Can We Save Money by living in NH

Submitted by Danvers1 t3_zf8nkx in newhampshire

Currently my wife and I are living in a 2-bedroom apartment and paying $1,600 a month rent. All utilities are included, except about $400 a year for electricity. We paid cash for a house and 12 acres of land in NH. The property tax is about $9,000 a year on that, plus about $1,000 a year homeowners' insurance. The house has a propane stove and propane backup generator, plus oil heat and a wood stove as backup. We will have to buy a ride on mower plus a snow blower, plus pay someone to plow the 300 yard long driveway. About 2 acres is covered by lawn, the rest is brush. I have done a quick calculation, and if we can keep total utilities and house maintenance under about $740 a month, the house in NH will actually be cheaper than the apartment in MA. Also, in NH, there is no sales tax and no state income tax plus car insurance is much cheaper. I looked up the numbers, and the cost of living in NH is supposed to be 14% cheaper than in MA. Of course, NH is catching up fast, and is no longer cheap. Plus such statistics are fairly rough, since they do not account for individual circumstances.

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Annual_Champion_1555 t1_izatk58 wrote

Sounds like you should have done this research before paying cash for a house… smh

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ElisabetSobeckPhD t1_izb20mm wrote

no you aren't going to save any more money.

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work-n-lurk t1_izeuy6f wrote

But, I thought NH was a Utopian Panacea for all my ills and none of my problems would follow me there?

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cutyolegsout t1_izb19l7 wrote

Heating cost and electric costs are through the roof currently. Almost 100% increase from last year. Property tax is typically higher than MA as well.

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SkiingAway t1_izak232 wrote

Do you work in MA? Because if you do, you're going to be still paying state income tax to MA.

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DeerFlyHater t1_izao4ym wrote

300' driveway? Just buy a snowblower.

OR, since you're surely going to buy a UTV to work on your property with, buy a blade for that.

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Got_The_Wiggins t1_izaki8y wrote

Provided all your acreage is contiguous, talk to the town about putting the excess into current use. It will reduce your tax bill.

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DeerFlyHater t1_izao06w wrote

Yep, assuming the home site is on less than 2 acres, they'll easily qualify to put the remainder in CU.

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OldTurkeyTail t1_izb4zrh wrote

>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.)

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Testing1102 t1_izbt1hg wrote

740 a month for utilities should probably be fine unless it leaks heat like a sieve. Check for internet availability. T Mobile does cellular internet in a pinch.

Heat and electricity are high right now. You paid cash so I assume you have no mortgage, that's huge.

Someone else also mentioned opportunity cost. Also gotta realize NH is way slower in terms of living vs MA.

Making friends can be hard, but if you're from NE already you probably know that.

Not trying to scare you away or anything, just things to consider.

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Danvers1 OP t1_izfd2qm wrote

Since we are moving from Mass, we are already used to high costs- the worst thing about NH is the winters. We are only moving 80 miles away, but over that distance, year round average temperatures drop about 10 degrees.

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[deleted] t1_izake7b wrote

How many sq feet is the house and how old is it?

Electricity is extremely expensive right now and so is heating oil.

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sapindales t1_izaszhv wrote

We really need to know how big and how old the house is to estimate heating/lighting costs. You could also ask for the previous owner's costs from last year. Oil, propane, electricity are all very expensive. There's also the question of where you'll work. I have a 40 minute commute compared to taking the T when I lived in MA. It's a big difference in gas and time cost.

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Quirky_Butterfly_946 t1_izanzph wrote

Well if you are going to heat with oil, it will run you a minimum of $550/100gal. Propane is also expensive about $300/100gal. Electricity has gone up quite a bit too expect on average 150/mo. Then there is internet/cable which for just internet looking at $100/mo. I stream rather than have cable but cable would be about $150/mo. So you are already up to $1250 and you have not paid for food/gas yet.

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smartest_kobold t1_izanmyq wrote

How much do you spend on snow cones between December and April?

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TheTr7nity t1_izc68k5 wrote

You can definitely save money by living in NH.

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Altruistic-Rise6398 t1_izb0wpo wrote

$740 could be my propane bill easily for a fill up. In the middle of winter they could come every two weeks. I paid much less when I lived in MA on town sewer, water and natural gas. Granted, I much prefer living in NH.

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JunkMilesDavis t1_izaxqzg wrote

Probably too many variables to say for sure when it comes to home ownership. You could come out ahead, or you could have an unexpected $30k expense fall in your lap next year.

You certainly could have bought much smaller and saved yourself a big chunk of tax burden and other expenses if saving money was a priority, but having land and extra living space can definitely be worth it if you can afford it. Hopefully it leaves you in a good position to downsize in the future if you want to.

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Danvers1 OP t1_izand91 wrote

No, I am retired. We are both planning to work in NH. The state income tax in MA is no picnic. Ironically, when rated to total tax burden, MA is no longer the worst, being outdone currently by such tax hells as California, New York, and New Jersey.

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