As a life-long New Englander and resident of the Granite State for the last dozen years or so, I guess I can speak with some authority about life here in New Hampshire.
This is going to be a no-holes-barred account, and will not be sugar-coated in any way. I suppose that will become obvious.
If you are thinking about moving to New Hampshire, you’ll find, as Joe Friday used to say, “Just the facts” presented here.
Let’s get the negative stuff out of the way first. Granted not all of this is “bad,” and depends a lot upon what you like to do and where you like to do it.
Personally, I do not like cold weather and snow. If you love it, then New Hampshire is surely not a bad place to be seeking real estate.
For those of you who do not like cold and snow, New Hampshire is probably not the place for you. We have good old-fashioned winters here in New Hampshire, and they seem to have been particularly bad for the past decade or so.
Keep in mind that the amount of cold and snow you will have to deal with as a resident of the Granite State will vary greatly depending on what part of the state you live in.
In the south, the weather is not all that different from neighboring Massachusetts, where they have their share of cold and snow as well. As you go further north, the winters are more severe and will last longer.
No matter what part of the state you are in, if you add elevation to the mix, it will also prolong winter’s visit. I live about as south as you can get without being in Massachusetts, but since our house sits above 1000 feet in elevation, we tend to get more snow from passing storms and it is often 10 degrees or so cooler here than it is at lower elevations.
The cooler conditions at higher elevations are actually a plus in the summertime when temperatures can soar up into the 90’s. In the spring it is a little frustrating for those of us who prefer warmer weather because we often have snow on the ground longer than those at lower elevations, and we are also about two weeks behind when it comes to things like leaves on the trees.
I am always a bit taken aback during the springtime when we travel down to lower elevations and find that the leaves are fully blossomed on trees, while the trees in our neck of the woods are just starting to show signs of blooming.
On the plus side, the right location can give you a very nice view from your own back yard. There are some homes not far from where I live where you can easily see the tall buildings of Boston on a clear day.
Then there are the bugs. Hard to imagine anyone who would be happy to hear that, other than birds, frogs or other critters that like to eat them.
We live in a rural location and are surrounded by a lot of woods. We really love that, but we are not as fond of the insects that go hand-in-hand with such a setting. Even though bugs are generally more of a problem the further north you go (ask them about “black fly season” up there!) there still are plenty of pesky insects to deal with here in the south if you live in the woods like we do.
The bug parade usually starts in May when the black flies emerge. These little devils are extraordinarily irritating and make life outdoors practically unbearable unless you employ an effective repellent. Don’s ask, because I have not discovered one yet!
Black flies are very small and love to buzz around your head in a very erratic fashion. They are not as aggressive as mosquitoes when it comes to actually biting, but they do in fact bite, and oddly enough, it seems that they like biting some people more than others.
For example, one of my sons always had terrible problems with them when he went outside during “black fly season” and was bitten relentlessly. I do not seem quite as attractive to them, but will end up with an occasional bite here and there. It’s the constant swarm of them buzzing around my head that makes it unbearable for me.
The black flies usually die off sometime around late June or early July where we live but are quickly replaced by mosquitoes. The severity of the insect problem can vary from year to year depending on the weather, but you can pretty much count on battling mosquitoes just about every summer no matter what.
Mosquitoes, of course, are slow-flying and easy to swat compared to black flies, but at certain times of the day, they can be numerous enough to make you feel as though there are enough of them to carry you away!
The whole bug thing is probably less of a problem in the more populated areas where there are more homes and less wooded areas. Be aware however, that your beautiful home nestled in the New Hampshire woods will ensure you have plenty of company in the form of flying things that want your blood.
A little later in the summer, the mosquito forces are bolstered by the arrival of the deer flies. These beasts are equal to the black flies on the irritation scale. They are about the size of your common house fly, but have some other colors (mostly yellow) on their bodies in addition to the typical fly. Unfortunately, they are nearly as fast as houseflies as well, and will circle your head at high speed, “bumping” you periodically as if they are testing for a reaction. Very irritating. And if they do manage to land undetected and begin their dirty work, a painful bite will soon alert you to their arrival. Not as painful as a bee sting, but definitely more so than a mosquito or black fly.
That pretty much sums up the “bad,” at least from my perspective. If you are not turned off yet, keep on reading, because here comes the good stuff!
Whether the good outweighs the bad here in New Hampshire is obviously a matter of personal taste. But there is no doubt that some of the “good” might be better described as "fantastic.”
First of all, there is neither an income or sales tax here in New Hampshire. One of very few states that can make that claim. And to think, the state manages to stay in business and provide the services that residents expect without the obscene amount of tax revenue that a state like Massachusetts rake in.
I always have to laugh when we journey down to Massachusetts because when we cross the state line, the roadway immediately turns from a smooth, bump-free driving surface into a pothole nightmare. Massachusetts tax dollars at work!
Beyond the economic advantage of owning a home in New Hampshire, there really are some quite beautiful areas of the state. The northern part of the state is home to the White Mountains, the most famous of which, Mt. Washington, boasts the tallest peak in the Northeast.
As I eluded to in the previous section, if you love skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling or any other wintertime activity, New Hampshire is a great place to live.
We also have a little chunk of seacoast in the state that features tourist attractions in cities and towns like Hampton and Portsmouth. We’re roughly in the middle of the state when one figures from east to west and that makes the seacoast about an hour and 45 minute drive or so for us. Not too bad, but if you want to be near the ocean, you are best off checking out the real estate in places like Portsmouth, Exeter, Dover, Rye and Stratham.
Although much is made of the fall foliage that decorates the landscape here in New Hampshire, I’m going to risk the ire of my fellow New Englanders and give my honest opinion regarding the much talked-about annual spectacle.
For starters, yes, it is beautiful. No argument there. The colors can be stunning in some areas on a bright, crisp fall day. However, as someone who has traveled through other eastern states during autumn, I can honestly say that I have seen colors just as vivid and beautiful in states like Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
In my opinion, we have no monopoly on fall foliage here in the northeast, despite the efforts of the media and various businesses to convince the world otherwise.
There is, however, a quaintness here that is probably not as pronounced in other places. New England has a lot of history, and there are some elements that are just not present elsewhere. Taking that into consideration, a journey to New England to enjoy the fall foliage may be enhanced by views featuring covered bridges or a centuries-old church in a small town square.
The people in New England are not as outwardly open and friendly as in some other areas of the country, particularly the south. There’s always been a reputation that us Yankees are a bit more reserved, and less likely to welcome strangers, and to a degree, that is true.
At the same time, the people of New England are no less charitable and willing to help one another when the need arises. We may not appear as friendly as some of the folks in other parts of the country, but it’s not a reflection of what’s in our hearts.