101 Reasons to move to Seabrook, New Hampsha

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1. Mildest winters in New Hampshire. With the mildest winter lows in the state (5-10 higher on average than Manchester) and less snowfall than almost anywhere else, Seabrook also has one of the best plowing service anywhere. The roads are open in Seabrook even when everything else is closed. This makes it possible to get in and out of the state more easily.
2. Mild summers, with more reasonable highs and less humidity than other parts of the state.
3. Low tax rates. With a fiscally conservative group of voters (shot down 13 of 28 spending articles in 2009) and a fiscally conservative group of Selectman. The property tax rate is just $11.56 per thousand, and folks are talking about how to get that rate back down to the more traditional $9.00 per thousand that residents are used to.
4. Low utility costs. Garbage pickup and recycling are both free, as is use of the transfer station. Sewer is also free.
5. Easy access to the beach, and free parking at Seabrook Beach for residents.
6. Easy access to Newburyport (10 min), Portsmouth (19 min), Amesbury (10 min), Manchester (40 min) and Boston (45 min). The town is great for commuters.
7. Roads are in great condition.
8. State LP Chairman Brendan Kelley on the Board of Selectmen, for two fiscal conservatives and one moderate.
9. Extremely lax zoning laws, and a simple $65 variance fee. Nearly all variances are approved unanimously by the Board of Selectmen.
10. Immediate access to I-95, Routes 1, 1A, 107, and 101.
11. More Ron Paul signs in people's yards during the primary than any other candidate.
12. Very proliberty climate, with many libertarians and constitutionalists in town.
13. Jobs. Counting engineering, retails, service, waiting, machining, repair, and residential work, there are more jobs in Seabrook year round than there are people to fill them. With the Seabrook power plant, dog track, and countless other businesses hiring, there is never a shortage of work, even in the current recession.
14. Seabrook Community Center - At almost no cost to residents, the SCC has a modest weight room, cardio room, locker rooms, basketball court, tennis courts, billiard tables, large screen tv, and other facilities.
15. Seabrook Fire Department - one of the best fire departments of any town this size.
16. Seabrook Police Department. Although we have 20 cops, they are generally very nice, professional, and the Board of Selectmen have reminded the Chief that residents want a friendly, professional, small town department.
17. Public schools - some of the best in the country, Seabrook takes special ed kids from neighboring towns, but does not try to push your kid into that program. Parents are generally pretty happy with the school, and the cost is slightly below the New Hampshire average. There is no pressing demand for the addition of new school buildings, and
18. Almost one-third of residents are retirees who generally vote for smaller government and lower taxes.
19. Almost no crime. Seabrook has, perhaps, the lowest crime rate of ANY town bordering on the ocean. Even Portsmouth sees more violent crime per capita. The total number of murders each year is almost always zero, and this is one of the few towns where people could leave their doors unlocked.
20. Ratio - The seacoast has a nearly even ratio of men to women, and particularly amongst younger folks.
21. Great place to raise kids.
22. Excellent place to start a business. With low taxes and a very pro-business climate, Seabrook is open to new shops and commercial development.
23. With only 7,000 residents and only about 1100 people casting ballots in each election, only a few votes are needed to
24. For folks interested in running for office, there are several uncontested positions (Trustee of the Trustees, Constable, etc) that go uncontested.
25. Four State Rep races are tightly contested each year. This is a good area to move to if you are considering running for State Rep in the future, and it is an important swing voting district.
26. Brendan Kelly has been promoting liberty here for almost ten years. Seabrook residents need little prompting.
27. Libertarian leanings. Residents here basically believe that your land, home, business, and life are none of the government's business.
28. Folks here are really friendly. The Post Office is known for the door opening that everyone does for everyone else.

