My current situation: Twenty seven year-old software engineer with wife and 2 yo son (and working on the next one). Living in a condo and ready to move to a house next summer.
My background: Been a market anarchist / libertarian for about 8 years. I used to write a bit, then sort of dropped out of the whole scene. Worked on building family and career, now starting to be in more comfortable financial situation. Ron Paul's campaign has re-energized my political spirit (to the point that I, a former nonvoter, actually contributed money and am planning to register Republican to vote for him in the primary), now rereading some of the old sites I used to visit.
In person: Any libertarian get-together I've attended has been abject failure. Somehow I always end up in "who has the biggest libertarian cock?" contests. You know the type - always has to quote some Austrian economist or one-up someone else's point. And the thing is, around my family and friends, I'm not really like that. So if I've ever met you (which probably is not likely anyway), I apologize.
Why we are moving to NH: Though I plan to continue working my current job, it is within commuting distance of NH. We actually don't think there is THAT much difference in our everyday lives between remaining in MA vs moving to NH (we did live in NH for a couple of years while I did my Master's degree). But the following points push us to NH:
* Gun laws. I don't appreciate being treated like a criminal in MA.
* Homeschooling. We will be homeschooling, and although the laws in NH don't appear much better than for MA, we hope the culture there would make it less likely to get worse.
* Land / privacy. We hope to have at least a few acres in a small town. I grew up in a small town in CT on 28 acres, and I certainly want to provide my children with at least a yard and some trees.
* There is at least some culture of liberty in NH.
* NH is just so damn beautiful. We love vacationing in the Whites and around Bath/Lisbon (where some of my wife's ancestors come from).
Where we want to move: We weighed all towns in southern NH based upon the following considerations: distance from my current job, distance from general high-tech job markets, population (lower is better), population density, median income (lower is better), house prices, and property taxes. So the winner is: Mason! Greenville and New Ipswich also looked like possible landing spots.
We've visited Mason/Greenville a few times now (Parker's Maple Barn is awesome!), and if everything goes as we hope, we will be moving next summer or fall.
So, here are my questions:
* Is there anything about these towns we should know about that might influence whether we want to move there? For example, how do I know if there are crazy zoning laws or land use restrictions? I could not find anything on the town websites.
* Is the Union Leader worth subscribing to, in your opinion? When I got a copy last time I was in NH, there was a column by John Stossel which was pretty cool, and I think I remember some favorable press of the FSP.
* Anyone know of any local homeschool groups?
Jacob
Welcome J.
I think you will be pleased when you come to some of our events.
While there certainly are 'debatatarians' most people want to get shit done.
I don't know much about that area.
I know that there are homeschoolers on this board.. they can point you to the groups.
I get the Concord Monitor (my local paper).
Welcome! I think you'll find the "libertarians" around here quite different than you're used to. Most of us are focused on actually getting things done, rather than sitting around jerking each other's chains.
Don't forget to sign the SOI before you move.
I know of one homeschool group in Peterborough, and we have a couple in Keene. Nasua has a big group, I believe. I think NH Homeschool Coalition has the best info...here's the support groups they list:
http://www.nhhomeschooling.org/supportgroups.htm
Awesome to see another one of "us" coming home!
Dreepa and myself are also software guys... there are a lot of us out here who escaped from the People's State of California.
A good idea is to keep an eye on the State Reps for the town you'll be moving into. Phone calls from you to these people can make the difference between Statist laws getting killed or passing. In Mason, the Reps (especially Drisko) are the kind the usually vote anti-liberty, but when their constituents push them, they can be made to see the light. The exception is Levesque, who needs to get booted from her seat. ASAP!
Richard B. Drisko NHLA "C"
Carolyn M. Gargasz NHLA "D"
Betty B. Hall NHLA "D"
Melanie A. Levesque NHLA "F"
I would suggest joining the NH Liberty Alliance before you move, so you'll be informed: http://nhliberty.org/join
Thanks for the replies. Some of the stuff I've seen from freedom movers to NH is pretty exciting. Homeshooling is a huge issue for us, and I'm glad to see something like the Liberty Scholarship Fund popping up so people can help other people do this. I'll want to get involved in stuff like that, even if it's just small contributions for now.
