Greetings Keeniacs,
My wife and I are potentially relocating, and hopefully, to your area. My name is Chris and my wife is Mary Anne. I have been interested in moving to NH since I first heard about the FSP during the RP presidential campaign (whoever it was that asked him the question about what he thought of the FSP has my thanks). I am a Rothbardian free-market libertarian, and my wife is supportive of the cause (though not as involved as I am). I am a pharmacist (possibly the worst profession for a libertarian considering the war on drugs and its effects…and the MASSIVE regulations & laws that exist–I became a pharmacist prior to my awakening), and my wife is a nurse.
We are currently in a position to move with both of us being at a point where we are looking to change jobs at the same time. We have made a couple of trips to NH and have kind of settled on two areas. One is the lakes region (Laconia and surrounding areas) and the other is Keene & surrounding areas. During the last visit (this past weekend) we were looking for a place to grab us and give us that "welcome home" feeling. Keene did that. My wife loved the Main St area with the cafes/pubs/eateries as well as the eclectic mix of shops. She is big into organic foods and is a vegetarian. I like it b/c it is ground zero for the liberty movement. I would love to become an activist (though my wife would prefer that I not get arrested).
I am here b/c we would like to pick your collective & individual brains about some things (that may be answered on the rest of the forums as well). Once approved/accepted, we will take a look and ask away.
Welcome. I hope you & your wife chose Keene, it would be nice to have more couples/families in the area.
My wife & I had a similar "feeling" for Keene when we decided to move here. We are both recovering Massholes, having moved here from the western MA area in 2000. My wife had a bunch of interviews setup in New Hampshire & Vermont after graduating college with Keene being the first stop. After spending the weekend here we decided that it was the right place for us and she wound up canceling the other interviews. Ten years later and we are still here! I gotta say that I love the fact that Keene is the epicenter of outside the system activity.
Chris
Welcome to the forums and sorry I missed seeing you when you visited.
Welcome! The Monadnock region of NH is pretty great.
Also, submit your application for a professional license ASAP if you haven't already done so.
Look forward to meeting you.
I grew up in Keene, and can confirm it's a pretty awesome town 
(even more so now that there are liberty activists around, I'm sure)
Thank you everyone! I haven't been this excited in years…
I learned the term Massholes this trip–I cracked up hearing about it…we were talking to an older gentleman in Holderness and we mentioned that most of the loud obnoxious people seemed to have heavy Mass. accents and he said "they are Massholes mainly, most people from NH are good people I have found". My wife and I cracked up.
I was actually going to try and connect with some liberty people when in NH but we had such a whirlwind tour and on such short notice that it just seemed more prudent to poke around on our own. It sounds as if we are almost 100% set on moving at this point. And the move may occur sooner rather than later. Perhaps middle to end of summer.
One thing that I would like peoples opinions on is Keene vs surrounding areas. Keene has fairly outrageous property taxes…surrounding areas much less so. We found several homes in Stoddard, Surry, Nelson, etc…that have very low property taxes and I was wondering what your takes are on this. Is not living in Keene proper a serious detriment to the cause? Is it the easy way out to avoid the property taxes? and what do you know of these areas (and others)? are there other liberty activists living in them?
[quote author=criff10 link=topic=3228.msg35639#msg35639 date=1274420468]
Thank you everyone! I haven't been this excited in years…
I learned the term Massholes this trip–I cracked up hearing about it…we were talking to an older gentleman in Holderness and we mentioned that most of the loud obnoxious people seemed to have heavy Mass. accents and he said "they are Massholes mainly, most people from NH are good people I have found". My wife and I cracked up.
I was actually going to try and connect with some liberty people when in NH but we had such a whirlwind tour and on such short notice that it just seemed more prudent to poke around on our own. It sounds as if we are almost 100% set on moving at this point. And the move may occur sooner rather than later. Perhaps middle to end of summer.
One thing that I would like peoples opinions on is Keene vs surrounding areas. Keene has fairly outrageous property taxes…surrounding areas much less so. We found several homes in Stoddard, Surry, Nelson, etc…that have very low property taxes and I was wondering what your takes are on this. Is not living in Keene proper a serious detriment to the cause? Is it the easy way out to avoid the property taxes? and what do you know of these areas (and others)? are there other liberty activists living in them?
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I can't say from a liberty activism perspective, since I'm currently in CA. But, my home was actually in Surry, and from a practical standpoint, I would certainly say living in surrounding communities is far better. You can be as little as 10-15 minutes from downtown, and be completely in the country – there are some really beautiful areas. Taxes are lower, as are housing prices – we had six acres of woods, a great view, and a two story ranch. My folks sold it for $150,000 (although I'm sure prices have gone up somewhat since then).
On those issues at least, in my opinion, it's a no brainier.
Welcome. Not everyone has to do the disobedience - we need supporters, too. Someone to take care of animals while a disobedient is in jail, etc.
Keene's property taxes are high, but that can be overcome by owning a multifamily. You could rent it to activists and create a Porc Manor. You'd create activist housing and be able to afford to live in the city.
Though if you want something in the woods, there is indeed plenty of that around here, and yes the taxes are lower.
Welcome.
Keene and the surrounding areas are just beautiful.
Living here in NH is wonderful and I hope you enjoy living here.
There are lots of ways to get involved and be an activist and not have to get arrested.
I am currently compiling a list of activism options here in NH that are not civil dis or
working in the political system. It will be ready for Porc fest and it will be made available to Free Keene too.
Many people move here and quietly work on the things that matter the most to them.
Most of what is going on in the pro liberty movement never makes on the forums or Youtube.
Your wife might even find a group or cause to volunteer for once she arrives.
Welcome!
Surry, Westmoreland, Stoddard and Walpole are all decent property taxes as long as you can find a decent priced house in the town. The taxes may be a little lower in Stoffard but it is even more out of the way. If you are trying to avoid the extreme property taxes the majority of the voters in Keene support, living in a modest place in one of those towns will do it. Consider that you will likely want snow tires, at least, living in one of those towns.
Living in Stoddard puts you a little closer to Concord, also. In case you want to get involved with the job economic, political or social scenes there. Keep in mind, Keene is not a big city and the job market here is somewhat limited.
Ian's idea also works. You can get a duplex for under $200,000 even after the fix-up costs and buying fees in Keene and then use the $800 to $1200 a month you collect in rent to pay for your property taxes and utilities. You could even buy a couple duplexs and use them for income.