Texas or New Hampshire?

[TexAg]

NH has no income tax OR sales tax, so they beat TX there.

For guns laws, the biggest advantage NH has over TX is where you can carry. In NH, you can carry almost anywhere, except a courtroom. In TX, you have the silly no carry in schools or in bars, and the 30.06 bullcrap.

Yeah you can't carry in schools and there is the 30.06 signs, but I have only seen a picture of one and not one in real life. The good thing, is that we can drive for hundreds and hundreds of miles, through TX, into OK, LA, NM soon, CO, etc. and not worry about putting the gun in the trunk or whatever.

 

[rritter]

I lived 8 years in New Hampshire, and then moved back to Texas. Both states are good places to live, but you and your girlfriend have opposite climate requirements. That's not gonna make things easy.

New Hampshire - no income tax, no sales tax, but my property taxes were twice what they are in Texas. No NH cities stay warm in the winter - they all freeze, some harder than others! Heating bills can be high - avoid houses with electric heat.

Texas - no income tax, but sales tax. Property tax rates about half of NH. No Texas cities stay cool in the summer - they all get hot, and some get hot and HUMID. Air conditioning is your friend. Power bills for A/C generally not as high as heating bills in New England.

Texas has more cities with good jobs - Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, San Antonio. NH has Nashua, and by now maybe Manchester. Lots of NH folks live in NH and work in Massachusetts. Both states have nice countryside to live in. NH is mainly trees, Texas can get you anything but tundra, depending on where you settle - forest, plains, hills, mountains, desert, seacoast, etc.

Mexican food - in NH, Taco Bell counts as a decent Mexican restaurant and may be the best in town. New England food in general is very bland, but seafood can be good. Texas has way more coastline than NH, so fresh seafood can be had here, also. More shrimp than lobster, though. Good asian food (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian) is available in both states.

Choose well, grasshopper!

 

[springmom]

CCW in TX requires $140 for 5 years (renewal $70), requires a 10-15 hour training course, and fingerprints. Processing may take up to 180 days. 30-60 days is an optimistic estimate.

Maybe I read too much into the original post, but I somehow got the impression he was retiring? If so, the CHL (not ccw) in Texas is quite a bit less as of 9/1/05. And processing does NOT take 180 days. I had mine in less than 60, and that is standard, not "optimistic". Sorry, but wrong.

Springmom

 

[springmom]

Big polluted cities surrounded by zero-lotline SUV-in-every-driveway soccermom developments, you mean. The air of Dallas, for one, is nasty.

NH at least still has clean air and lots of forest between towns.

Well, if you haven't checked the map lately, there's a lot more to Texas than Dallas......

Sheesh.

Springmom

 

[palerider1]

move to Texas,,,,the girls are prettier there and the gunlaws are less strict.. sorry New Hampshire,,,been to both places and Texas has you beat.

 

[Texfire]

Yeah I was thinking about Austin. Everyone says it's the liberal city in Texas but to me it seems pretty conservative...compared to my state.

Hmmm might be a new Austin slogan. Austin Texas, where even the liberals are conservative.

Tex

 

[garyk/nm]

Just curious as to why these 2 choices? There are a lot of good places to live NOT in those 2 states.
Flagstaff, AZ is one place which you both might like, as opposed to Santa Fe, which is mostly California dressed in suede and turquoise.

Seriously, there are other places to live.

 

[NMshooter]

But Gary, if he comes here he has to become ONE OF US (cue sinister music)



New Mexico is not that bad, certainly better than California.

And unlike Texas you can fill your vehicle with loaded guns legally.

 

[Legion1776]

"......Big polluted cities surrounded by zero-lotline SUV-in-every-driveway soccermom developments, you mean. The air of Dallas, for one, is nasty..."


LOL. Nothing like the stench of Harry Hines Blvd. on a scorching August afternoon.

 

[sm]

Born and raised in the South.

