A job is great solution. Not only do you get to meet a lot of other teens and young adults, but you'll make money, too!

I'd also look for local organizations that align with your interests. When I was a (rather geeky) teen, I was interested in hiking, computers, radios, and public service, so I met a lot of my friends after joining my local Civil Air Patrol unit and getting involved in Search and Rescue.

If you're interested in writing, maybe check the local library for writing groups. Your school might have a writers club, or French group of sorts, too.

Once you buy a home, you'll find that things are not as simple as they seem.

My uncle, a lifelong carpenter and contractor, had a saying when it came to old houses: "don't fuck with it."

Labor and materials both cost way more than you think, and rarely will a project ever complete without complications.

Personally, I like wood paneling, but let's say you wanted to get rid of it. You hire somebody to take down the wood paneling, and then discover the wall behind it is too damaged to salvage. It's plaster, of course, and the laths are all busted. Repairing the plaster is going to be expensive, and this project is already costing more than you expected, so you opt to cover the entire wall with drywall. This is going to require relocating the outlets, though, so now you need to hire an electrician. The electrician plugs in a tester, and despite having "grounded" outlets, the grounds aren't actually connected to anything. Yikes! Now he's asking if you know what "knob and tube" means...

Now you're staring at a destroyed wall, and the only way to have it fixed is to repair a list of other issues. This $3000 project is now a $13,000 project, and you're thinking that maybe you should have just left the panelling alone.

Replacing a door or window often means having one custom made. Replacing the shingles on your roof often requires removing several layers of old shingles and sometimes even replacing the wood of the roof itself. Nothing is simple like it is on a new home.

The reality is, if you live in an old house, any "home repair" budget is usually spent on structural integrity, safety, or quality of life, with nothing left over for cosmetics. When the foundation is crumbling, water is pooling in your light fixtures, and your furnace just died, you're really not paying attention to the color of the carpeting.

Housing prices are pretty average... But the taxes are nuts.

Yes for long arms.

Handguns need to be purchased in New Hampshire, but they have a tiny little shop over the border in Portsmouth that they'll drive the gun to for you at no cost.

It's outside of that range (about 45 minutes from Manchester) but if you haven't been to KTP, it's well worth the drive.

I'm not sure where you are from, but if you are considering moving here to take a job as a firefighter, just know that many of the smaller towns are strictly volunteer.

The fee is per inspection, pass or fail, so yes, that part is normal.

It's unusual to find new issues the second time around, though, since they're inspecting the same stuff each time. That said, it is entirely possible for something new to fail between inspections.

Regardless, I would go to another shop and have them take a look before she gives any more money to the dealership.

Have you tried asking your coworkers?

They might already have a group that meets up after work. Then you'll not only have an idea of where to go, but you'll even know some of the people already.

Hannaford is owned by the same company as food lion, so that's probably the closest comparison.

If you want the best prices, though, you'll want a Market Basket.

I would suggest still going to Hannaford for meat, though.

I used to carry multiple licenses, but NH and Maine both went constitutional a few years back, and I think VTs been that way for a while now.

That lets you travel pretty freely without any license at all, everywhere the light touches. What about that shadowy place to the south? That's beyond our borders. You must never go there, Simba.

Honestly, you'll get used to it and either avoid Mass altogether (a great idea for various reasons), or just plan ahead to leave everything at home when you need to travel there. They do finally allow pepper spray now, though, so at least have some sort of defensive option.

No. Not if you're entirely remote. Your income taxes are based on the state you are physically in while working.

There are several exceptions: Connecticut, Delaware, Nebraska, New York, and Pennsylvania. If you work for a company located in one of those states, you'll owe them income tax.

If you work some in NH and some in MA, you'll need to pay taxes for the amount you earned while in MA.

If your company does not typically have remote workers, you may find they are incorrectly withholding Massachusetts income tax. This can be a little confusing and might trick you into thinking you owe MA tax. There's an extra form you'll need to file.

Mass did have some oddness during the prior two tax years (2020 and 2021) due to emergency orders relating to COVID.

More info at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-gross-adjusted-gross-and-taxable-income-for-nonresidents

As always, consult a professional, and don't trust strangers on the internet.

Can I see it?

Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country?

We started ours last week. Best to make sure it works when it's still over 40°outside, rather than finding out there's a problem when it's already below freezing.