I've lived in New Hampshire for 23 years now. It is such a beautiful state. I'm in the Lakes Region, which means I'm about in the middle of the state, which is 190 miles x 70 miles wide. I can get to the ocean in less than an hour and half, to the White Mountains in an hour. To beautiful beaches with light houses in Maine in an hour and a half. And the fall foliage... there just aren't words. It's amazing.
It snows A LOT. There is snow cover all winter, with the average at 50-70 inches in the south and 60-100 inches in the north.
July and August temps have some days over 90F/32C and nights with lows in the 50sF/10-15C. January temps range from lows of 5F/-15C to highs of 31F/-2C. Most places have some days below 0F/-18C. Temps are calculated in NH by windchill, though, which makes the temps FEEL colder by 20-40 degrees.
The first snowfall could come as early as late October, but usually by the middle of November. We usually have snowcover until the end of April and the ice goes out on the big lakes at the beginning of May.
What I can't get used to, though, is the number of cloudy days. It is cloudy so much of the time, spring, summer, fall, and winter.
There is no sales tax, and no income tax, which makes the property taxes high. REALLY high. In fact, the second highest in the nation. I'm not sure what the average is, but the poorer towns pay about $10/$1000 of property value, and the richest towns pay $30/$1000. The average is probably around $20/$1000. So, a property valued at $200,000 pays $4000/year in property taxes.
Properties in the south are MUCH higher than central or northern states.
Each town's Schools are paid for by their own taxes. So, areas with high property valuations have nice schools. Poor towns have worse schools. But education, overall, is more important in the NorthEast USA than other parts of the States.
Property costs less the farther north you go, and jobs are harder to come by the farther north you go.
The crime rate is VERY low in NH. The southern towns, on the Massachusettes border are MUCH worse than the rest of the state. Gangs have just moved in as far north as Manchester, which is a southern city.
Coming from the UK, personalities may not bother you, but as a Colorado transplant, I find that people are reserved, rude, and difficult to figure out. They are more honest than other areas of the US, you don't have to wonder if they like you or not, because they let it show, and they aren't fake at all. But they just aren't friendly at all. Not at all. People don't make eye contact, they look down all the time. Folks in Walmart are always sneering, never smiling, even the cashiers.
Now for chickens. It's easy to find a 3 bedroom, 1700 square foot house on 3-4 acres for $250,000. 87% of the state is wooded, so you feel like you're in the country wherever you go. Each town has its areas that are zoned for livestock. And, overall, I would say that most towns have more of the country attitudes than not.
So, all of that being said, I guess it just depends on what's important to you.
It snows A LOT. There is snow cover all winter, with the average at 50-70 inches in the south and 60-100 inches in the north.
July and August temps have some days over 90F/32C and nights with lows in the 50sF/10-15C. January temps range from lows of 5F/-15C to highs of 31F/-2C. Most places have some days below 0F/-18C. Temps are calculated in NH by windchill, though, which makes the temps FEEL colder by 20-40 degrees.
The first snowfall could come as early as late October, but usually by the middle of November. We usually have snowcover until the end of April and the ice goes out on the big lakes at the beginning of May.
What I can't get used to, though, is the number of cloudy days. It is cloudy so much of the time, spring, summer, fall, and winter.
There is no sales tax, and no income tax, which makes the property taxes high. REALLY high. In fact, the second highest in the nation. I'm not sure what the average is, but the poorer towns pay about $10/$1000 of property value, and the richest towns pay $30/$1000. The average is probably around $20/$1000. So, a property valued at $200,000 pays $4000/year in property taxes.
Properties in the south are MUCH higher than central or northern states.
Each town's Schools are paid for by their own taxes. So, areas with high property valuations have nice schools. Poor towns have worse schools. But education, overall, is more important in the NorthEast USA than other parts of the States.
Property costs less the farther north you go, and jobs are harder to come by the farther north you go.
The crime rate is VERY low in NH. The southern towns, on the Massachusettes border are MUCH worse than the rest of the state. Gangs have just moved in as far north as Manchester, which is a southern city.
Coming from the UK, personalities may not bother you, but as a Colorado transplant, I find that people are reserved, rude, and difficult to figure out. They are more honest than other areas of the US, you don't have to wonder if they like you or not, because they let it show, and they aren't fake at all. But they just aren't friendly at all. Not at all. People don't make eye contact, they look down all the time. Folks in Walmart are always sneering, never smiling, even the cashiers.
Now for chickens. It's easy to find a 3 bedroom, 1700 square foot house on 3-4 acres for $250,000. 87% of the state is wooded, so you feel like you're in the country wherever you go. Each town has its areas that are zoned for livestock. And, overall, I would say that most towns have more of the country attitudes than not.
So, all of that being said, I guess it just depends on what's important to you.
