usoruk

Still in AZ and "enjoying" the wonderful weather!! Well into the 100's. Anyway, doing more trips up north to get out of the heat. Visited Prescott (2 hrs up north) a couple of weekends ago, abit cooler, greener, but quite country western!

Anyways, still researching places to move. Thinking about New Hamp. I have been on the city data sites to check out possible locations, but don't really know as have never been there. Hubby has travelled through and says it's a bit rural and gets very cold.
Do any of you have experiences of NH, what are the best family-centered towns, safe, good schools, walkability etc, towns. Hubby likes the ocean and the mountains. For me, anything that looks like quaint old UK!! (cotswolds!) with nice shops etc. Home may get sold within a month-but we will have to stay in AZ another year, but it will give us time to decide. We will not be able to visit home as too ridiculously expensive ($8000 +) but we may be able to visit NH and take a look around. Just need to know if this is a good place and worth the hassle of moving. also is it very expensive. Thanx

HumphreyC

Part of New Hampshire I go to the most when I am over is the Mount Monadnock Region; strikes me as the place to go for a real back to basics rural lifestyle, that and cheap booze and fireworks. The towns I like in that region are Keene and Peterborough, both of which could be described as quaint. Most historic place if I recall correctly is Portsmouth on the coast, that's probably a better place for jobs and you would be near cool places like Rockport, Kennebunkport, which I assume have good shops. New Hampshire has no sales tax. This means property taxes are high instead, but it's good for people coming into the state to shop. The state motto is 'Live Free or Die' which about sums it up really.

Doesn't look anything like the cotswolds (no rich farmland; its mountains and forests, the buildings are wooden and colonial, no rich Londoners to hike the property prices). Still, can't complain too much when the view looks like this (more in this thread http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=182397 )

tonrob

Am sat in Portsmouth, NH right now - having come here for the weekend with Mrs tonrob (probably for the 3rd or 4th time).

Portsmouth's very nice - historic, lots of atmosphere, by the water and well situated within New England generally. Maine's a stone's throw away with all of the goodness that comes with that, and Portland and Boston are both an easy drive along the (busy) I-95. Lots of nice rural-y towns and villages around, lovely little coves and beaches etc.

Can get hot in summer, the most appropriate adjective to describe how cold it gets in winter is bastard.

Dudette

I lived in NH for a few years and loved it, we were in the White Mountains and they lived up to their name, the beautiful white birch, the snow covered peaks, it was truly beautiful, my DH and I had thought of moving back there at some point.

If you live mid to northern NH be prepared for no work as employment is scarce. The weather is something else, like they say if up there, "if you don't like the weather wait a minute" this is because it changes so quick. The winters can be brutal and you may well get cabin fever, but the one thing we found is that it felt safe which is a big plus when you have kids.

I do love NH, but it's not everyones taste, so just be prepared for small time USA if you do go there. Oh and there are no direct flights from their little airport, you need to usually go via Newark.

Dudette

My Husband and I actually call it the 'Live Freeze and Die State', due to the winters can last 7 months and you can get upwards of 120" of snow the further north you go.

Rete

Wouldn't Boston's Logan Airport be closer? I've been to NH on vacation several times and loved it in the summer and fall but doubt that I would be able to hack the winters in the White Face Mountains.

Why not look at Vermont, southern tip, for good areas. If you want quaint villages/towns Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts would be places to look at.

Dudette

Boston is about two and a half hours from the White Mountains and doesn't fly in to the north of England during the winter, however I believe you may be able to in the summer. I know there are direct flights from Boston to southern England all year round.

As Rete says, there are some beautiful quaint little villages in New England, but make sure you do your research well before moving, those endless winters in NH and Maine come to that, can be something else. Btw Bar Harbor in Maine is absolutely beautiful and I would recommend there for a visit for anyone interested

usoruk

thanx for all your input. Are NH winters worse than UK winters. Have not seen much snow since being in AZ, so that is an issue for us, could we stand the cold. I hear of snowbelt area to avoid, would any of you know which towns are part of it. I have been looking into Exeter, looks really nice. But hope it is not in the sticks. I would still want to live somewhere quaint but not in a rural setting. Need to still feel part of civilization not in some backward, country place.
We get cabin fever here 8 months of the year!!

