VT vs NH for freedom

hv55maxx

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So I'm about two months from completing a house build in MA. Wife and I's plan was to buy more land across the street from us to prevent a hack development from popping up. So we've considered adding more land. Since the AG's bullsh!t, not buying anymore land in MA and feeding the machine. I am however stuck here due to family and work and unfortunately the wife being ripsh!t that I'd even consider moving to VT now that our house is almost done. So my attention has turned to nearby out of state land for the future.

Land use would be (for now) definitely hunting/shooting, maybe a camper or something, and a family pavilion eventually. Everyone raves about NH freedom (not bashing), but I would like to here people's thought on why I shouldn't buy land in VT about 30mins from our MA house. I'm not rich but we do well and this is something I'd like to pass on to future family eventually.



tl:dr talk me out buying land in VT instead of NH
 
between NH and VT, the gun issue is a relatively smaller one. if i recall suppressors are illegal in VT? someone correct me here if i'm wrong.

there are so many cultural differences. it's difficult to explain without possibly insulting people from NH and VT. I guess VT just seems more hippy and "out-there". at the same time there's more snobbery in VT....not bad snobbery, much of it is good...just a little more uppity? I love both states and would move to either any time I could.

Personally I fit into NH a bit better. My wife fits into VT perfectly.

tax structure also quite different. i would look into these topics before coming to a conclusion based on 2A issues.

I would like to hear how VT is viewed from the NH perspective, and vice versa....
 
I think VT is nicer in terms of aesthetics, but in the long runs guns are in danger in both states.


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If you think MA taxes are bad, try VT's. I had a camp in Northern Vt and every time you turned a corner you would be nailed with some new tax. They ding you even harder if your non resident. So beware of VT.
 
suppressors are legal in VT as of i think July last year (not yet for hunting). Stamford/Readsboro/Whitingham would be considered areas, maybe up as far as Shaftsbury. Generally really rural and not the same mindset as Burlington AFAIK. Would definitely stay out of the loonbat territories.

the appeal for either of them is no FA-10 system [smile] (although 4473)
 
vermont taxes property owners who live out of state at a higher rate than owners who live in state.

If you're in NH over 10 acres can be in "current use" states and the taxes are super low, like $50 a year depending on valuation. There's a penalty to put it in/ take it out of current use, usually about 10% of valuation. If you plan on building on the lot make sure you get 11 acres so you can take 1 acre out of current use and leave the 10 acres in current use.

Not sure about Vermont's current use laws but I'm sure they exist.

Vermont has sales tax. NH has rooms and meals tax. Vermont probably has state income tax, NH does not.

Personally we were considering moving to VT when we moved out of Somerville but ultimately decided it was too far from family and ended up in the Lakes Region. Now that we have a kid on the way we've moved to Portsmouth for better schools and to be that much closer to family in MA. I couldn't be happier that we moved to NH, glad we didn't move to VT and will most likely never move out of NH (unless it somehow goes full retard).

Oh yeah, and hunting with suppressor's is now legal here too.
 
suppressors are legal in VT as of i think July last year (not yet for hunting). Stamford/Readsboro/Whitingham would be considered areas, maybe up as far as Shaftsbury. Generally really rural and not the same mindset as Burlington AFAIK. Would definitely stay out of the loonbat territories.

the appeal for either of them is no FA-10 system [smile] (although 4473)

ex girlfriend is in shaftsbury ( transplant from new jersey ), beautiful town. bennington right there for shopping, manchester up the road for outlets.
quiet, nice gun range .

really pretty country up there, i loved the ride up to see her every week.
 
vermont taxes property owners who live out of state at a higher rate than owners who live in state.

If you're in NH over 10 acres can be in "current use" states and the taxes are super low, like $50 a year depending on valuation. There's a penalty to put it in/ take it out of current use, usually about 10% of valuation. If you plan on building on the lot make sure you get 11 acres so you can take 1 acre out of current use and leave the 10 acres in current use.

Not sure about Vermont's current use laws but I'm sure they exist.

Vermont has sales tax. NH has rooms and meals tax. Vermont probably has state income tax, NH does not.

Personally we were considering moving to VT when we moved out of Somerville but ultimately decided it was too far from family and ended up in the Lakes Region. Now that we have a kid on the way we've moved to Portsmouth for better schools and to be that much closer to family in MA. I couldn't be happier that we moved to NH, glad we didn't move to VT and will most likely never move out of NH (unless it somehow goes full retard).

Oh yeah, and hunting with suppressor's is now legal here too.

