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[freedomroad]

Don't just take my word for it. Here is Forbes list of America's Best Cheap Cities.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/13/cheap-cities-property-lifestyle-real-estate-cheap-places-chart.html

Manchester-Nashua, NH Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked #1.

[Sarasyn]

It's interesting to view this from a different perspective.  I wonder if the whole concept of the barrier to enter New Hampshire has other effects.  Sure, for a single person you can pick up a room mate and live on the cheap, but I have a family of 6 and a cat to worry about.  Some of the prices I've seen for a 1br home in New Hampshire have been more expensive than our 3br trailer in Texas.  As far as buying power goes, we may not have sales tax to contend with up there anymore, but we're very minimalist when it comes to buying as well.  We don't exactly pay out a lot in sales tax.  Since we don't own, we don't have to pay residential tax, and Texas has no state income tax.  We've pretty much come to the decision that when we leave we're leaving as much behind as possible.  We've never had problems finding free or cheap furniture and the like (all of our furniture but my bed was free) and it would be a great time to downsize on toys and the like, but I'm a little worried about living in a place that many would consider too small with four kids.  Are there landlords that would want to rent a 2 bedroom to a family with four kids and a cat?  Honestly, we've done it before (with one less kid at the time) and would do it again until we can get set up, but it's something to consider.

I'm not saying that we're totally writing the whole thing as "too expensive".  Truth be told I'm ready to just buy an RV, pack it with everything essential, and if there are more things we're just not ready to get rid of and can't cram in the RV, then get a small trailer to haul the rest of it.  We could live in an RV for the cost of the space we're staying in without having to worry about a landlord telling us how many people we can have, and it would probably be significantly cheaper, but I also have to take my ex-husband's opinion of the older kids' situation in mind.  We're also low income and have lost some financial stability as a result of losing our car a year and a half ago.  By the end of 2013 we should be back on our feet and by the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015, we're planning to move, unless circumstance affords it to happen earlier.  We're still planning the move, but it would be great if financially we had the same freedoms as a single person or a couple with no children to say, "the heck with it, let's move!"  We would be able to swing the move at the end of our lease instead of a year or two.

[freedomroad]

It is certainly cheaper if your go the mobile home route but even craigslist, which is known for having expensive rents, has plenty of decent deals.

http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?topic=26528.0

[plasma1010]

It is certainly cheaper if your go the mobile home route but even craigslist, which is known for having expensive rents, has plenty of decent deals.

http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?topic=26528.0

Are you talking renting a plot of land and living in a mobile home on it ?

[freedomroad]

It is certainly cheaper if your go the mobile home route but even craigslist, which is known for having expensive rents, has plenty of decent deals.

http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?topic=26528.0

Are you talking renting a plot of land and living in a mobile home on it ?

I was referring to "our 3br trailer in Texas."

[deathsythe]

I'm not finding that to be the case at all, since I am moving within a few days from Long Island, a lot seems to be cheaper in NH compared to here.

Try renting a single room in a decent area for any less then $800 a month around here. Impossible. So I'll be renting for less and making the same amount I did here on Long Island, but without the Income and Sales tax. The other bonus is that I will be working on a farm and getting a lot of free food. Gas was cheaper. I found more options to buy bulk food in NH. More open areas and recreation. Less laws.

For me it's a win-win.

I would be coming from Long Island as well friend. My plans aren't as forward as yours are - waiting for my better half to finish nursing school. But I would love to pick your brain about NH, the move, and your reasoning behind it (I'm sure we are like minded individuals, or we wouldn't be here in the first place, right? haha)


Best of luck.

[plasma1010]

I'm not finding that to be the case at all, since I am moving within a few days from Long Island, a lot seems to be cheaper in NH compared to here.

Try renting a single room in a decent area for any less then $800 a month around here. Impossible. So I'll be renting for less and making the same amount I did here on Long Island, but without the Income and Sales tax. The other bonus is that I will be working on a farm and getting a lot of free food. Gas was cheaper. I found more options to buy bulk food in NH. More open areas and recreation. Less laws.

For me it's a win-win.

I would be coming from Long Island as well friend. My plans aren't as forward as yours are - waiting for my better half to finish nursing school. But I would love to pick your brain about NH, the move, and your reasoning behind it (I'm sure we are like minded individuals, or we wouldn't be here in the first place, right? haha)


Best of luck.

Yeah, any particular questions ? I've been here 4 months now and there are many, many more pros then NY. I'll never be moving back to NY because it is just impossible to live in that state again for many reasons, there are some cons to NH, and may be a place more suited for myself (VT for example), but overall it's not a bad place to live. The police and jail corruption seems high here (obviously so is NY), and the social life will never match that of NY.

