One Year in New Hampshire

Submitted by AlexTheTolerable t3_zhsylu in newhampshire

I moved to New England over five years ago from Southeast Florida for work. I spent the first four years in Massachusetts, but last year my wife and I made the move to New Hampshire and it was honestly one of the best decisions we’ve made. We both feel like we’ve truly found a place we can call home.

While New England overall might have a reputation for being unfriendly (especially Massachusetts), we find that in New Hampshire, that’s not really the case. Sure, people may not be as warm and extroverted as they are in the Southern states, but the vast majority of people here we’ve encountered are very courteous and kind. The overall quality of people here seems to be higher than what I encountered living in South Florida. While people there could be nice, a lot of them were quite flaky, classless, and unreliable in times of need. But up here, it seems like once you’ve made a friend, they’re a friend for life and will truly do anything to help.

It’s also a very beautiful state. The White Mountains are quite pretty, especially during the fall. I especially love that there’s mountains, forests, and beaches all in the same state.

There’s other things we love as well, like the lack of income and sales tax (a much welcome change from Massachusetts), but those are our two favorite things so far about living here. Of course, no place is perfect and there are a few things I miss about the previous states I’ve lived in. The biggest thing is easier voting, in both Massachusetts and Florida you can vote early and can register to vote at the DMV, and in the case of Massachusetts you can register and change parties online. Not in New Hampshire, though, here you have to go to city hall to register or change parties and there’s no early voting at all. On a minuscule note, the other thing I miss is being close to a Total Wine. While the NH Liquor and Wine Outlets are relatively cheap and have decent selections, there’s certain things you can’t really find there, like certain brands of absinthe or rarer wines, that you can easily find at a Total Wine.

But that’s pretty much it for my complaints. Overall, we love living here and look forward to many more years here.

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Neat-Ad11 t1_iznpxi0 wrote

This was good to read. As a native New Englander (grew up in MA and now live in NH) I always said that it might take longer to make friends here, but when you do they’ll be your friends for life and will be much more reliable than friends in the south or west. Of course that’s a broad generalization, but I think it’s true for the most part.

I spent my whole life coming to NH for vacation or whatever, but you really don’t fully know how great it is until you move here. Despite the things you mentioned that can be legitimately annoying, I’ve found getting absolutely anything done or dealing with anyone in town or state government here in NH to be a thousand times easier, less stressful, and certainly more professional and efficient than dealing with the same things in MA. Of course I live in a pretty small town here, but it seems to be the same throughout the state.

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Glares t1_iznqofm wrote

>Not in New Hampshire, though, here you have to go to city hall to register or change parties and there’s no early voting at all.

Not necessarily easier, but you can vote earlier with an absentee ballot. In 2020 everyone could use coronavirus as the reason for one, however now you have to have a different approved reason. If you do not meet those criteria specifically, your moral compass can decide if lying is egregious for this. I spend election day out of town.

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Emmet_FitzHume t1_izns4mn wrote

As someone who is considering a move to NH in a few years, this was a good read. I’m also from FL but lived in mid-Atlantic area for last 13 years. We’ve been traveling up to NH last few years trying to learn the state, different areas and towns, etc and it’s someplace I could see us moving to for retirement. And don’t worry, I have no desire to change the place.

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movdqa t1_iznvhdf wrote

Replying to Glares (#899,787)

I voted Abentee this year and you get the form and they list the valid reasons but they don't ask your reason. It can be as simple as being out of the area for the day.

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AuthorSnow t1_izo0l8p wrote

I’m a native. We in NH basically have a live and let live attitude and we stick by that. We dont interfere in your lives and don’t interfere in ours and we will all get along. People are friendly but it’s a human friendly but generally keep to ourselves.

It is a beautiful state and really unfortunately lower New England is radically different than northern New England. In a nutshell we are still New England while the south is…well, no man’s land.

I’m glad you like NH and welcome. Just keep NH as NH and life will be good; politeness, friendliness, and if it doesn’t concern you then don’t concern yourself with it.

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sbfx t1_izo5hun wrote

Replying to Neat-Ad11 (#899,741)

I get what you mean on the second paragraph especially. It is a thousand times easier dealing with anything here. I don’t know how to define that exactly but some examples:

I went to a local tire shop the other day to have a tire plugged. Nashua Wholesale Tire…super grungy atmosphere with really nice guys running the shop. I went in on a Friday afternoon with no appointment. 20 minutes later I was out of there and was charged $10. It was just simple and straightforward. That same job in CT where we moved from is $25 minimum and very few shops would actually take that work.

