Tell the Union Leader why you moved to NH

[Rosie the Riveter]

Moving on

Saturday, Jun. 30, 2007

Did you move to New Hampshire in 2000-2005? Or did you move from Hillsborough County to another New Hampshire county during that same time? UnionLeader.com is interested in your story. Why'd you move? Here's how to tell us your story.

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Moving+on&articleId=d957a431-c54c-47eb-a050-21d48171b383

[Rosie the Riveter]

http://www.unionleader.com/

Web poll: reasons abound for moves to, across NH

By DAN TUOHY
New Hampshire Union Leader
28 minutes ago

The government keeps statistics on where people move, but never really why they move. Turns out, they follow the money.

Most people responding to a UnionLeader.com survey said they moved for work. Relocating for love or family was a close second, followed by low taxes, liberty and cost of living. These reasons factor into a sustained northerly migration, partly offset by traditional snow-bird retirees heading south.

Statistics compiled by the Internal Revenue Service and Census Bureau show New Hampshire as a continued hot spot for Massachusetts transplants. But the data also shows a great deal of moving around within the state. Those in Hillsborough County are moving north to Merrimack County and beyond.

Distance traveled does not necessarily measure the size of a move. Just ask Karen Raymond. She moved three years ago from Manchester to Harrisville, population 1,113 - roughly 200 more souls than when the first Census was taken, in 1880.

"I was nervous at first going from the biggest city to such a small town," said Raymond, 29, who moved to her husband's town. "Traffic up here, it's like two or three cars."

Others responding to the online survey said they landed the complete package: Moving for work and then falling in love with a certain someone and with the state in all its outdoor splendor, flinty image and revered "Live Free or Die" legacy.

The nearly 100 respondents included a "political refugee" from Massachusetts, a member of the Free State Project "escaping Socialist California," and a retiree who said he packed his bags to "escape Taxachusetts." Some respondents expressed glee, or even relief, at returning to their native state. Others said they were proud to call New Hampshire home.

A job transfer led Tara Hurst, 28, to move three years ago to Manchester from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She works as an environmental health and safety manager for Wheelabrator Technologies.

The relocation was not such a big deal for Hurst. She was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, attended school in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and lived and worked in Maryland before Florida. She had envisioned New Hampshire as a rustic world apart, a state of mountains and woods. Upon settling down, she joined the Manchester Young Professionals Network, where she met her fiance and made some lifelong friends. And she developed a passion for the outdoors, joining the Appalachian Mountain Club.

Still, she said, "that New Hampshire winter was a big change."

Harvey Scobie took an interesting path to New Hampshire. The 45-year-old Temple man, who was born in Germany while his dad served in the U.S. Army, recalls relocating about every five years.

In 2001, Scobie was working as a private instructor for the Saudi Arabian National Guard. One day, he surfed the Web site of Kollsman Inc., a manufacturer of avionics and electro-optic systems for commercial and military markets. Just for the heck of it, he applied for an open position. He visited the company's Merrimack headquarters and accepted a job. He now works for BAE Systems.

"It's just another move for me," said Scobie, who also served in the U.S. Army. "But I love it here."

Carole Schickler was also working in Saudi Arabia, teaching medical students how to prepare hospital reports, when she decided to return stateside. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, on the eve of a flight back to Saudi Arabia, she decided it was time to settle back down in Manchester, where she hadn't lived since 1995. She was surprised at the greater cultural diversity and some of the more violent crime in the city. But she reveled, she said, in the sense of community.

"The one thing I noticed when I came back - everyone was so nice," said Schickler, 68.

A few hundred reasons for moving were cited by those responding to UnionLeader.com. Many people used phrases such as "quality of life" and "Live Free or Die," the state's famous motto, in describing their motivation. Other common reasons: More house for your money, "a state that preserves individual liberty better than any other," and the proximity to the mountains and Boston.

For the fourth consecutive year, New Hampshire ranked No. 1 in the Most Livable awards compiled by the Morgan Quinto Press. The ranking is based on many factors, including employment, education, and low crime and poverty rates.

Several members of the Free State Project, responding to the survey, said they moved to New Hampshire to exercise and protect their constitutional rights. The group aims to get 20,000 like-minded people to move to reinforce and enhance New Hampshire's tradition of a decentralized government with no income or sales tax, among other attributes. More than 1,000 people have committed to relocate by the end of 2008, the group says.

Not everyone remains so keen on New Hampshire. Francis H. White, retired from the U.S. Air Force and an 18-year resident, said he and his wife decided to move to North Carolina because of New Hampshire's diluted Republican ranks.

"While seeking a generally warmer climate was the initial impetus for our move, for me, personally, the decided tilt of New Hampshire government, both local and state, to being more liberal, was the last straw," White responded to the survey.