Questions about NH

[Flyguy61799]

Hello all!

I have been reading through the forums about NH and it sounds great! Everyone seems extremely nice.

I was born and raised in Detroit,MI, (city boy, don't hate!) Anyways, I currently reside in Cinci (country town to me) and really want to get out of Ohio. My mom had a friend that lived in Keen on Hogback mountain ( I think) and I remember how beautiful it was.

I merely have a few questions that I am hoping you all will help with like you did everyone else!

I love snow, being from Michigan, we got a good amount. I have seen some conflicting stories of snow. I like it to start snowing late october and stop around march-april. Is there places in NH that do that?

I am sick of the big city, I don't think i would like Manchester. However, I don't want to be out in the sticks (enjoy my walmart, fast food). Are there cities like that?

I would like rolling hills (mountains to me, being from flat land) Anything over 500 feet to me is a mountain and is beautiful.

I would also like to be within 30 min of a lake since I love the water.

I am IT professional and was wondering how the field is in NH.

I know there are a lot of questions and I know you all will be helpful to me a "porc" as I've seen. (no idea what it means). Thank you all for your time!

[Kat Kanning]

Up north it snows more.  There are three walmarts up there:

1.  Littleton, NH 03561
2. Gorham, NH 03581
3. North Conway, NH 03860

That's a mountainous area, so the hills would work out.  You might have to be near Manchester though, for an IT job.  Everywhere in NH is near a lake.

[Flyguy61799]

Thanks, would Keene be a good place too? I just remember going there when I was little, a bit hilly if I remember. I plan on taking a trip in Early spring and wanted to hit up some cities. I will include the ones you stated.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Most of NH is 'Hilly' too

[MaineShark]

Thanks, would Keene be a good place too? I just remember going there when I was little, a bit hilly if I remember. I plan on taking a trip in Early spring and wanted to hit up some cities. I will include the ones you stated.

Keene is pretty far south to get the kind of weather you seem to be looking for.  Probably going to want Grafton county or Coos county.

And it also depends on how close you actually want to be to "civilization."  I'll drive a few hours on a whim... but I'm from up here, anyway, so I don't think that's any big deal.  My wife's parents are in NJ, and practically consider anything near an hour away to be a day trip.

Lancaster was nice, when I was up there a couple years ago for PorcFest.  And Gorham is only 35 minutes away, according to my map, so that's not too far from the nearest WalMart.  The views up in Lancaster were spectacular. (speaking of, Kat, is there an easy way to upload an image or two? I took some from the hill near the hotel at Rogers, and they came out well)

And it might also depend on what you want to spend.  With property values the way they are in NH compared to many other areas, a lot of people can afford to live in the southern tier, and maintain a camp or cabin somewhere up in the mountains.  For example, my wife and I are looking for someone to rent our cabin, and we're likely to charge $500/month for that.  I know people who pay several times that for similar living space, in an apartment with no land and high crime in a city.  If you make decent money, it's not too difficult to have two homes.

Joe

[Kat Kanning]

Well, I think Keene is a great place.  There's a small amount of IT work here, too.  Hilly, lakes, no big city, and fun neighbors 

[MaineShark]

Well, I think Keene is a great place.  There's a small amount of IT work here, too.  Hilly, lakes, no big city, and fun neighbors 

I agree.  I was down there for the marathon a few weeks ago (my brother was running in it), and I was impressed.  I dislike cities in general, but Keene is definitely a nice place.  And for me to say that about a city (even a small city) says a lot...

Joe

[Vote Tyler Stearns]

Hello Flyguy:  I was born and raised in NH...birth to 18 in Lancaster, 4 years in southeastern NH, and the past 26 years in the Plymouth region (we live in a more rural small town that's near Plymouth). I found the north country, which for us northern NHites means anything above the notches, a little too far off the beaten path.  I don't like cities, traffic, or crowds, but want civilization.  The Plymouth region is perfect.  Plymouth is a real town with a neat Main Street and a great sense of community.  There's shopping (including WalMart...and they're trying hard to get approval for a Home Depot), fast food (BK & McDs), fine restaurants, culture (home to Plymouth State University and it's theatre, arts, and music offerings), and good medical care (Speare Memorial Hospital, a well respected local hospital).  Best of all, you've got 4-season recreation all around you.  The Lakes Region (Squam Lakes, Lake Winnipesaukee and many other smaller lakes) are within a 20 minute or less drive, several major ski areas are within 30 minutes or less drive (Waterville Valley, Loon, Gunstock, Ragged, Cannon).  Plymouth offers easy highway access -- it's right off I-93 and a little less than 2 hours from Boston.  The infamous outlet malls of Tilton are an easy 15 minute drive.  