No offense, but anytime a person "not from around these parts" would come down to the South, business or just visting, especially from New York City, or San Francisco..

We made it clear...not hinted...clear..."We are dead set on keeping what we got a secret".
" Ha Ha, your kidding?"
<stern looks>

"Yooze guyz are not kidding?"

I hear NH is a nice place. Enjoy, send a Postcard...

--
Texas.
I am considered a Texan, Southern for damn sure. Just the Stork totally screwed up and dropped me in AR.

Spent a lot of time in TX. Burned up many a mile , and fired tens of thousands of rds in TX.

I know where Spring TX is. [what is the statue of limitations btw?]

See you run to Galvenston to get BIG shrimp, then head to Beaumont, to pick up the gun you had worked on, you buy another while there, and miss all that North of Houston traffic heading to The Woodlands. Spring is on the way.

That was me in the Blue GMC short bed with a chest freezer , tail gate down.
Plugged in when before I left, Plug back in at Beaumont, Shrimp is still frozen when I hit The Woodlands.
Unload freezer wth Shrimp, get the HUGE Pot a boiling, Kegs are ready...
Beats wagging ice chests and buying ice.
WE do Fried, and Boiled shrimp.

Proper Shrimp Gun in Texas? - I was using a Steel Combat Commander with Ivory stocks.

Someone check on Springmom, I think she done got a case of the vapors...



Put your hand over your heart and face Texas- Hell Yeah!

Steve

 

[wdlsguy]

NM soon

Right now, actually.

http://www.dps.nm.org/faq/reciprocity_list05.pdf

 

[Cosmoline]

If you can't make it up here, move to Texas.

Like the yoik goes, Hey ho yeah yeah yeah Texas Texas Texas Texas

 

[TIMC]

One of the biggest thing I have not seen mentioned is You can shoot at the outdoor ranges all year round without being in snow up to your butt! and you car/truck does not rust away from all the salt use on the roads.

 

[hank327]

Please Go To New Hampshire!

Texas is AWFUL! It gets hotter'n blue blazes here. You've never lived until you've spent a day in Houston when it's 108 degrees and 95% humidity.(Labor Day weekend 2001) There is no getting around the fact that Texas is hot.
In fact, General William Tecumseh Sherman upon touring Texas after the Civil War remarked, "If I owned Texas and I owned Hell, I'd rent out Texas and live in Hell".

We have tornados that flatten whole towns, http://jarrell-tornado.area51.ipupdater.com/

Hailstorms with hailstones the size of softballs: http://www.stormtrack.org/library/1995/hail.htm

Hurricanes that flatten whole regions:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9389157/

It gets cold too. Here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area it reached -2 degrees below zero in 1990 or 1991 IIRC. It doesn't snow much, but we do get ice storms and those are always fun. There is now snow/ice clearing equipment in Texas so driving is always a thrill aftern an ice storm. We have "blue northers" like the one in December of '83 when at 5 pm it was in the 70's and two hours later it was in the 'teens'. By morning it was in the single digits. See here: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=5240&id=6099
Texas is a hard place to live when compared to SoCal.

The air pollution is bad, the traffic is horrible and getting worse by the day. We are being overrun by invaders from south of the border and from north of the Red River. Please go to New Hampshire as Texas is full up!

PS: I can now relate to that old Alaskan saying from the pipeline construction days. It went something like, "Happiness is 10,000 Okies headed south with a Texan under each arm!".

 

[North Texan]

If you want some info on Lubbock, I'd be happy to oblige.

Couple of highlights...

90th largest city in the U.S. but it still feels like a small town. Heck you can get all the way from one side of town to the other in twenty minutes (and that's on a bad day!)

In November 2005 was named by Money Magazine as the most affordable college town in the U.S.

We have really nice folks here.

90th largest, but 2nd most conservative!

I am taking full advantage of the affordability as we speak.

Plus, we have Crickets, Jake's, Chimey's, and Fox and Hound.

