm writing this as a resident and parent, and and not as a Realtor (maybe I should have another nickname for regular postings like this!)

I live in southern NH, Londonderry to be exact. We chose Londonderry after considering MANY other SNH towns, including Exeter, Stratham, Derry, Plaistow, Hampstead, Kingston. The schools were the biggest draw for us, with Londonderry having a very high percentage of high school graduates going on with further education. We knew the tax rate was higher than many other towns, but we thought it was worth it at that time. Honestly, we will probably move further north once the kids have graduated. There isn't much of a property tax break for seniors in this town, and the majority of tax $$ goes directly to fund schools.

Bugs: we do have disease-carrying ticks in New Hampshire (never mind what the CDC and certain doctors in Concord may tell you). Learn to do tick checks on your kids when they come in from being outside. If you have pets, you might consider a product like Preventic collar or possibly a spot-on treatment that is affective against ticks. I hate to suggest chemicals, but unfortunately my family has dealt with Lyme Disease directly, and it's no picnic with sometimes years of antibiotics, and other lingering issues. Black flies are out in May, they are small gnats that bite. They last only a couple of weeks, and luckily for me, they are usually gone by our last freeze/plant out date of May 31. There are mosquitoes throughout the summer, an hour before dusk, a couple hours after. They are mainly nuisance until September/October, when they may carry disease. This is recent, just in the past few years, and many towns spray if a diseased bug is identified.

Cost of living is overall higher than many other areas of the country such as the south & the midwest. It really depends on where you're coming from--many people from California have commented on how much lower things are here. So it's a matter of perspective...

Can't think of anything else right now, if I do, I'll be back

[Tarastomsgirl]

Pros

-All 4 seasons
-no sales tax
-no income tax
-close to bigger cities like Boston
-small towns if thats your thing
-scenery
-low crime

Cons
- snow cold more months than I'd like to have
- expensive to live there (ex heating your house is ridiculous, electric is horrible, phone services is bad and we've had probs with it cutting out even on a land line other people are constantly asking us what we're saying, lack of cell service it goes in and out depending on some areas)
- potholes, lack of plowing (plowing prob is Keene)
- whatever taxes you don't have you make up for in other taxes (eg. paying city and state taxes to register car, then paying for inspection, property taxes... don't even get me started)
-lack of public services like trash pick up, recycling (even thought they promote green state) the state spends more money by NOT offering these services.. thats why alot of other states do offer these to residents they've found it more beneficial
- VERY behind the times.. most towns don't have highspeed internet, or cable and most times towns just 1 town over from a major city will not have these services either (Keene PD just came off of dial up about a year and a half ago, the computers in the cars were so slow they couldn't use em to run plates)
-old old old old old houses. Seems nice, but usually a money pit most of the time and not worth the effort or the taxes to have.
-rude people esp old time New Englanders.. the small towners don't like outsiders cause that means change and they either A) hate that or B) are afraid of it. They're nosey most of em, what to know why you're doing things or your personal life etc.
-low pay, high housing costs or no jobs to find.
-some schools not up on inspection (A Keene school hasn't passed inspection in many years has exposed wires etc and is being threatened to be shut down after this year till its finished and the town never seems to have enough money for the schools for upkeep or new books etc. there always seems to be a prob and I wonder where tax money is going?)
-most homes have NO a/c and the summers are hot as hell and hazy as hell too.. that coming from someone who lived in South Fla..

Thats my experience from someone who started LOVING the state and the longer I was there the more I didn't I found the "real" NE/ NH that goes beyond just some nice mountains and charming houses.... Some have had better experiences than me of course... I am relocating back to where I came from which to me tells me how bad I don't like NH because I swore I'd never come back to Fla.. But its better than staying in this state. IMO if you're looking to just keep to yourself, no really interested in people and wanna spend lots o money every year on utilities NH is the place for you.

[DareToDream]

Originally Posted by buck naked

hey Dare ! great post! I repped you!


with the exception of the brown recluse, I leave the spiders alone. It's good luck to get a garden spider,you know, those big, fat black and yellow ones. My neighbor lady used to kill them, for she was afraid but I pointed out to her that they are non agressive, weave beautiful webs and catch and kill tons of the more bothersome insects. She's learned not to be so fast to kill.

We also have miner spiders....they look like they have a headlamp on their head. little kids are afraid of them, for they are BIG! but they are rare!

I am a native NHrite. not bragging...just sayin'. I've traveled a bit, and I always prefer my home state. I've been spoiled. Every winter I constantly say I'm going somewhere warmer but I know that in reality, that will most likely never happen. My family is here.

Thanks buck - The spiders at the house we bought are pretty much outside, so I don't mind them too much. The ones we had in the old farm house we rented were inside and just plain NASTY! I remember sitting in the living room, reading, and this BIG fat black one dropped on the book - I let out a scream, the dog came running, the cat ran the other way, the dog then saw it and ate it!

I don't mind if they stay outside, or at least where I don't see them <g>. I've never seen a garden spider, but some kind of spider made a beautiful web under the carport and the same type of web was made on one side of the front porch, very intricate and almost lacy (lacey?) in appearance. I tried to get a picture of it, but couldn't get the lighting right. Both webs were quite big.