Don't know if you have kids, but the public schools in this district are great.  There are several very good private high schools nearby.  And there's a big home schooling contingent.  

There are also good job opportunities at the University, hospital, and if you must go to a bigger town/city, Concord is less than 30 minutes away.

I think you've got the point....we love the Plymouth area.

[Flyguy61799]

Thanks so much for the responses! So it looks like I will be wanting to look more north than I expected. Driving really isn't a big deal to me. i drive 30 minutes to work right now as is. My finace doesn't like it that much. She is a teacher and hates driving far, so i might have to negotiate with her! 

I was looking also at Laconia (sp?) north of Concord and perhaps lebanon?

[Flyguy61799]

Ah, Plymouth does look nice, didn't catch that one, By a huge lake as well! They have some nice hills and snow I'm assumin being kinda north?

[Vote Tyler Stearns]

You can get an idea of the mountains by going to these websites:

Waterville Valley Ski Resort (15 minute drive from Plymouth)
www.waterville.com

Loon Mountain (located in Lincoln - about a 20 minute drive from Plymouth)
www.loonmtn.com

Plymouth's town website
http://www.plymouthnh.org/index.php

One thing I should point out is that the property taxes in Plymouth are outrageously high.  You can enjoy the benefits of Plymouth, but live in one of the smaller surrounding towns. 

Laconia is a nice big town (well, relatively speaking).  Same with Lebanon.  Lebanon is close to Hanover, which offers the cultural and medical opportunities of a college town (Dartmouth College and it's Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center).

Plymouth region is still my fave.

[Posterity]

Northern NH is a world away from Detroit!  I lived in the Detroit area a number of years ago and have visited northern NH a couple of times.

Littleton is a nice town (population ~6000) with a Wal-Mart, fast food places, and many other signs of civilization.  There's a lake nearby (Moore Reservoir), plenty of hills, and of course the White Mountains.

http://www.golittleton.com/


I don't live in NH yet, but like you, I want out of the big city.  Northern NH is beatiful and seems like it would be a great place to live, but it seems most of the IT jobs are in the southern part of the state.

I know there are a lot of questions and I know you all will be helpful to me a "porc" as I've seen. (no idea what it means).

porc = porcupine = mascot of the Free State Project.

[Dreepa]

Almost all of NH is not 'the big city'

For the most IT jobs you are going to be looking Southern NH or Seacoast. However you can get a 'country feel' by driving 30 minutes off of the main travel corridor.

[aries]

Move to littleton or somewhere near there. I live in Twin Mtn about 25 mins away. It doesnt always snow in late october (hasnt yet) but the mountains do get snow on them this time of year. -- if you want snow in Late october colebrook area might be for you. People always knock it for being in the middle of nowhere or uncivilized or whatever but I find it quite nice and would be very fine to live and work in.

Dalton is next to Littleton and has low taxes and inexpensive homes you might want to look into that. I would not suggest gorham or that area simply because the entire economy is dead and you might not find a job in IT (guessing but it's likely it'd be very hard). In Littleton... it wouldn't be TOO hard but I mean it's not like there are corporate branch offices around here. You'd have to work for a small/regional business, self-employ, or for a phone, power or other similar company. But the market isn't dead for your kind of folk in littleton.

MaineShark - the nearest wal-mart to Lancaster is in Littleton now
Vote Tyler Stearns - having lived in plymouth for the past 2 months I'd say that it is a much much smaller town than Littleton, even with the college there. It'll grow, though.

[FTL_Ian]

Keene rocks.  There's a great group of activists and everything you could need is very close by.  Highly recommended.  Not sure about the snow requirement as I'm new to Keene.  I recommend you poke around weather.com for historical snowfall for any area you are considering.

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