The state uses lot size by soil type, where if I recall correctly, decent soils will yield about 4 bedrooms per acre. This document is more specific, with a lot sizing section starting on page 41.

https://www.des.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt341/files/documents/2020-01/Env-Wq%201000.pdf

Towns can - and often do require lots to be bigger than this minimum which is 30,000 sq. ft. for a relatively flat parcel with very good soil, which can get pretty tight with individual wells - each with a big protective radius, and individual septic systems. Historically some minimum lot sizes were established in order to minimize any contamination of wells from septic systems, which made sense when land was inexpensive, and it didn't cost so much to be extra careful.

But of course now (and probably also to some extent historically) towns with bigger lots tend to be more exclusive - which is a horrible reason to keep 2 or 3 acre minimums.

And besides that, individual homes tend to bring in a lot less in taxes than what most towns will have to spend for schools to support the new students. Which makes senior restricted housing more attractive than homes for families.

In any case, places that have town or city water, and waste treatment have much more potential for higher density. While there are some opportunities for improvements in smaller towns, but in most cases it will be a hard sell locally. And imposing new state regulations on towns is a slippery slope that has already limited the flexibility of local government in many ways.

In our town we did pass an ordinance allowing each single family home to have an accessory apartment (as long as the septic system is sized for the total number of bedrooms). And I'd love to see one tiny home as an alternative (or additional) option.

Merry Christmas!

>State Park Plate Fee $85

Thank you for your contribution - but it seems that this skews any cost of ownership comparison. (Isn't the CT $15 fee mandatory?)

We've lived here for close to 30 years, and prioritized comfort over keeping things fresh. I'd choose this house the way it is - over the new homes nearby, but even the newer part of the house is over 20 years old, and I'm sure that you'd consider it to be dated - at best.

But the house does have some nice features, and we're hoping to find someone who's okay with things as they are - and can imagine what they might do in the future to make it work better for them.

Are you confusing Berlin with Claremont?

>We paid cash for a house and 12 acres of land in NH

So if you're looking at the true cost of living there, about $1400 a month has to be added to the expenses you've listed above - as a somewhat lowball estimate of the opportunity cost associated with the cash needed to buy a house in NH on 12 acres.

And if it's much less than that, either your home maintenance is going to be more than you expect, or it's a pretty small house - possibly in the middle of nowhere. (Which is all perfectly fine - but the point is that whatever the opportunity cost is - it has to be considered. In NH - or anywhere else.)

But cost does go up with multiple layers of bureaucracy. Imho, there are areas in which the state has too much power, but overall NH government is reasonably efficient (at least compared to other states).

That said, our decision making process is pretty slow in NH, and imho a cumbersome process is feature, and not a bug.

>NH state government is absurdly large and unwieldy.

This first random link has NH state spending as 46th in the nation.

https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/per-capita-state-spending/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Per%20Capita%20State%20Spending%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D