Businesses - Right on the border with Mass, Seabrook has enough businesses in operation for a town of 30-40,000 residents. New places open up each year.
29. Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, and State Line Supply are all available. Most are hiring, also.
30. Starbuck's and Common Island Cafe are here, and both are very good stores
31. Kohl's and Famous Footwear have opened up just this March. Other stores are opening this summer. Target is planning on adding a store here soon.
32. Chili's and Prime Time Sports Grill are very good, here. There are also several really good restaurants at the beach, not all of which specialize in seafood.
33. Whale watching, for those who like that sort of thing.
34. Live Nude Ladies, one of only three nudy clubs in New Hampshire. For the connoisseur, Salisbury has four within a five minute drive.
35. Some of the cheapest gas stations in New England.
36. One of the better Wendy's restaurants around. The food there has been typically very good, and consistent.
37. Stacey Jane's. Technically in Hampton Beach, this is one of the nicest live band, karaoke, billiards bars in the area.
38. Prime Time Sports Grill, nearly as good as Stacey Jane's.
39. GNC, Sally's Beauty Supply, Body Shop, Game Stop, Advance Auto, NTB Tires, Wal*Mart, TJ Max, and countless other chain stores are available.
40. Dunkin Donuts, McDonald's, Taco Bell, KFC, and other franchises are present.
41. Lot of local food markets and stores. There are plenty of local video, CD, pawn,
42. Powerplant and dog track provide more interesting and higher paying jobs.
43. Seabrook is the bargain shopping capitol of the area, with more discount stores per capita than almost anywhere else. Your dollar goes farther, here.
44. Henkel, Superior Controls, Screen Gems, and countless hi tech firms do business here. Many are still hiring, right now, especially if you have an engineering degree or technical background.
45. Two Market Basket's, one Shaw's, and several small grocery stores, including numerous local catch and locally grown stores.
46. There are several good places for getting your car fixed, and the mechanics around here are quite reasonable.

People
47. Almost no racism or other discrimination to be found.
48. Most folks are careful drivers. You very rarely see or hear anyone driving recklessly. Car insurance rates seem to be cheaper here than elsewhere.
49. Cops tend to leave locals alone.
50. Cops don't hassle you for your "Guns are okay/ Communism sucks/ Ron Paul" bumper stickers.
51. Cops don't pick fights or cause problems for residents. Almost no bullying from police.
52. City inspectors are more reasonable for businesses and homeowners. Fines are very modest or nonexistent.
53. There are few restrictions for modifying or making additions to your home or business.
54. Salisbury Watershed offers twelve acres of wooded trails for day hikers. If occasional "plant" is growing out there, cops probably won't notice or care.
55. Immediate proximity with Mass allows access to the state's more lax drinking, pot, and nudy club laws.
56. Stores and bars offer a wide selection of New England's wonderful local microbrew products. Seabrook is definitely a friend to the beer drinker.
57. Big city benefits without big city problems (street prostitutes, homeless and beggers on streets).
58. Lots of gun owners. Gun ownership is almost ubiquitous for a town right on the border with Mass.
59. Seabrook Taxpayer's Association is still alive and well, meeting every week at the library. Seabrook also has a very high number of fiscally conservative independent voters and activists.
60. Seabrook Library has a large meeting room, a good selection of books, and plenty of computers.
61. Brand new condominiums for $99,000, $149k for a two bedroom condos.
62. Brand new homes available for around $240-300k.
63. Very quiet town with lots of places to run and bike.
64. Waterfront offers plenty of places to tie up a sailboat, or even a houseboat to live in.
65. There are many very small houses available right on Route 1 that are cheap to buy.
66. Mobile homes can often be rented from retirees during the winter months, since many are staying in Florida at that time.
67. Beautiful walks and scenery behind the Seabrook Community Center, by the ocean, along Route 286, and on Folly Mill Road.
68. Both Comcast and Fairpoint offer decent broadband access at reasonable rates.
69. For new movers, almost everything you need done, from establishing residency to getting a PO Box, from registering your car to registering to vote, can be accomplished at town hall or the neighboring Post Office, within walking distance of most homes.
70. Maxwell House (Max's place) is the site of many lively parties year round.
71. Seabrook is an excellent location for southern New England recruiting for the FSP, especially along the North Shore, where a lot of Mass's more fiscally conservative folks are.
72. There are tons of Ron Paul meetup groups, property rights groups, and taxpayer's groups in the north shore and Boston area to work with.
73. Both Brookah's and Movah's (new folks) are some of the most libertarian folks on the seacoast. There are lots of home schoolers, small business owners, and individualists in town. I have met very few people here that I would consider at all statist, and most of them have been from out of the area. The results of local election articles have shown a strong commitment to limited government and property rights. Few new laws pass, and rarely by a strong majority. None of the spending articles on the ballot passed without at least 30% voting in opposition.
74. There is not currently any need or desire on the part of residents to add any new facilities or services, and the town would not need anything additional even with nearly twice the population. Taxpayer's need not worry about wild eyed spending projects at any time in the near future.
75. Town issues are easily accessible with weekly Selectman, Budget Committee, and Planning Board meetings.
76. The papers in the area are almost all local, making is relatively easy to reach a lot of people here with letters to the editor and with other activism and events.

