New Hampshire

Wife and I are kicking around the idea of making a clean break and starting fresh somewhere new. We've got several places on the short-list (including a few in Texas), but somewhere in New Hampshire is really standing out right now. Seems the state as a whole has quite a bit to offer as far as what we like to do - hunt (lots of public land), fishing, hiking, skiing - pretty much a ton of outdoors stuff. I know the winters suck. Seems like the state has a lot more freedoms than Texas. The no state income - and no sales tax - are a nice incentive. I've read where property taxes are high - but comparatively from everything I've read they're not much (if any) higher than what we currently pay in Texas. Our budget would probably afford us 30-100 acres depending on the age of the home.

Anyone spent any extended time up there (or lived there) that has some input?

Never been there. I’ve always heard that’s a very conservative area.

I have spent a little time working there, and could make the move easy. Beautiful country and the people I had contact with were folks just like us...Enjoyed upstate New York as well...

Do it Cochise

We lived up there for three years. Friendly people and beautiful country. But you will be traumatized by high property prices and property taxes.

Every time I’ve moved out of Texas I was unhappy until I moved back.

My tax rate is 1.73% - it looks like the average up there is around 2% which is highly dependent on the school district - we won't ever have kids (can't) so school districts are a moot point for us anyways.

Southern NH you run into Rich city folk from Boston going up and owning summer properties around lakes and such. Northern NH is beautiful, near where I grew up. Fishing is great and the people are down to earth. I haven't looked lately but hunting seasons are short due to tough winters and low deer populations but you can also put in for moose which is exciting.

Grandparents lived in Lincoln, have a mom and brother there now. Spent alot of time there and in the southern area around Jaffrey. Hiking and camping usually twice a month. Beautiful country, very outdoorsy. A lot of folks from Massachusetts vacation in the state if not they own property
Lincoln used to be a small town where only the locals knew the backwoods and swimming holes. It is now a full blown ski town that lost the atmosphere. I would be looking to be away from major roads to get that feel back if it were me. North of Mt Washington if not towards Canada border. Eastern or Western borders too

Y'all are not the first people to recommend the northern part of the state. My only concern up there is employment opportunities - or lack thereof since all the population centers seem to be Concord and points south. We plan to have things narrowed down by springtime as far as where we want to be - and then we'll fly up for a few days and check things out. We're not dead set on NH, but it seems like the top pick right now.

A friend of mine retired from TXDot and moved to Brentwood several years ago. He loves it.

They talk funny up there.

It is the French Canadian influence.

Most restaurants and even bars will cut you off after two drinks.....no BS. They have some kind of state law that allows anyone to go after the server personally for "over serving". Complete BS. I have tried to entertain customers up there after several long days of training and you pretty much have to give up. Not to mention most of them are jerks about it.
FWIW, I wouldn't live up there.

Dern French Canadians and their funny talkin

I have not spent time in New Hampshire but I hear it and Vermont are fantastic places to be. Vermont has the lowest population per land area from what i hear.

I have spent time in upstate New York and I can say its some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen. Up around Cooperstown up thru Ithaca is some of God's greatest country. People were pretty nice as well. Looked at land prices up there and was shocked at how reasonable they were......I could buy 120 acres with a decent little 3/2 house on it fronted on a paved road for about $150k. Winters are brutal up there and there isn't alot of ways to make money, so that's the trade off. Lots of animals up there and tons of fishing available. I've looked on Lands of America and seen some stellar places for sale.


I'm more of a Mountain guy and would prefer to retire in the West but would not turn my nose up completely at the North East

I have a funny story from when we lived in Maine. My neighbor came over and met my MIL. He told her she talked funny, and she told him to look in the mirror that he talked worse than her. he was amazed, of course he's never been out of New England.

Never been but it is toward the top of my list of places to visit along with Vermont. It looks beautiful from what I've seen.

There is a reason there are snowbirds and no equivalent for Southerners going north for the summer, That same reason applies to why more people move south when they retire than those that move north when they retire.

Looks like beautiful country up there. closest I've come is by watching North Woods Law.

We were up there a little over a year ago. Incredibly beautiful country. I prefer Maine over NH or VT.

We went to Maine, never been to Vermont or NH, but would love to go. People in Maine were friendly and seems very conservative. I absolutely HATE weather below 80 degrees so I will only be vacationing up here. Good luck with your house hunt

If you move there you may want to have a backup plan. Your first winter may change your mind.

I don't know about NH but upstate NY in the winter is brutal.

I will never again live in a state with high property taxes. You pay a tax on how wealthy the government thinks you are, not on what you earn.

They probably have good roads and infrastructure.

Texas has higher property taxes but our road system is fantastic

New Mexico has low taxes and look at their roads and infrastructure

The county road system in our neck of the woods suck. Not only to do we have fairly high tax rates - we have terrible roads. State maintained roads are excellent for the most part though.

Who knows about the infrastructure and roads up there - population is so low I'm not sure if the tax base can cover it. I have a few friends from up in that general part of the country and pot holes are kinda just part of life - comes along with the weather.

Oh, I definitely don't have any illusions that it's going to be like some Hallmark movie (my wife might - which I'm trying to bring her back to the realities of it all). Going to certainly take some getting used to, but I've also spent a decent amount of time in CO during the winter - so it's not like 4-5' of snow will be some kind of culture shock - although I know CO cold is much drier than that up in the NE.

Honestly snowmobiling, ice fishing, and that type of stuff is right up my alley.

I think the NM highway dept has a division that creates potholes in the roads.

Nope, it is shoddy workmanship, that guarantees that the roads will fall apart, also insures continual employment.

But the property taxes are real low.

If you look at total tax burden NH is like 45th in nation...Vermont and Maine would be much higher. Like top 5

Before you move up there please do a comparison of cost of living for the area you live in now to the area you are planning to move to. My oldest son and dil moved to just outside of Hartford Connecticut in 2018 and the cost of everything was pretty much higher, they gave up and moved back to Texas. We visited them in winter, spring, summer and early fall, and every season was fantastic except winter. They do a great job of clearing the snow off of the roads really quickly and seem well prepared for the winter weather. Lots of beautiful places to see and lots of history in the whole region. We have been to Boston, NY City, Main, Rhode Island and Eastern Canada along with Nova Scotia. Biggest bodied deer and Canada Geese I have ever seen. We still need to get to New Hampshire and Vermont and do some exploring there. Best wishes to you and yours on wherever you land.

You're 35
Go do it.

You might want to check out the Newport, NH area. It's not too far from Concord, but west of it, so it takes you away from the Boston influence.

oh and in the fall, you get a lot of Canadian tourists coming down. FYI

Too cold for me.