We moved our business here almost immediately when moving. Called the Secretary of State. Answered on the first ring and had a solution to my question within minutes. Called a NHES rep for a payroll question, same result. In CT you could never speak with anyone live and you’d just run in circles over and over again. NH is a better place to do business and that doesn’t even factor in the taxes.

Call the local office about car registration, we know exactly what to do and are saving big $ registering in NH between fees and insurance.

Life is simpler in almost every regard and we really prefer it that way.

Lived in CT my whole life and won’t be going back

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sbfx t1_izo6o6h wrote

OP feel free to DM me if you want to grab a beer sometime or do a double date or something. My wife and I moved to the area recently and share the same mentality about NH that you’re talking about.

We’re in Merrimack and my wife works in Manchester.

Have a great weekend

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notsara t1_izo8s9v wrote

>once you’ve made a friend, they’re a friend for life and will truly do anything to help.

This really sums it up perfectly. Welcome!

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LordMongrove t1_izoszd4 wrote

Came from South Florida and not a single word about the weather?

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LordMongrove t1_izou4yq wrote

Replying to notsara (#900,827)

People are people. I’ve lived all over the country and you get good and bad everywhere.

When people say “Southerners are more friendly” or “Northerns are hard to make friends with”, it is their anecdotal experience, often colored by their expectations about regions that they get from others online. I will say that people seem more friendly down south but that is just superficial mannerisms.

Some of the friendliest people I’ve met were in MA, NH and ME, and the meanest were in Florida and Arkansas.

But I’ve met great people everywhere.

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AlexTheTolerable OP t1_izou8i8 wrote

Replying to LordMongrove (#901,773)

I got used to it pretty quick. I prefer having four seasons over an endless, scorching hot summer. While I’m not a fan of having to dig out my car after snowstorms, I prefer it over having to deal with hurricanes

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Smirkly t1_izpakyi wrote

As for wine I agree but there is a much better selection at the liquor outlets on I-93.

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golfgrandslam t1_izpdej8 wrote

You can register at the polls on election day to vote, why would you need the DMV to register?

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MommaGuy t1_izppwdy wrote

Depending on where you live, MA is not that far so you can go when the need arises. Also, try visiting a larger liquor store. They usually have a bigger selection.

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thread100 t1_izpw1js wrote

Shhh. Don’t tell anyone.

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Meriby t1_izpxlz7 wrote

We moved from NH to SC 10 years ago. I do not find the people in SC friendly Unless they are asking you what church you go to. People in NH were much more friendly Southern hospitality is a myth

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bostonkittycat t1_izpygho wrote

Replying to velocityflier16 (#903,296)

Yeah I moved out of Everett MA and the state is a pain. So expensive. Bought a little house in southern NH. It is great no one bother me and I have a lot of people in town from going to the local church. Picked up some guns for home defense and didn't have to have an interview with the police and nonsense they have in MA.

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OkLime8702 t1_izqcbcb wrote

Grew up in SE Florida and while some people are nice I always found it to be a pretty sleazy place and far prefer the highly educated and wholesome culture of the northeast (maybe with the exception of the bubble some people live in). Also, most people seem to complain about the cold but I don’t think any of them have ever been in 100 degree weather for like 6 months in a row. Far prefer four seasons to 1. I’m happy you like NH looking forward to follow in your footsteps soon!

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FelicitousLynx t1_izqdykl wrote

This is the plan for me and the Hubs in 8ish years (once his youngest is out of the house). We're also in Florida and ready to get away from the crazies, the heat, the politics, the traffic, and nonstop development. NH seems to be the right place for nature, seasons, and nice people.

We promise not to bring any Florida insanity with us.

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Annabellee2 t1_izql1g4 wrote

NH Native. I feel the same way about you transplants as I felt about George W. Bush Jr.

If he was my neighbor I'd make fun of him.

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zhfretz t1_izqodpb wrote

manchester sucks.

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GothicEcho t1_izrhyzy wrote

Replying to Glares (#899,787)

Absentee is a good way to vote IMO. I got mine about a month or so before the election and was an easy process to fill out and drop off. Definitely my go-to way.

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GothicEcho t1_izri8yi wrote

People here are (typically) my type of kind. Like if I look like I might need help (WC user) they always ask and don't push if I say I'm all good. I feel like people were pushier down south with it when I was there visiting.

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Otherwise-Ad-1363 t1_izs0pz3 wrote

Replying to lizyouwerebeer (#902,401)

I laugh so hard at some of these comments. I grew up in NH but now live in a more rural part of MA and I've had people from like, Manchester and Nashua try to gatekeep NH when they live in Massachusetts Jr.

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