Does anyone else have suggestions? I know that this is by no means a complete list. Anyone who's spent any time in Seabrook knows that it is a great town to live in, start a business in, or raise a family in. It is also a politically important district going into the next decade, being the only swing district right on the coast. It is, in my mind, the best town on the seacoast for a kind of free town project. It is also a great destination point for new movers. With its mild climate and easy accessibility, it quickly removes many of the barriers that deter potential movers from migrating to New Hampshire.

Sounds nice...maybe this is the place to start out at and then later if i want to move to keene i can....how are the tech jobs in seabrook?

Nice work. But don’t refer to this as “free”:—

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4. Low utility costs. Garbage pickup and recycling are both free, as is use of the transfer station. Sewer is also free.

—unless this is all being provided by volunteers. It’s paid for by taxes.

#8... Former LP chairman.

You stop short on 23.
37 and 38 have too much overlap.
41 is confusing at the end.

maybe i should get started on my 101 reasons to move to portsmouth Grin

Quote from: lobstah on April 02, 2009, 10:37:06 am

maybe i should get started on my 101 reasons to move to portsmouth Grin

do it.

There is one for keene... one for NH in general.

I think all of the major ciites (towns) should do it.

I am leaving for NH hopefully right after halloween. I havent chosen a destination yet. Seabrook sounds great. Is there a website for that power plant that you mentioned? Im looking for a career change when I move.

23... needed to defeat bad measures.
37 and 38 are referring to two separate spots that are favorite hangouts for people. Both are open until 1pm, and both offer live bands, pool tables, and really good food. Prime Time Sports Grill has really good sweet potato fries for $4.
40 refers to national chains
41 refers to local stores

Remember that 101 Reasons to move to Keene had about 20 listings of INDIVIDUAL STORES, most of which are available in almost any town. That list also included more than a half dozen very solid reasons NOT to move there, and neglected the strongest, and also my personal reason not for moving: that so many of the people there really hate the anti-government pro-freedom crowd. Seabrook residents are definitely pro-freedom. I'm not trying to say that Keenites are bad people, but the ones I met there were definitely not anything like the liberty crowd you find in other parts of the state.

4. The power plant pays about half the property taxes in town, and the dog track and big box stores pay most of the rest, while adding very little to the tax burden. Once the low rate of $11.56 is accounted for, almost everything else in town is free or very cheap. For example, the Seabrook rec center ID card is only $5 and is good for four years. Parking is "free" in the sense that you don't have to pay for it all over again. It's already been covered. In Portsmouth, Manchester, Nashua, and Keene, you frequently have to feed the meter, which adds up quickly living in one of those towns, not to mention the parking fines when the meter runs a little fast (or someone very talkative holds you up). In those other towns, you have to pay higher property taxes, car taxes, fines, fees, etc... THEN you have to pay for parking, garbage pick up, recycling, sewer, etc.

Quote

and also my personal reason not for moving: that so many of the people there really hate the anti-government pro-freedom crowd. Seabrook residents are definitely pro-freedom. I'm not trying to say that Keenites are bad people, but the ones I met there were definitely not anything like the liberty crowd you find in other parts of the state.

But that's part of the fun! Seeing a die-hard statist open to freedom is a neat thing. I can understand not wanting to be surrounded by those kinds of people all the time, but with a strong community of liberty lovers AND a large pool of statists to convince, you really deal with the people you want to.

Great list.

Do I have to be 21 to get into these bars? I know alot of people hang out at the Taproom (isnt that what it's called?) and it would suck to not be able to join. Although I will not be far from 21 when I move.

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