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Yes, another MA resident (not a MA*****e) thinking about moving to NH.
I had been living in MA for about 20 years, finally got out and moved to FL for the last couple of years, but my daughter is now in college in MA. So here I am again.
Looking for a community of like minded people, ideally folks who love our Constitution, and other women I can shoot guns with.
I've been looking for land as I'd like to live a simple, self sufficient lifestyle in a tiny home, grow some food, and be part of a supportive network of neighbors. But I'm not sure in what area of the state would be the best fit.
Thank you for any thoughts and advice anyone is open to sharing.
RE community. For the most part and unless you've been here a long time, there really isn't a community to plug in to. You do have neighbors and IME NH neighbors can be pretty good. Eventually you'll get to know a few folks through your regular routines. There are certainly things you can do to speed things up/get to know folks better.
RE shooting. I shoot on my own property, but if you want to shoot in public there are a couple of laws which affect that. To clarify, they affect shooting on your own place as well. RSAs 207:3A, 207:3c, and 644:13 with the basic gist being not within 300' of an occupied building without permission, not within 15' of a road, not across a road, and not in a "compact part" of a town(read as not in the middle of town, but there are weird definitions of six buildings within X feet). Shooting in the WMNF is allowed, but they have slightly different rules as it is fed property. There aren't many public ranges other than a few indoor things further south like Manchester Firing Line.
RE women shooters. Since it seems this is a club based state, several clubs have women only instructional shoots from time to time. I know Pemi in Holderness does. I doubt there are many women only shoots, but friends can be made at clubs I'm sure. My neighbors north of Littleton shoot on their land-hubby and wife combo.
RE places. It's going to depend on your current job, necessity shopping, health care needs, and specialty health care needs. Then you have the wants like clubbing 'til 6 in the morning and a Costco or Whole Foods on every other corner. I like parts of Coös and Grafton counties for access to Littleton, but that's just me who doesn't want the clubs or Whole Foods.
Grafton and Coos counties have caught my interest - maybe it's that extra month of winter. Ha!
Any suggestions for specific towns/areas to explore?
Visited Littleton last Fall. Beautiful area, really friendly people. Would like to go back up and spend more time in that area.
As far as shooting goes, thanks for the info. I'd probably opt for joining clubs and/or taking trainings rather than on my own property. But who knows.
My current job is baking/cooking at a friends cafe. Most of my career was in retail/guest services. I'm at a brand new stage in life so starting a small business is a possibility also. I'm an empty nester with a dog, so I've got a little bit of time to explore options.
Housing may be my biggest challenge. Tiny home on a little land seems like my best option so far. I don't want a mortgage again or high rental payments.
Oh and definitely not interested in clubs. (is there actually clubbing until 6am in NH!? LOL!)
I think you're going to have to look for area jobs first, before narrowing things down to a town. I know absolutely nothing about that career field other than my bartenders seem to make a living wage when combined with tips. When speaking of "Guest Services" type things you have Omni Mount Washington hotel by Bretton Woods and also Mountain View Grand in Whitefield(just down the road from Littleton). North Conway area undoubtedly has stuff, but I hate North Conway. Unknown what the ski resorts such as Bretton Woods, Loon, Cannon, etc do during the summer. There is also a Hampton Inn in Littleton and a Best Western in Franconia-unknown if they pay a living wage for a single paycheck household. Starting a business is a daunting task IMO.
So what I would do is look to see if you can support yourself with an area employer and then start checking out towns within your driving range. While you're doing that definitely keep the things already mentioned in mind shopping/health etc.
Also and only if it is a concern to you, many towns do not have their own set of emergency services other than a volunteer fire department. Police response is via NHSP in many towns and ambulance services with actual ALS trained folks are often via mutual aid or a contract. Example: Littleton ambulance covers all the way to Franconia via a contract which was just extended three more months. Bethlehem does have its own ambulance, but only with EMTs and no paramedic. There are probably places you don't want to live if you have a family history of sudden heart attacks.
Randomly back to shooting. Alder Brook in Littleton does have a Ladies Night on their calendar.
Randomly back to places etc. I spent a couple of years flying up and driving around areas looking to see where I could see myself moving to and areas where I may want to avoid. I grabbed a little tourist map and some colored makers driving around, staying in local hotels, eating at local places, etc. You're close enough to do this the easy way. Spend a weekend in Littleton/explore the area, spend the next weekend in Plymouth/explore the area, go in between to Lincoln/explore the area, go east to North Conway the next weekend. You get the point. Then gather up some of what you may want to research some more. Then make some more focused visits. The best way to endear yourself to the locals is drive around and say I'm from MA and looking to move here. I had the luxury of renting/establishing myself in a town near Squam Lake so I already had NH plates and would just say I'm in X NH town. I also rented from 1700 miles away sight unseen.