 

[drinks]

However;
If you are within 50 miles of the coast in Texas the vehicle will soon resemble lace.
All of Texas gets Very Hot, at least part of the year.
I forget which yankee general said it, but it was " If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell".
Of course, those of us in Texas would say,:Good riddance".
All of Texas gets hot, some parts longer than others, the southern 3 rd is normally humid, but has the best recreational oportunities.
The area west of I.H.35 is, in general , low in fertility and short on rainfall.
The Dallas - Ft. Worth area east is pretty nice country, has a drought or 2 and has very wet spells.
The South Eastern part is also nice, does get very hot, has almost no freezes, but when it does , it is usually a 3 to 10 day spell of freezing rain, sleet, snow and other crud shipped down from up north.
This happens about every 9-12 years.
There is a bunch of fishing, if you like sunfish, large mouth and spotted bass and catfish, all year long.
Unless you move to Lubbock, the major body of water there is " Buffalo Wallow Lake" , actually a place where buffalo used to uinate and then wallow in it, now , an outlet for the sewer plant.
Don

 

[rangerruck]

i am bias, but there is definitely a spirit here that is unlike anywhere else in the whole world, you can tell poeple you are from this or that state, when you are in a foreign country or if you meet them here. and they will say oh, that nice. But when you say"well , i'm from Texas" something lights up in their faces and they want to know about it. we play hard, we pray hard, the economy kicks everybody elses butt, if you live in housotn , yes you will fry in the summer, as you will in new york, you will just have more days of it here, In houston you are 1 to 2 hrs dirve time away form everthing. if you like big open plains, drive west, if you like snow drive norht , if you like the big rolling pine country , drive norhteast. if you like the beach drive south. As long as you live above i-10 you will burn up a little less. i -10 is really like the mason dixon line of weather in texas. taxes are low, it is a right ot work state, the gun laws here ae pretty decent, there are a ton of places to go and shoot. the history of the state of texas is very unique it is well worht learning , even if they no longer teach it in school. if you like sports, then Texas is king, especially football. Ii is also a right to work state, and the Dem mayor of housotn Bill white, actually took on the different power broker downtown groups and the unions, what guts! i have not voted for a dem in years, but if this guy runs for anything , i will vote for him. besides, i think the greatest speech ever given was called "not yours to give" if i remember right it was given either by Travis or Crockett. when finished he realized that the others werent seeing things the way he did, and he said this, "to hell with Tennessee, I'm going to Texas!"
yes there are more pretty girls here in texas per square mile, than anywhere else, but that wont matter to him , he has a main squeeze allready. that siad you may watn to stay away from Dallas, there can be pockets of high nose snobbery there.

 

[Johnny_Yuma]

The heat will make you a better man!

I spent 7 years in Dallas. North Carolina is nice but I very much miss being in Texas. Texans are rough, rugged, tough, honorable, and friendly. In short, they are the best people in the world and I miss them very much.

Never been to New Hampshire. Don't intend to go, neither.

 

[cbsbyte]

New Hampshire is the best. The state has lakes, mountains, rivers, hills, seashore and its close to Boston(ok that is more a negative, than a positive). There is little crime in NH except in certain areas of Concord. Unlike Texas thare are no extemely hot summers, hurricanes, tornados or illegals problems in NH. People from NH don't have funny accents. There are longer winters, but this year it has been mostly rain. Southern NH is the only place in the state for year round jobs. The northern or central parts are more geared towards logging, farming and tourism. Many high tech industry moved into the state from Mass back in the ninetys. Strum Ruger moved their rifle/shotgun manufacturing plant to the state some years ago from Connecticut.

Besides property taxes, NH does have luxury taxes on certain high price items, and taxes on Dining and Lodging.

 

[edave]

Compared to Cali, either Texas or New Hampshire would be an upgrade to a freer America!