The NHLA also looks like it does a lot of good work. I just joined up.
I think it's coordinations like this that will ultimately have the most effect on getting other liberty-lovers to move to NH. Some people will want to try to effect change through the political process while others may want to do so through social networking and living as free as they can. My advice is to trumpet your successes in both areas.
We have now placed our condo on the market. If it sells, we will be moving to New Hampshire, though there will likely be a period of temporary housing between selling and buying.
Good luck :)
Are you still planning on moving to Mason/Greenville, or are you investigating other areas?
Quote from: Caeb on April 14, 2008, 12:30 PM NHFT
Good luck :)
Are you still planning on moving to Mason/Greenville, or are you investigating other areas?
We are still planning for Mason/Greenville, which optimizes commutability to Massachusetts with aspects we want from moving to NH. According to Google, Mason is about an hour from either Keene or Manchester, and 45 min from Nashua. It is also 1 hour, 20 minutes from my present job, which I plan to retain. I have created a list of long-commute mitigation strategies, including podcasting Free Talk Live.
Quote from: Jacobus on April 14, 2008, 03:45 PM NHFT
It is also 1 hour, 20 minutes from my present job, which I plan to retain. I have created a list of long-commute mitigation strategies, including podcasting Free Talk Live.
holy... yeah podcasts are great for driving, but geez almost 3 hours a day. Is your job going to offer you something like working 4 longer days instead of 5 days? I assume telecommuting some days is not possible?
Quote from: Coconut on April 14, 2008, 07:18 PM NHFT
Quote from: Jacobus on April 14, 2008, 03:45 PM NHFT
It is also 1 hour, 20 minutes from my present job, which I plan to retain. I have created a list of long-commute mitigation strategies, including podcasting Free Talk Live.
holy... yeah podcasts are great for driving, but geez almost 3 hours a day. Is your job going to offer you something like working 4 longer days instead of 5 days? I assume telecommuting some days is not possible?
My hours are somewhat flexible. One of my coworkers who commutes from NH probably works from home twice a week, but he is a technical writer and as a result apparently does not need to interface with others as much. Still, I think I'll be able to work from home at least once every two weeks, and I am hopeful I can push that up to once a week.
Mitigation strategy # 2 is to shift my hours so that I beat rush hours. I already do this to a degree. I can make my work hours 7-4, which may let me shed some minutes off the Google estimate. Moreover, driving is just more pleasant when it is continuous.
Mitigation strategy # 3 is to get books on CD. I used to do this sometmies, but the library's selection is geared toward blind 90-year-old women (and I should know, having taken care of one!). I think there is a Netflix-type service for CDs, so maybe I can finally get to "read" some books I've never had time to.
Mitigation strategy # 4 is to get an iPod and some way to play that in the car. I might as well get something for my FTL AMP dollars, as I never have time to listen to it now.
And lastly, I don't think approaching the commute time as "wasted" time is the right approach. No matter where we find ourselves, we can (almost) always find something joyful to enjoy the moments. For example, as long as I beat rush hour, I always enjoy my morning commute. I often spend the time meditating (breath awareness) and thinking. With the above mitigation strategies, I think I'll be able to be present in my afternoon commute and enjoy it as well.
I talked to another coworker once who has an hour and a half commute and asked for his opinion about all that "wasted" time. He looked at me, paused and said, "Jacob, I have a wife and three kids. When I am in the car, it is the only time I ever have to myself."
Quote from: Jacobus on July 20, 2007, 08:35 PM NHFT
Why we are moving to NH: Though I plan to continue working my current job, it is within commuting distance of NH. We actually don't think there is THAT much difference in our everyday lives between remaining in MA vs moving to NH (we did live in NH for a couple of years while I did my Master's degree). But the following points push us to NH:
* Gun laws. I don't appreciate being treated like a criminal in MA.
* Homeschooling. We will be homeschooling, and although the laws in NH don't appear much better than for MA, we hope the culture there would make it less likely to get worse.
* Land / privacy. We hope to have at least a few acres in a small town. I grew up in a small town in CT on 28 acres, and I certainly want to provide my children with at least a yard and some trees.