Dudette

Hahaha I lived in that backward country place and loved it, the people were amazing, lovely, genuine and there was an awesome village atmosphere.

The winters are brutal the further north you go, as I said you can get 120" of snow and more a year and it usually starts mid November and ends sometime mid May. You are lucky you get more than a month of summer and in winter the temps get get below 30c, so yes it's brutal and very different from England, most of the time there are winter chill and frost bite warning in effect and warnings not to go outside unless absolutely necessary, that being said NH is amazing! Oh and the snowbelt area pretty much covers NH from Concord up and across most of Maine and Vermot, I believe NY is included in there too.

Exeter I believe is in the south, so you are closer to civilization and they don't have the weather down there that you get as you past Concord.

I hope this helps a little

Jerseygirl

Why does it cost $8K to visit the UK?

Dudette

I believe currently there is no state income tax, be aware that Governor Shaheen is trying to bring that in.

You have to register your car every year in NH and you pay town and state taxes on it, it can get quite expensive, our car was over $700 a year and it was from 2004.

Although there is no sales tax, there are taxes for food and lodgings if I am correct. Food is no cheaper in the supermarket than anywhere else in the US, the only thing you don't add on is the tax, but we worked out even without tax it is the same as what other states pay with tax.

Also be aware that unless you live in the southern part of the state you could find yourself driving at least 20 mins to half an hour for a decent grocery store or even a walmart.

They have a great Health Care Program for kids, its called Healthy Kids, depending on your household income you can qualify for one of three tiers, Healthy Kids Gold being the best and covering all medical and dental expenses, if medical insurance is an issue then NH may be good for you.

Nashua has a great mall as does Rockingham, both towns are in the south of the state and you get alot of what NH folk call massholes coming across the border to shop. Concord the capital of NH is a lovely little city, it has some nice pedestrian areas and it is quite safe to walk around, oh and it has some nice restaurants and a small mall too. Concord and Manchester are quite close together and offer you more of a city life, although nothing like Boston etc. Saying that Boston is less than an hour from Concord, so really you are never too far from real civilization lol.

Good luck in making your decision, it's not an easy one, we moved from there to the south and quite honestly I prefer NH due to the friendliness and generosity of the people.

scrubbedexpat097

That's strange they say that here as well!

(and probably in all the other 48 states in the US)

Bob

Manch-vegas....bit of a dump, but it is a fun student city, BIL went to study there, not a bad place to head out to other places.

NH generally is really nice, great place to rent, but property taxes are really high if you buy....insurance can be pretty hairy for new people as there isn't a requirement to have car insurance out there, but then also no helmets for bikes either and the roads are some of the shittest ever because you don't need to wear a seatbelt either.

But despite all that, it's a great place, awesome mountains, great breweries, close to Maine and MA. Road tolls suck a bit though considering you get through the state in about 5 minutes.

The whole Dover area is pretty nice too if you want a small city with a bit of civilisation and decent schools.

Oh, and the winters are a piece of piss out there, you'll be out in t-shirt and shorts in 35F weather after the first year, it's nothing like northern Maine and the snow ain't to bad, and they do a pretty good job of clearing the stuff in winters too.

Bob

Aye, but you don't usually have to worry about snow in the morning, 100F for lunch and a thunderstorm in the evening, in July do you?

robin1234

Just in the US??

"The sky, murderous since breakfast, delivers fat droplets of rain. Grabbing the local newspaper, I repair to the coffee shop. "If you don't like the weather: wait a minute," Shetlanders say."

That "if you don't like the weather.." thing has got to be the most over-used cliché .. Every bloody B&B owner and hotelier in the UK thinks it is a native expression in their region. The other similar one is .. "If you can see [insert name of local mountain or other feature] it is about to rain. If you can't see it, it already is raining."