As far as gun laws go, NH likely has Texas beat. Owning Class III weaponry is no big deal (assuming you have the money for Class III stuff), and, with the exception of Alaska and neighboring Vermont, CCW doesn't get much better: shall-issue (since 1923!), no training requirement, no fingerprinting, permits cost $10 for four years and by law must be issued (or denied in writing, denial appealable to court) within two weeks, state-wide preemption of local firearms ordinances (so uniform laws state-wide, cities can't make up their own firearms ordinances), and the only statutory carry prohibition is for courthouses. Open carry is also legal, although you don't see it in the (few) cities all that often.

As mentioned previously, no personal income tax (though there is a tax on dividends and interest), no capital gains taxes, no sales taxes. Property taxes are higher, though.

With regards to weather, however, if you don't like, um, cooler weather, then New Hampshire might not be for you. Although it was in the mid-40's today -- t-shirt and shorts weather.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[TechBrute]

Let me say this, if you whine as much as Hank does, move elsewhere. We Texas men have a reputation which he is not helping.

 

[Stand_Watie]

Kindly don't paint New England with one brush. Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are friendly to gun owners and excellent places to live. NH is the best of course (I may be a LITTLE biased).

+1

Northern New England is nothing like southern, with the exception of the trendy areas with a lot of transplants from New York and Boston.

Northern New England doesn't have the job opportunities that Texas has, but that said, the rural parts of Texas that are the most equivalent to Northern New England don't either.

Rregarding people - the people are just as kind and decent in both places - the difference is just cultural - Texans are more smiley and chatty and New Englanders (rural) are more reserved.

As someone has already mentioned, there is no place in Texas that doesn't get miserably hot in the summer, and no place in NH that doesn't get miserably cold in the winter.

Perhaps (qualified) if your career issues are right, the far northern tip of panhandle Texas might be the spot, as you are within just a couple hours drive of Colorado cool mountain climes for weekend escapes. But if you're willing to go that far north for good gun laws, include NW Oklahoma as they have good gun laws too. I'd also consider Nevada and Arizona. Both states with good gun laws and parts of the state that are warm almost year round but within spitting distance of cooler mountain climates.

 

[Devonai]

There is hope for Massachusetts yet. The legislature just soundly defeated a bill that would have allowed illegal aliens and their children to qualify for the residential (and therefore lower) college tuition rages. Plus Ted Kennedy can't live forever.

I think the best measure of firearms laws is how often you notice them. In NH, once you pay your $10 for your carry permit you won't have to think about them for four years. If you're into SBRs, supressors or Class III all you have to do is fill out the paperwork and pay the $200 to the feds.

As for the weather, some of us consider the frozen landscape to be beautiful.

 

[Essex County]

Some of my Texas friends do not know of witch they speak....... I feel qualified to give some insight. First the Gun laws are a plus in N.H. Absolutely no problem, I'm a vermonter and they have no problem giving me one. You can walk around with a loaded handgun without a permit if it's not concealed by clothing. Even after the property tax issue you come out ahead. Good paying jobs are plentiful in southern N.H.,harder to come by in the North Country. I love South Texas with all my heart. I've lived in Laredo for four years and Eagle Pass more recently for three more. I miss the friends and the great Tex-Mex. Just don't give opinions on N.H. if you haven't lived there............Essex

 

[TheArchDuke]

To springmom, No I'm not retiring. I haven't even started my career. Turned 20 in November. I gotta get my stuff together before I can move anywhere. Hopefully that will be just about 4 or 5 years.


To whoever was from NH Hampshire and said 40 degrees was tee-shirt weather, That place sounds like heaven to me haha. I love the cold. There's nothing more beautiful than rolling hills of silvery snow with black finger-like trees reaching for huge puffy clouds. I love winter.

But I think I'm gonna have to go to Texas. Not to sound disappointed or anything. Texas seems like an awesome place. New Hampshire doesn't seem like it would have much of a job market for a graphic designer/animator like myself haha.