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My kids like UNCW alot and many of their friends are going there. Pretty nice campus and they keep adding on and building due to demand.
As far as NH compared to NC cost wise -- really depends where you go in NH. I'd say it will pretty much be a wash after everything is said and done. Housing fluctuates greatly depending where in NH you go... and there are some absolutley classic new england towns you can call home. Real estate taxes are high. Plan on driving more if you live away from a city. Actually might be abit less to live in NC when you factor in food costs and some other things.
Your husband will have a harder time finding work outside of a larger city... just so you know.
We used to live in the Peterborough area which is artsy and nice but small town. Nothing like New England.
Is there anyone in New Hampshire that might be able to compare the 2 states? I have been toying with the idea of moving to NH for several years, I currently live in Asheville, NC. I enjoy it here but feel that it is becoming too commercial. I am a RN so I am assuming that I would be able to get a job fairly easy. My husband is in high-end appliance sales. I have one daughter that will be going into the 10th grade (all honors classes) and one daughter who will be a freshman this Fall at UNCW.
Does anyone know how the cost of living compares between the 2 states? Quality of life? Schools?
Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks in advanc.
I am so sorry Mel for the delay in my response...let's just say LIFE got in the way of FUN
I am from the Seacoast of NH, and have for the last 7 years lived just outside of Raleigh. I have been over to the Asheville side of the state a few times (NASCAR fan here).
You asked:
Does anyone know how the cost of living compares between the 2 states? I believe the cost of living in NH will ultimately be cheaper. The taxes here in NC are only going to rise thanks to Governor Perdue. NH has no sales or income tax - but they do have a high property tax but I believe the thousands you save each year on income tax will more than make up for the property tax alone, never mind the sales tax.
Quality of life? It is in my opinion that some parts of this will be the same, however, NH can be more "remote" in some areas of the state - but definitely more laid-back and less in your business. I know I am more at peace and serene when back home every few years. There is much more to do in NH without the long drives to get there like here in NC.
Schools? I'd pick NH schools over the public school system in NC anyday! Of course it also depends on the town you choose to live in as well - because in NH it is the towns that the schools are based NOT COUNTY. The higher property tax towns usually have a higher rated school (not to say those lower rated are worse, depends on parent involvement too I think). University of NH might not be ranked as high as Duke or UNC, but then again Harvard and Dartmouth, and many of the Ivy League schools are within a few hours drive of NH (Dartmouth is IN NH remember). UNH has a top-rated business school and many career paths can be followed there.
Work? The larger towns (25,000) usually have a hospital nearby if not in the town, so yes you should have no problems finding a job. Your husband on the other hand, might want to consider a different field, because I don't recall a large call for appliance sales, but sales is always an open field.
I hope I helped answer your questions...now back to catching up everywhere - got an hour before bedtime!
MelPel, before we moved to NH last summer, we actually looked at moving to NC, somewhere in the Raleigh Durham area. Three things deterred us.
1) Because of the tech boom in NC, we could see the potential for it to become another Silicon Valley (we moved from SoCal), and we didn't want to live in that kind of place
2) the school situation worried us. It sounded like the county was experiencing some serious growing pains, and we didn't know how that was going to play out. In NH like NH2NCmom said, schools vary by town, so it was easier to find a town we liked with good schools. The town we live in has 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 1 jr high, and 1 HS. So, either you like the schools in that town, or you don't.
3) I can weather extreme cold much more easily than extreme heat. NH gets muggy in the summer as well, but the temp gets into the 90s for very few days. I understand NC stays really hot many days of the summer. I'm originally from Chicago and Dh is from NJ so NH climate was more to our liking.
I live in New London, NH, truly a lovely town, and am considering a move to Western NC. Though I've never been to the NC mountains, my family will be vacationing in the area, probably next spring. I'll explain my reasoning in the hope it may answer some questions.
We are looking for a place that has summers that aren't much warmer than New England, (for my wife), and winters that are as mild as possible, (for me). We get about 100 inches of snow here, and summers, though lovely, are very short. Real estate prices are higher where I am than even Asheville, and property taxes are outrageous. The lack of an income tax doesn't help us much, as we are relatively low income and have 2 kids, so our Federal tax burden is near zero anyway. Frankly, if it weren't for the winters, (we typically have 6 months of snow cover), we'd probably stay. There is a lot to like here.
If you can afford it, Hanover is great. As the home to Dartmouth College it has a very artsy, walkable downtown. The visual scenery is great and people watching is a favorite pastime. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center is in nearby Lebanon, as is the area shopping. My town, New London is a popular tourist destination in the summer with the lakes, including Sunapee, and in winter with nearby downhill skiing. It is quite upscale with some limited shopping, but no big box stores and some lovely Victorian houses on Main St. There is a small liberal arts college, Colby-Sawyer, which benefits the town. Property taxes, though far from cheap, are a bit less than the NH average because of the inventory of $1 million+ lake homes.
