Thinking of Retiring to New Hampshire or Vermont

[irvingj]

Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Lebanon (used to be in Hanover, but they moved about 10-12 years ago) is widely recognized as one of the premier healthcare facilities in the country, certainly THE hospital between Boston and Montreal. It's also called DHMC, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, as it's affiliated with Dartmouth Medical School.

I live in the town of Hanover, which is nice, but... the taxes are pretty steep. I pay almost 7K per year, for an 1800+ sq. ft. house with a large garage and a shed on a tad over 4 acres. I understand that taxes in Lebanon (next town over) are also very high.

There are other towns in the area that are less expensive, but at least in Hanover the town services are excellent. Not that you need this, but the public schools are also top notch, which attract a lot of folks. Housing prices also tend to be high, in some parts of town ridiculously so. Hanover is about 8 miles from the intersection of I-91 and I-89.

However, right now there are about a hundred places for sale (very unusual), so prices have come down a bit. My neighbor's selling his place, a bit smaller than my lot, with what's basically a ranch with a basement, garage separate, nice deck, listed for 329K.... New Hamphsire Real Estate | Home in Hanover   NH

It is nice & quiet up here, anyway.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

I'm not from the area, but when we visited Vermont a few times (northern and central), I noticed the difference in the way life seems to be there. It could be a factor for someone moving there..... I forget the political term for it, but it seems to be very wide open in terms of what you are allowed to do - personal freedom. I saw small business' run off of residental property everywhere. Seemed like it's pretty much "anything goes" up there. There was a huge "truck repair" shop right next to the state park we visited (here in "gov't-regulates-everything-land" the county would shut that down in a heartbeat) Everywhere we went there was stuff for sale to the tourists by the roadside. I was suprised by the number of self serve sorts of things - drive up to the back of someones house, drop some cash in a bucket and pickup a little load of campfire wood -- very trusting people.....We enjoyed our visit - would love to move there if the opportunity came up.....but I think residence in that state requires you to own a Subaru station wagon:laughing:

 

[nybirdman]

Do your research!Vermont is beautiful but is rated the WORST STATE TO RETIRE TO.They tax any and all retirements(except railroad),have very high taxes,property and income.If you aren't third generation Vermonter ,you are an out-sider.

 

[dave1949]

Do your research!Vermont is beautiful but is rated the WORST STATE TO RETIRE TO.They tax any and all retirements(except railroad),have very high taxes,property and income.If you aren't third generation Vermonter ,you are an out-sider.

Ha. The way I like to think of it here Maine is -- if you don't have great-grandparents in the local cemetery, you are 'from away'. After living in one Maine town for 12 years, I moved to another, so I had to start all over :laughing:

Northern Vermont and New Hampshire, western and northern Maine are all rural, not so prosperous places. The timber industry that used to fuel the local economies has been in decline for a long time now and the future for that industry is uncertain.

Young people who want to pursue careers often are forced to leave for greener pastures. They are great places to live if you don't mind long winters and are retired with an income that comes from somewhere else. It's good to keep in mind, if you move to those areas, you are likely moving to a place with a struggling local economy.

Yes, there are the obvious outcomes of rural poverty, but no worse than other places IMO. From reading TBN threads, I think land owners here have fewer problems than many areas.
Dave.

 

[drgill]

I can verify what Dave said about folks in Maine being standoffish to outsiders. I moved to a small town in Maine with my folks when I was 7. When I left home at 18 I was still considered an outsider. If Vermont is like Maine in that respect you definitely want to consider that as a factor. It bothers some newcomers but not everyone.

All the best,

 

[hilld]

I know you asked about the Northeast, but how about the Northwest such as Oregon or Washington. It doesn't get as hot (summers) or as cold (winters).

 

[Scrambler82]

If you end up in a NH Goat Farm, let us know there is nothing better than fresh goat-milk cheese.

I will come-by to buy some if you happen to sell it.

Good Luck on your retirement, when-ever.
I live in MA and just did the early retirement thing, the business world $ucks !

 

[MikeD74T]

I can verify what Dave said about folks in Maine being standoffish to outsiders. I moved to a small town in Maine with my folks when I was 7. When I left home at 18 I was still considered an outsider. If Vermont is like Maine in that respect you definitely want to consider that as a factor. It bothers some newcomers but not everyone.
...

At a NH town meeting I heard one multi generational resident get up & start his story with " There's some folk that come here at a very early age & have the mistaken impression that, just because they've lived here 60 years, they're natives....... many that come to improve our quality of life succeed only by leaving."
In New Hampshire, in order to fit in, one must forget how much better things were where you came from or just go back there. Come for what's here - not what you can make us into.

That said, 3 biggest cities are south along I-93 / US 3 & filling with invader trash, drugs, crime, etc. The expensive (housing) areas are lakes region, seacoast, Hanover, Conway. This is also where the better services, cheaper goods (other than housing) & employment opportunities are. In each case 1/2 hour out of these centers is affordable housing with adequate services. West of I-93 /north of I-89 & "up north' you need to be more self sufficient & travel further for variety of shopping, medical, employment, etc, but has cheaper housing/land. Let your income source & need for services guide you.

BTW, you can do OK with goats here too! MikeD74T

 

[Piston]

Just for reference, I'm going through the process of acquiring some land in Alton Bay NH. I've had quite a hard time getting the approval from the town to make the lot a legal lot, but that is because it is on non town maintained road. They are basically just making me follow the rules which is understandable. As tough as it has been, it could be a lot worse, they've already granted me 5 of the 6 waivers I've requested, it has just taken a while.
They know I am an out of stater and I personally feel like everyone who I have dealt with so far, has been extremely helpful and friendly. I haven't once had any indication that I wasn't welcomed there.
This may also be because my grandfather has lived up there for many many years though.

Another note with the lakes region of NH is, I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the people live there aren't originally from NH in the first place, sort of like retiring to FL, hardly anyone is originally from FL. :laughing:

 

[RichZ]

Thanks for all the info. My wife and I have been doing a lot of research, and it doesn't seem that we'd save any money by moving. I'll see how much farming I can get back into when I totally recover from my back surgery. In the meantime, we're experimenting with bees, to see how difficult it would be to get a honey crop. We just have one hive so far, but we'll see what that leads to.

Thanks again for all the great responses!!!!