* There is at least some culture of liberty in NH.
* NH is just so damn beautiful. We love vacationing in the Whites and around Bath/Lisbon (where some of my wife's ancestors come from).
How about Schedule HC (http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=dorterminal&L=3&L0=Home&L1=Individuals+and+Families&L2=Personal+Income+Tax&sid=Ador&b=terminalcontent&f=dor_healthcare_HC_virtual_tour&csid=Ador) for another reason?
The bad news is that we are still in MA for the foreseeable future. We had our condo on the market since April and lowered the price in September. The condo market really seems to be dead; only 4 people came to look at the place while we had it on the market.
We took it off the market because of the good news, which is that my wife is due in early December.
people just don't want to move to MA> . . . but the MA government says it's GROWING!
hahahahahaha
Quote from: AntonLee on October 21, 2008, 11:00 AM NHFT
people just don't want to move to MA> . . . but the MA government says it's GROWING!
hahahahahaha
All the liberals are being foreclosed upon and moving to NH; in masses greater than the FSP, so get up to NH!
Sorry to hear you had to be delayed. :-\
On December 9, a new anarchist was born: Caleb Daniel Halbrooks.
Congrats! ;D 8)
Oh what a sweet face! Congrats to you all. :D
Even looks like Caleb!
After about 1.5 years of having our condo on the market (with a few months break last winter for our new arrival), someone was actually going to submit an offer.
As with many buyers this year, they were pursuing an FHA-guaranteed loan. The FHA is a federal bureaucracy, and they subsidize low interest, low down payment loans by insuring them. This means lenders can provide capital for a loan but not bear the risk of default, which is transferred to the FHA (of course, taxpayers ultimately bear the risk).
According to mortgageloan.com, federally-guaranteed loans accounted for 36% of all mortgage applications in June. In our segment of the market (low to medium end condos), I suspect this number is much higher.
So the government offers taxpayer-subsidized loans at below market prices. There is a huge incentive for anyone who qualifies to get one of these loans. Perhaps the only reason that the number of FHA loans is not higher is that there are a few restrictions on what they can be used for. For example, they cap the value of the loan, so most very-well-to-do homes would not qualify.
Another limitation, as we recently found out, is that to be used for a condo, the association must have at least four units. Ours has three.
So to recap, here is how the government takes control of a market:
1. Offer a taxpayer-subsidized product that "competes" with what's on the market.
2. Set the price below what the market offers for similar products (which the government can do since the true cost is borne by taxpayers).
3. Voila! Now the bureaucracy gets to decide who gets what since everyone is channeled through their product.
Obscure, arbitrary FHA rules now decide which properties sell and which ones do not.
So between the fact that we had already lowered our price as far as we could go (2/3 of what we paid 5 years ago), and the fact that this FHA business makes it highly unlikely we could sell anyway, we took our condo off of the market. We will stay in Massachusetts for the time being and continue to save money for our next home.
Stinkin' government!
We closed today on a little log home in Mason!
A big thank you to Mark Warden for being a great realtor and wonderful to work with through the whole process.
We were able to do this because an in-law is moving back to Massachusetts and we will rent our condo out to her.
Our boys are now 5 years and 19 months. Our "big issue" will be homeschooling, and my wife has started to network (particularly on Relaxed Homeschoolers). If you know any liberty folks around Mason, and particularly anyone homeschooling with young children, please PM me.
We'll probably do one of those moving in parties and supply pizza and beverages. We might also do a yard sale in the Fall. We have some updating we want to do first and are looking at a mid-August move.
We're excited!
;D 8)
Awesome news! :D
Just read this thread today.
If you're still commuting to Mass for work, I highly recommend an FM transmitter with an MP3 player for listening to audio stuff. I found this very helpful on my long drive to and from Denver for my recent trip to NH for Porcfest. The FM transmitter doesn't cost much, but makes it so you don't have stuff on your head, probably a red flag for any overambitious cops.
Thanks for the tip, Bryce!
Yes, I'll definitely look into that to help mitigate the long commute! Maybe I'll start off with FTL podcasts.