I think the biggest thing, to be honest, that you would notice and know as being from Long Island, is that constant, go, go, go, socialize, converse, get out and do something mentality us LI / NYers have isn't really so present here. The context of the conversations and general life is just is different outside of LI / NYC area, so you would know this if you have ever lived elsewhere.

[jbaldwin]

I moved over a year ago with someone else and I didn't use the assets that the FSP members provide, these are some of the barriers that I encountered. 
1.  I had problems finding a job without an apartment, and finding an apartment without a job. 
2.  In Virginia landlords would act quickly to snag a potential tenant; in New Hampshire they tended to be slower acting (in my experience that is). 
3.  Housing costs were greater; which seemed to be caused by subsidized housing that quite a few of my neighbors enjoyed. 
4.  I solved that by getting an apartment on a month to month basis for around 800 a month (1600 total down), and then desperately searching for a job for three weeks (selling a car in the process). 
5.  I found a job an hour away, and miles away from my skill-set. 
6.  Once I moved closer to my job (after getting hired four months after being a temp), I found that the energy costs in the Northern part of the state are much higher than I was used to (damn you electric/propane heat).

That said, I now make a pretty decent wage, enjoy fresh mountain air (not the stink of many parts of Richmond), I can jog without looking down at shell casings and used condoms, there are half a dozens jobs open for me if I quit my current job, the people are friendly and less prone to assaulting those different than them (e.g. black on white, straight on gay crime), and the state I live in is getting better. 

[Alex Libman]

I'm currently "homeless" (living in a tent in the woods) in Lakewood, NJ.  This is not really related to the economy - in theory I've walked off a high-paying programming job and been living cheap ever since.  "Tax resistance", you see.  Right now I'm involved in some mild activism in this town, protesting for the "Right to Homestead government land" (it's a camp of homeless people that the municipal government wants to clear out).  I've also had some psychological issues that I should probably resolve before moving to NH for good.  But when I feel that I'm ready, financial issues will not hold me back - even if it means spending a NH winter in a tent.

[freedomroad]

Please don't live in a tent in NH in the Winter. I don't want to see you die. If you are a hard worker, and move in the Spring, there are likely farms you can live on for free. Maybe even making money working there. Heck, you might even be able to find a job watching houses for people in the Winter or something. I recommend people have 3 months of living expenses, just in case, before moving to NH.

[plasma1010]

I'm currently "homeless" (living in a tent in the woods) in Lakewood, NJ.  This is not really related to the economy - in theory I've walked off a high-paying programming job and been living cheap ever since.  "Tax resistance", you see.  Right now I'm involved in some mild activism in this town, protesting for the "Right to Homestead government land" (it's a camp of homeless people that the municipal government wants to clear out).  I've also had some psychological issues that I should probably resolve before moving to NH for good.  But when I feel that I'm ready, financial issues will not hold me back - even if it means spending a NH winter in a tent.

If you're gonna just come here with essentially no plan, go through WWOOF it's one of the few ways it's going to actually work out in the long run. I've lived all over the place through that.

[Alex Libman]

I'll eventually start coding again - exclusively for Bitcoins. 

[Eric Burdette]

I'm currently "homeless" (living in a tent in the woods) in Lakewood, NJ.  This is not really related to the economy - in theory I've walked off a high-paying programming job and been living cheap ever since.  "Tax resistance", you see.  Right now I'm involved in some mild activism in this town, protesting for the "Right to Homestead government land" (it's a camp of homeless people that the municipal government wants to clear out).  I've also had some psychological issues that I should probably resolve before moving to NH for good.  But when I feel that I'm ready, financial issues will not hold me back - even if it means spending a NH winter in a tent.

If you're gonna just come here with essentially no plan, go through WWOOF it's one of the few ways it's going to actually work out in the long run. I've lived all over the place through that.

If I may ask what exactly is WWOOF?

[CMHolman3]

http://www.wwoofinternational.org/

Excellent way to travel. Gonna second him on that. Great way to get a roof over your head and food in your stomach, and still have enough time to find a "regular job". My main barrier is my credit. I was hit with a random IRS bill at a very young age (for no reason, may I add), that has ruined my credit. I have been working and supporting myself in the meantime easily. I am hoping I can find a place to stay without being subject to credit checks if I have a job lined up? Also, how easy is it to line a job out there? I guess just curious about the job market in general. Any info. would be much appreciated.

Thanks