That was all just picking a general area. Picking a town is a much more in depth process which involves crawling through their regulations and meeting minutes. I bought and am having a house built in a town with no zoning, no inspections, no nothing on purpose.
OK, so holy rambling wall of text. That's what I get for being lazy and slowly drinking coffee.
Housing costs/availability is rough and not all the jobs pay a wage to support it. My rent here is over $2K for a nice little house in the woods, and my raw land cost me a hair over $5K an acre for aprox 40 acres. Building a house in this environment is certainly not the cheapest thing I've done in my life either.
Some of the less desirable towns can be a bit cheaper though.
Berlin/Gorham area: Dying mill towns, housing in town is relatively cheap, Super Walmart in town, the rest of the shopping is in North Conway or over to Littleton.
Grafton(the town): no zoning, was sort of the unofficial start point for the Free State Project folks. Nothing really happens there.
Dalton: Kind of a hills have eyes no zoning place where a major trash company wants to put a landfill. Nothing really happens there, although the state police did have to shoot a guy a couple years back. Ideally located between Littleton, Lancaster, Bethlehem, and Whitefield for stuff.
and all sorts of places in between
Another thing I did once I found the areas I wanted to look at is set a real estate screen in one of the apps. I forgot which one let me draw and irregular area. I would get the alerts and do research on the towns/area.
Just want to throw in that this is a very ambitious idea you have. You should definitely come up with a well thought out plan before you bounce to a nearby state. Good luck!
Bless your "rambling wall of text"! Very insightful. My thought process aligns with much of what you've shared and also fills in some puzzle pieces about how to get started with exploration of areas, etc.
I'll be honest, the most daunting part of my research has been the more in depth process of picking a town and crawling through regs and minutes. But, I suppose it must be done, if I'm to find the no zoning, no inspections, no nothing, that I long for! Feel free to give a hint where I might start without divulging your whereabouts. lol
Actually, you're already given me enough of your time.
I've got a lot to work with and am already planning a trip up to Littleton in the next week or two and will be taking your advice.
Also, I'm a transplant into Massachusetts so technically I'm not really "from" MA (if that helps my case, lol!). Just got stuck here longer than expected.
It is not completely accurate as Dalton voted to kill any zoning earlier this year. Before that, they had Emergency Temporary Zoning. Yes, that's a thing apparently.
Obviously the lack of zoning does not mean they may not have other things like noise ordinances, dog restrictions, and fireworks permits seem to be a thing in some towns.
Also, not all zoning is the kiss of death. Some boards are very hands off and just do the basics with lot sizes, etc. Some are ridiculously strict such as Holderness and Campton. I almost bought land in both of those towns and looked through their minutes. I backed away. Once I caught myself looking at land further north the lack of zoning and 'stuff' appealed to me more and more.
You obviously know that with lack of regulation comes a bit more personal responsibility and risk. You have to research and trust the people you hire for work on the house to do things to code. You also run the risk of people like me opening up a pig and chicken farm right next door. I wouldn't do that as I'm a big fan of getting along with neighbors, but there is that risk.
Finally, you may not be familiar with the term Class VI road. These are public roads which are privately maintained. It is not a private road so you can't block it. So if you buy down a Class VI road, you'll have to know who is maintaining it as the town will not-this includes plowing. The listing may or may not indicate whether it is town maintained, Class VI, or whatever. The state requires the Board of Selectmen to approve building on Class VI roads and most will rubber stamp it and say you're responsible for maintaining the road and ensuring emergency services can access. Some towns have ridiculously strict Class VI road regulations.
I live in a part of NH that most folks on this forum would consider to be bad and it is much better than where I lived in Massachusetts. I can't tell you which town or small city would be right for you but I'll say wherever you end up will probably be a good place to live even if it doesn't look like it is on paper.
I’m curious about this too, since my son mentioned a possible job opportunity near Epping, NH.
I have browsed on realtor.com and am really shocked at the house prices. Half a million $$ for a 100 year old fixer upper seems very expensive. I hope the wages are very high there.
I’m curious about this too, since my son mentioned a possible job opportunity near Epping, NH.
I have browsed on realtor.com and am really shocked at the house prices. Half a million $$ for a 100 year old fixer upper seems very expensive. I hope the wages are very high there.
Are the taxes lower in NH than MA?
Epping is close to the coast so properties are not cheap. Property taxes are high in NH but differ drastically based on town. However, the overall tax burden in NH is very low when ranked among all states.
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I had the luxury of renting/establishing myself in a town near Squam Lake so I already had NH plates and would just say I'm in X NH town. I also rented from 1700 miles away sight unseen.
Feel free to give a hint where I might start without divulging your whereabouts. lol 
