Reasons to move to Seabrook (Manchester, Portsmouth: best towns, real estate, car insurance)

[maxxoccupancy]

From the Free State Project forum, I've posted a number of strong reasons to make your way out to Seabrook, which is a lovely town and a real friend to the taxpayer.
1. Mildest winters in New Hampshire. With the mildest winter lows in the state (5-10 higher on average than Manchester) and less snowfall than almost anywhere else, Seabrook also has one of the best plowing service anywhere. The roads are open in Seabrook even when everything else is closed. This makes it possible to get in and out of the state more easily.
2. Mild summers, with more reasonable highs and less humidity than other parts of the state.
3. Low tax rates. With a fiscally conservative group of voters (shot down 13 of 28 spending articles in 2009) and a fiscally conservative group of Selectman. The property tax rate is just $11.56 per thousand, and folks are talking about how to get that rate back down to the more traditional $9.00 per thousand that residents are used to.
4. Low utility costs. Garbage pickup and recycling are both free, as is use of the transfer station. Sewer is also free. That is, all of those things are covered by property taxes. You don't have to pay for those things twice, as in other towns.
5. Easy access to the beach, and free parking at Seabrook Beach for residents.
6. Easy access to Newburyport (10 min), Portsmouth (19 min), Amesbury (10 min), Manchester (40 min) and Boston (45 min). The town is great for commuters.
7. Roads are in great condition.
8. State LP Chairman Brendan Kelley on the Board of Selectmen, for two fiscal conservatives and one moderate.
9. Extremely lax zoning laws, and a simple $65 variance fee. Nearly all variances are approved unanimously by the Board of Selectmen.
10. Immediate access to I-95, Routes 1, 1A, 107, and 101.
11. More Ron Paul signs in people's yards during the primary than any other candidate.
12. Very proliberty climate, with many libertarians and constitutionalists in town.
13. Jobs. Counting engineering, retails, service, waiting, machining, repair, and residential work, there are more jobs in Seabrook year round than there are people to fill them. With the Seabrook power plant, dog track, and countless other businesses hiring, there is never a shortage of work, even in the current recession.
14. Seabrook Community Center - At almost no cost to residents, the SCC has a modest weight room, cardio room, locker rooms, basketball court, tennis courts, billiard tables, large screen tv, and other facilities.
15. Seabrook Fire Department - one of the best fire departments of any town this size.
16. Seabrook Police Department. Although we have 20 cops, they are generally very nice, professional, and the Board of Selectmen have reminded the Chief that residents want a friendly, professional, small town department.
17. Public schools - some of the best in the country, Seabrook takes special ed kids from neighboring towns, but does not try to push your kid into that program. Parents are generally pretty happy with the school, and the cost is slightly below the New Hampshire average. There is no pressing demand for the addition of new school buildings, and
18. Almost one-third of residents are retirees who generally vote for smaller government and lower taxes.
19. Almost no crime. Seabrook has, perhaps, the lowest crime rate of ANY town bordering on the ocean. Even Portsmouth sees more violent crime per capita. The total number of murders each year is almost always zero, and this is one of the few towns where people could leave their doors unlocked.
20. Ratio - The seacoast has a nearly even ratio of men to women, and particularly amongst younger folks.
21. Great place to raise kids.
22. Excellent place to start a business. With low taxes and a very pro-business climate, Seabrook is open to new shops and commercial development.
23. With only 7,000 residents and only about 1100 people casting ballots in each election, only a few votes are needed to kill any bad spending measures.
24. For folks interested in running for office, there are several uncontested positions (Trustee of the Trustees, Constable, etc) that go uncontested.
25. Four State Rep races are tightly contested each year. This is a good area to move to if you are considering running for State Rep in the future, and it is an important swing voting district.
26. Brendan Kelly has been promoting liberty here for almost ten years. Seabrook residents need little prompting.
27. Libertarian leanings. Residents here basically believe that your land, home, business, and life are none of the government's business.
28. Folks here are really friendly. The Post Office is known for the door opening that everyone does for everyone else.