The crime rate once you get north of Concord is wonderfully low, but south of there along I-93, keep in mind it really is part of Boston suburban sprawl, meaning costlier real estate, higher crime and more traffic.
You might also consider Keene. A very historical artsy downtown, home to Keene State College and proximity to Mt. Monadnock. That's Cheshire county in the SW corner of the state. There is a fairly large hospital there, affiliated with Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
I live in New London, NH, truly a lovely town, and am considering a move to Western NC. Though I've never been to the NC mountains, my family will be vacationing in the area, probably next spring. I'll explain my reasoning in the hope it may answer some questions.
We are looking for a place that has summers that aren't much warmer than New England, (for my wife), and winters that are as mild as possible, (for me). We get about 100 inches of snow here, and summers, though lovely, are very short. Real estate prices are higher where I am than even Asheville, and property taxes are outrageous. The lack of an income tax doesn't help us much, as we are relatively low income and have 2 kids, so our Federal tax burden is near zero anyway. Frankly, if it weren't for the winters, (we typically have 6 months of snow cover), we'd probably stay. There is a lot to like here.
Mark
Western North Carolina is quite nice. In fact the landscape looks similar to parts of New England above 3000-3500ft elevation. Asheville is located at about 2100ft elevation while Boone is about 3300ft elevation. Boone is home to Appalachian State University. I have seen some houses there as high up as 4500ft to 5000ft in elevation if you can believe it. I would think summers in Boone would be similar to southern NH with winters being quite a bit milder. They still receive 20-30 inches of snow per winter on average. The higher elevation means stronger winds as well. My parents are retired and may still consider moving to the mountains of western North Carolina if the cost of living in NH becomes to high for them.
I've studied the climate data for all the areas of WNC and am trying to find the right compromise between cool summers and as little snow as possible. The cool summer evenings are of most importance to us, so around 2-3000 ft. elevation is about right. Boone seems lovely but may be too snowy for me.
This is, however, the New Hampshire forum, but I digress...
Spent 21 years in central NH. Spending 22 years and counting in central NC (okay, quite different from Asheville).
Winters are much milder in the the NC mountains than anything you will find in NH. Summers will be cooler in northern NH than they are in Asheville, but they will also be rainier--especially this year!
I agree with Mark-faf on taxes--if you have little earned income, NH taxes will be higher for you than NC taxes, due to huge property taxes. Taxation is highly dependent on your personal situation. Might want to go to the NH Department of Revenue site and roughly fill in a Dividends and Interest Tax form to see if/how much you would owe. Generally, if you have little non-IRA savings/investments, it won't hit you.
Another hidden cost is health insurance. This spring, I found that the same policy I have now here in NC would cost TWICE as much in NH! Might want to check that out too, if you buy your own. Since our congresspeople are owned and operated by their corporate paymasters, don't expect health care "reform" anytime soon. Unless, of course, it increases the profits of the insurance companies.
Finally, there are the subjective intangibles: quality of life, what the people are like, etc. There's really no way to predict what your experience will be like in NH. I find NH people are smarter, more direct and more honest. I find they are more tolerant of all things non-religious. That will be your experience too, especially if you hang out with the exact same people I did :-) Otherwise, all bets are off.
i used to live in the carolinas and it sucked. nh is better. stronger sense of community, lower taxes, change of seasons, people that dont constantly bug you. you are close to beaches, mountains, and the city if yourre into that kinda thing haha
We too have been looking into moving to NH and currently live in Asheville. We have lived in several areas around the country and based on the things we know are important to us, we are hopeful NH would be a good fit. It is difficult to compare with so many variables, especially each town being so individual in NH.
As for Asheville, it has some very good qualities. The weather is incredibly temperate - if that is your primary concern, you will love it. Compared to other areas east of here (like Hickory, or Charlotte) it is definitely cooler. Summers are very comfortable, with the exception of about a month between August and September that gets humid and buggy. There are definite seasons, leaves change and we do get a little snow (kinda crazy - we hardly ever get enough to sled, but the schools close down for even a dusting). There are many independent restaurants, some good parks, outdoor activities, festivals, etc. And it is nice to be in the mountains, and be able to drive over to the coast for a beach vacation within a few hours or so.
We are considering moving for a number of reasons. We'd like to have some acreage again and here it is just not affordable. We love snow and miss all the activities that go with it. We would also like a better environment for our children, which is hard to put into words, but overall we feel we would prefer New England to the South. Also to have mountains, lakes, and beach within a short drive would be ideal.
So we will be taking another exploratory trip up there soon, can't wait. We have looked at Keene, Sunapee, Hanover/Lebanon, and the Lakes Region, but this time will explore "closer in" to the cities. It looks like the job opportunity may be based either in Keene or Concord. Any suggestions for acreage/good schools/decent taxes around those towns? Or any opinions on one area over the other? Thanks.
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I'm considering the reverse move!
