[Emilyy172]

Hello all! We are a young couple with 2 kids and one on the way living in rural Alabama. We have some family in New Hampshire and Vermont. We have visited a few times and been to old orchard beach ME. We have fallen in love with New England and are throwing around the idea of moving up there. I am a teacher and my husband works on light signals and does welding. He also has experience in water and sewer and also runs a landscaping business. He is very handy and loves to work. We are comparing these three states trying to find which is the best fit for us and our growing family. We want to live in a rural area, as we have a farm and plan to have a farm up there. We like community and do not want to be in or near a bit city. We would like to be close to a decent town , especially for work. Again, we want a farm so property and property taxes is a big deal for us. Which state do y'all think fits us best? We also love to be outdoors, mountains, and kid friendly things to do. But want to live comfortably and not have to work multiple jobs to survive.

[VTsnowbird]

Well, I am prejudiced toward VT since I live here! But I would think any of the three would be good. Southeastern NH is like a suburb of Boston, pretty built up. Other areas, you can be 5 minutes outside of a good sized town and be in a rural area.

[harry chickpea]

What type of farm? Row crop? Dairy? Cattle? Vegetable?

Roughly, New Hampshire property taxes are brutal, but it skips sales tax. Maine has more flat land than Vermont or New Hampshire. I would probably look around coastal Maine first (and I grew up in Vermont and lived there for a number of years).

[VTsnowbird]

I think a lot depends on the two of you getting a job. Probably look into that first. Or rent while you are looking, to get an idea of the area.

[Emilyy172]

Cattle and vegetable. Mostly a hobby farm. We sell fresh eggs, goats, and cows. (Meat cows such as Angus). I have heard teachers are needed in Maine and my cousin told me landscaping and hands on workers such as welders are also valued. So we are trying to workout which would fit us best. We are leaning more towards VT and ME since NH seems to be highly populated compared to the other two. Thank you for your responses ! Would love to hear anymore advice

[VTsnowbird]

There is a website called NEREN.com that has real estate listings for northern New England. Good to browse through. There is also a website for just farms for sale or lease, can't remember the URL or name.


I live near a college town and the real estate prices are pretty high here.

[Gemini1963]

Originally Posted by VTsnowbird

There is also a website for just farms for sale or lease, can't remember the URL or name.

I am not sure if United Country Real Estate is what you're thinking of, but it's sort of what you're describing.
Country Homes, Farms, Ranches for Sale, Recreational Property and Land - United Country Rural Real Estate

[leavingnortheast]

Take a hard look at taxes. While we generally welcome hard working types, it's not too much of a stretch to say it's getting a big tense here. Our liberal legislature is acting lawlessly, piling taxes upon taxes and making businesses leave due to regressive laws and red tape. If you are a teacher, like some lovely lady teachers I've met from Alabama, you'll be shocked at the ultra-left stance of the teachers up here. You will either be in lockstep, or you'll find yourself fired. If you are liberal, you'll be happiest in Chittenden County. Also, with all the new "green" unelected bureaucrats they're about to set up, running a farm on anything but pure wind or solar will be cost-prohibitive. Spoiler alert, it's Vermont, you can't rely solely on wind or solar, but by golly they are going to make us all cry - I mean try.

[arctichomesteader]

Decent farmland is more available and affordable in Maine. Maine's taxes are not as high (away from expensive coastal areas). While I have a small homestead going in northeastern VT, if I were to go back in time 5 years to when I bought it, I'd have probably gone to Maine for land instead. As alluded to by the last poster, VT's politics have become very extreme. Maine is a bit more balanced in that way too.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Emilyy172

Cattle and vegetable. Mostly a hobby farm. We sell fresh eggs, goats, and cows. (Meat cows such as Angus). I have heard teachers are needed in Maine and my cousin told me landscaping and hands on workers such as welders are also valued. So we are trying to workout which would fit us best. We are leaning more towards VT and ME since NH seems to be highly populated compared to the other two. Thank you for your responses ! Would love to hear anymore advice

New Hampshire depends on the part of the state. Salem NH is 30 miles from downtown Boston. The southern tier is Boston suburbs. Once you’re north of commuting distance to the Boston job market, the state becomes rural. The density is in the vacation home areas around ski resorts and lakes.

New Hampshire has no income tax so it relies on property taxes. Tax rates vary wildly from town to town. One approach is to buy in a lake town where the vacation homes subsidize your property taxes but but your land as far as possible from the lake so you’re not competing with the vacation home buyers. I see 14 acres in Moultonborough for $99k but nowhere near the lake. Property taxes are very low.