Businesses - Right on the border with Mass, Seabrook has enough businesses in operation for a town of 30-40,000 residents. New places open up each year.
29. Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, and State Line Supply are all available. Most are hiring, also.
30. Starbuck's and Common Island Cafe are here, and both are very good stores
31. Kohl's and Famous Footwear have opened up just this March. Other stores are opening this summer. Target is planning on adding a store here soon.
32. Chili's and Prime Time Sports Grill are very good, here. There are also several really good restaurants at the beach, not all of which specialize in seafood.
33. Whale watching, for those who like that sort of thing.
34. Live Nude Ladies, one of only three nudy clubs in New Hampshire. For the connoisseur, Salisbury has four within a five minute drive.
35. Some of the cheapest gas stations in New England.
36. One of the better Wendy's restaurants around. The food there has been typically very good, and consistent.
37. Stacey Jane's. Technically in Hampton Beach, this is one of the nicest live band, karaoke, billiards bars in the area.
38. Prime Time Sports Grill, offering live bands, new pool tables, darts, a live atmosphere, karaoke on Thursdays, and some of the best sweet potato fries anywhere.
39. GNC, Sally's Beauty Supply, Body Shop, Game Stop, Advance Auto, NTB Tires, Wal*Mart, TJ Max, and countless other chain stores are available.
40. Dunkin Donuts, McDonald's, Taco Bell, KFC, and other franchises are present.
41. Lot of local food markets and stores. There are plenty of local video, CD, pawn,
42. Powerplant and dog track provide more interesting and higher paying jobs.
43. Seabrook is the bargain shopping capitol of the area, with more discount stores per capita than almost anywhere else. Your dollar goes farther, here.
44. Henkel, Superior Controls, Screen Gems, and countless hi tech firms do business here. Many are still hiring, right now, especially if you have an engineering degree or technical background.
45. Two Market Basket's, one Shaw's, and several small grocery stores, including numerous local catch and locally grown stores.
46. There are several good places for getting your car fixed, and the mechanics around here are quite reasonable.

[maxxoccupancy]

People
47. Almost no racism or other discrimination to be found.
48. Most folks are careful drivers. You very rarely see or hear anyone driving recklessly. Car insurance rates seem to be cheaper here than elsewhere.
49. Cops tend to leave people alone, and are generally very professional and courteous.
50. Cops don't hassle you for your "Guns are okay/ Communism sucks/ Ron Paul" bumper stickers.
51. Cops don't pick fights or cause problems for residents. Almost no bullying from police.
52. City inspectors are more reasonable for businesses and homeowners. Fines are very modest or nonexistent.
53. There are few restrictions for modifying or making additions to your home or business.
54. Salisbury Watershed offers twelve acres of wooded trails for day hikers. If occasional "plant" is growing out there, cops probably won't notice or care.
55. Immediate proximity with Mass allows access to the state's more lax drinking, pot, and nudy club laws.
56. Stores and bars offer a wide selection of New England's wonderful local microbrew products. Seabrook is definitely a friend to the beer drinker.
57. Big city benefits without big city problems (street prostitutes, homeless and beggers on streets).
58. Lots of gun owners. Gun ownership is almost ubiquitous for a town right on the border with Mass.
59. Seabrook Taxpayer's Association is still alive and well, meeting every week at the library. Seabrook also has a very high number of fiscally conservative independent voters and activists.
60. Seabrook Library has a large meeting room, a good selection of books, and plenty of computers.
61. Brand new condominiums for $99,000, $149k for a two bedroom condos.
62. Brand new homes available for around $240-300k.
63. Very quiet town with lots of places to run and bike.
64. Waterfront offers plenty of places to tie up a sailboat, or even a houseboat to live in.
65. There are many very small houses available right on Route 1 that are cheap to buy.
66. Mobile homes can often be rented from retirees during the winter months, since many are staying in Florida at that time.
67. Beautiful walks and scenery behind the Seabrook Community Center, by the ocean, along Route 286, and on Folly Mill Road.
68. Both Comcast and Fairpoint offer decent broadband access at reasonable rates.
69. For new movers, almost everything you need done, from establishing residency to getting a PO Box, from registering your car to registering to vote, can be accomplished at town hall or the neighboring Post Office, within walking distance of most homes.
70. Maxwell House (Max's place) is the site of many lively parties year round.
71. Seabrook is an excellent location for southern New England recruiting for the FSP, especially along the North Shore, where a lot of Mass's more fiscally conservative folks are.
72. There are tons of Ron Paul meetup groups, property rights groups, and taxpayer's groups in the north shore and Boston area to work with.
73. Both Brookah's and Movah's (new folks) are some of the most libertarian folks on the seacoast. There are lots of home schoolers, small business owners, and individualists in town. I have met very few people here that I would consider at all statist, and most of them have been from out of the area. The results of local election articles have shown a strong commitment to limited government and property rights. Few new laws pass, and rarely by a strong majority. None of the spending articles on the ballot passed without at least 30% voting in opposition.
74. There is not currently any need or desire on the part of residents to add any new facilities or services, and the town would not need anything additional even with nearly twice the population. Taxpayer's need not worry about wild eyed spending projects at any time in the near future.
75. Town issues are easily accessible with weekly Selectman, Budget Committee, and Planning Board meetings.
76. The papers in the area are almost all local, making is relatively easy to reach a lot of people here with letters to the editor and with other activism and events.