Hubby's daughter is in southern Maine, his son still in the area we left, my son is in the Saratoga area of NY. Hubby's parents are still in our "old area" as is my mom, his sister and my sister. We'd never move back to that area, or even NYS again, after living here. We went down in December, and even though it was winter, I ended up with sinus problems while we were there...it was nice to come back here....back "home." <g>

[daniellefort]

Speaking of my home town Berlin:

Pros: I tend to like the small mom and pop shops and restaurants vs the big chains.

I like the thought of having a white christmas again and the 4 seasons.

My family has been living there for so long that the whole town seems to know who we are and we have nothing to hide so i don't mind. I look forward to meeting them all again soon.

Low crime.

The schools are pretty good. At least i turned out alright and my nieces and nephews are doing quite well.


There's always something to do whether it be snowmobiling, 4 wheeling, swimming, fishing, etc. My family does it all.

Cons: Job opportunities are very slim to none. It is a low income town so if you get a good job, keep it. also a lot of run down apartment buildings that have been abandoned and are slowly being torn down by the city.

there isn't much of big chain stores or a mall unless you drive 1 hour away but for me that's not a big deal.

Property taxes in the town are quite high.

**** don't know too much as far as living expenses because i moved from Berlin when i turned 18 so really didn't have to deal with everyday expenses at the time.

[Crazy4NH]

We been in Hudson NH for about 5 years and find it a good locale. Easy to Boston or to seacoast or to mountains. Taxes not to high in my condo-I think 3000 a year. Being retired I need for a good medical and find that and shopping for the necessities of life in Nashua. No secret, NH has snow and cold but better to love the summer, no? Summer is to short but sweet. I lived in Maine and Massachusetts and Florida. New Hampshire got them all beat. I watch these NH people for many months now and am amuse at the little girl from Florida and how she change her mind from likes NH to hates it. To bad but life is to short so go where you happy I hope this come out ok because my daughter help me to find old post to show good and bad parts of New Hampshire. Thank you.

Originally Posted by Tarastomsgirl

Pros

-All 4 seasons
-no sales tax
-no income tax
-close to bigger cities like Boston
-small towns if thats your thing
-scenery
-low crime

Cons
- snow cold more months than I'd like to have
- expensive to live there (ex heating your house is ridiculous, electric is horrible, phone services is bad and we've had probs with it cutting out even on a land line other people are constantly asking us what we're saying, lack of cell service it goes in and out depending on some areas)

- potholes, lack of plowing (plowing prob is Keene)
- whatever taxes you don't have you make up for in other taxes (eg. paying city and state taxes to register car, then paying for inspection, property taxes... don't even get me started)
-lack of public services like trash pick up, recycling (even thought they promote green state) the state spends more money by NOT offering these services.. thats why alot of other states do offer these to residents they've found it more beneficial
- VERY behind the times.. most towns don't have highspeed internet, or cable and most times towns just 1 town over from a major city will not have these services either (Keene PD just came off of dial up about a year and a half ago, the computers in the cars were so slow they couldn't use em to run plates)

-old old old old old houses. Seems nice, but usually a money pit most of the time and not worth the effort or the taxes to have.

-rude people esp old time New Englanders.. the small towners don't like outsiders cause that means change and they either A) hate that or B) are afraid of it. They're nosey most of em, what to know why you're doing things or your personal life etc.

-low pay, high housing costs or no jobs to find.
-some schools not up on inspection (A Keene school hasn't passed inspection in many years has exposed wires etc and is being threatened to be shut down after this year till its finished and the town never seems to have enough money for the schools for upkeep or new books etc. there always seems to be a prob and I wonder where tax money is going?)
-most homes have NO a/c and the summers are hot as hell and hazy as hell too.. that coming from someone who lived in South Fla..

Thats my experience from someone who started LOVING the state and the longer I was there the more I didn't I found the "real" NE/ NH that goes beyond just some nice mountains and charming houses.... Some have had better experiences than me of course... I am relocating back to where I came from which to me tells me how bad I don't like NH because I swore I'd never come back to Fla.. But its better than staying in this state. IMO if you're looking to just keep to yourself, no really interested in people and wanna spend lots o money every year on utilities NH is the place for you.

[NH2008]

I'm not a resident (yet) but my family lives near North Conway.

Pros:

- BEAUTIFUL mountains, lakes, meadows, forests, small towns...
- Autumn leaves, winter snowstorms, the sound of crickets, seeing stars without light pollution
- people are generally down to earth and polite, most areas are safe and quiet
- gov't largely leaves you alone...
- close to Boston and rest of the northeast without the price or the crowds

Cons:

- Summers are a lot muggier than I remember! but that's true everywhere
- Like Valerie said, the ticks - but again, this is not limited to NH
- A lot of growth has been (in my opinion) ugly growth - lots of sprawl and some beautiful areas like the Seacoast have gotten pretty congested. This is the flip side of the gov't leaving you alone -
- really hard to find good Chinese or other ethnic food!
- property taxes can be insanely high. My family might actually be better off paying income tax, I'm not sure...

Like Valerie, we're hoping to raise kids in the south and move farther north when they graduate.