Seabrook is a really wonderful town. The folks here are fairly conservative in their views, and the people are really friendly. For folks interested in getting into local politics (helping to preserve the low taxes and libertarian climate), there are several local positions that go uncontested each year, and politics is very much in the hands of the people. This is one of the best towns anywhere to start a business or raise a family, and everything is kept in fairly good condition.

[DreamworksSKG]

You never have to worry about your power going out since there's a nuclear power plant in your back-yard :-)

[dognh]

It would be great if you could spread Seabrook values beyond its borders. The things that have kept me away are the less than stellar government schools, the plethora of mobile home parks, and the traffic.

Though the Seabrook beach and area over by the South Hampton/Kensington line are nice

[maxxoccupancy]

Originally Posted by DreamworksSKG

You never have to worry about your power going out since there's a nuclear power plant in your back-yard :-)

Ironically, we had power out for a week when we had that last ice storm. Unitil screwed things up so badly, and people all over we ticked off.

[jaynesmithers]

So what are the downsides to Seabrook? It seems to me that this is another propaganda thread designed to get people to buy real estate in Seabrook, NH. Tell us some of the reasons NOT to move to Seabrook so we have a more balanced perspective.

[jaynesmithers]

Originally Posted by maxxoccupancy

Ironically, we had power out for a week when we had that last ice storm. Unitil screwed things up so badly, and people all over we ticked off.

That doesn't surprise me. I found the utility companies, like much in NH, were quite primitive and unable to provide reliable service. A far cry from the fantastic services we have here in southern CA.

[GotBackHome]

mymymy, aren't you the negative one. Don't you read any of the other posts? No wonder you didn't do very good homework. Why did you ever leave CA? after all, it's heaven!

Other posts have mentioned A)nuclear power plant in Seabrook B) not easy to get to, C) housing seems to have waiting lists for moving there (likely because it's such a horrible place, people put their name on lists trying to get there! But you know how backwards NH folk are )

[buck naked]

Over 60% of Seabrook’s landmass is wetland. At least 90% of the remaining
undeveloped parcels contain wetlands. There have already been several development
projects that have adversely affected the abutting parcels through oversight of the true
long-term impact of wetland alteration, or direction of run-off. Some wetlands have
become drier due to the interruption of the water that fed them


source: Welcome to The Town of Seabrook, New Hampshire

another issue is the town beaches are closed when the plovers hatch. The birds take over the beach and humans are banned. that's really not much to complain about...

the Bayview Crematory is located in Seabrook - some of you may remember THOSE ugly stories...

there is a new shopping development scheduled to be built at the intersection of route1/107 - this could bring another 2,000+ cars per hour into the vicinity... with no plans to widen route 1 or otherwise negate the impact of the increase in cars/pollution/traffic.

so with the exception of the ugly nuke that looms in the background, multiple warning signal towers scattered about and the lack of moving traffic....what's not to like?

[fishnfool]

Don't forget Leather "N Lace!