I am pretty sure you can use suppressors on your own property in VT too (not only at the range). However, as others have mentioned, not while hunting. Also, if you are in a rural area (most of VT), nobody cares. You can shoot from your porch on Sunday morning and never hear anything of it; suppressor or not. If one is interested in purchasing a large parcel for hunting etc, Vermont's Land Use Appraisal (current use) is also favorable. You can qualify with 25+ acres. We have a number of acres (the compound) and most of it is assessed at the current use rate (set by the state) at $135 an acre for 2016.
Vermont has a progressive income tax and a sales tax. We go to NH to buy most of our goods. Of course, we claim everything... http://www.bankrate.com/finance/taxes/state-taxes-vermont.aspx
I hope this information helps with your decision. I think both States have their advantages and disadvantages. It is what suites your situation. It is important to know that in VT, firearm ownership is protected by the state constitution. No license required.
 
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You really have to define what freedom is to you. If you're going to own a small business or you want to start farming, it's a different story than if you're going to be a corporate lawyer in Boston who just wants a tax refuge.

That being said, I prefer Vermont to New Hampshire in most categories. The reason why I'm in New Hampshire however is because I wanted to try it and because the college I'm at gave me a better scholarship offer than the one I applied to in Vermont.

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Less granola crunchers per capita in NH than VT too... [rofl2]

Eh, no.
 
Less granola crunchers per capita in NH than VT too... [rofl2]

Also far less gun shops in VT.

I just Googled "Gun Shops in Vermont" and it only turned up 30 in the whole state.
But it's likely proportional to population too, NH has 1.3 million people, while VT has only 630k, which is about equal to the population of Boston, but spread out over 9,623 square miles.
 
Also far less gun shops in VT.

I just Googled "Gun Shops in Vermont" and it only turned up 30 in the whole state.
But it's likely proportional to population too, NH has 1.3 million people, while VT has only 630k, which is about equal to the population of Boston, but spread out over 9,623 square miles.

The thing I've mostly noticed about Vermont is that on average, it's not the Gadsden Flag paradise that New Hampshire is. People from CT, Mass and RI who want to move to a more rural New England state usually go to New Hampshire. I did, my grandfather did.

Vermonters are usually more reserved when it comes to expressing their political beliefs for all to see, except for the Dems who are nanners for Bernie.

Take the Caledonia County Fair. One of the parts of it is a gun raffle. No ARs or AKs on the list, but the one gun store I know of in Lyndonville isn't exactly Shooter's Outpost. It's a small combination gun shop, ski shop and some other outdoor sports (kayaking?). It's right before the Chinese restaurant and the Miss Lyndonville Diner on the left side of the road if you're coming from I91.

http://caledoniacountyfair.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/CCf-Gun-Raffle2016.pdf

The fairs I've been to before, Woodstock, Washington County and Fryeburg didn't have gun raffles.
 
the one gun store I know of in Lyndonville isn't exactly Shooter's Outpost. It's a small combination gun shop, ski shop and some other outdoor sports (kayaking?). It's right before the Chinese restaurant and the Miss Lyndonville Diner

I've been in that Diner a few times in the 80's, back when my buddy had a home near there.
I remember getting the bacon stuffed cheese omelets and the loaf of homemade toast.

eatdrink020.gif
 
I've been in that Diner a few times in the 80's, back when my buddy had a home near there.
I remember getting the bacon stuffed cheese omelets and the loaf of homemade toast.

eatdrink020.gif

The food is still awesome and not expensive, I was up at the Diner a few weeks ago. I always get pie when I eat there and on occasion, I've brought home whole pies.
 
I looked in VT for 3 years, and couldn't find the rural retreat type of house with acreage I wanted that didn't have something that didn't have a major objection. I was looking within a 2 hour drive of metrowest, Wardsboro/Stratton/Newfane/Brookline, etc areas. One of the usual objections was property taxes. The idea of spending 6-12k on taxes was brutal when you added in carrying costs, and it made it a non-starter.

In NH (White Mountains, Plymouth area), I found a house that was on 125 acres and in the right town. With current use, my taxes are 3300/year and have been stable or gone down (very) slightly over a 4 year period. I could literally walk away from my job in Ma, be a greeter @ Wallyworld, and keep that house.

As far as gun freedom, I shoot my AR off my front porch at a steel target, or my barrett up my 1100 foot driveway towards the ridge.

Literally
 
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I looked in VT for 3 years, and couldn't find the rural retreat type of house with acreage I wanted that didn't have something that didn't have a major objection. I was looking within a 2 hour drive of metrowest, Wardsboro/Stratton/Newfane/Brookline, etc areas. One of the usual objections was property taxes. The idea of spending 6-12k on taxes was brutal when you added in carrying costs, and it made it a non-starter.

In NH (White Mountains, Plymouth area), I found a house that was on 125 acres and in the right town. With current use, my taxes are 3300/year and have been stable or gone down (very) slightly over a 4 year period. I could literally walk away from my job in Ma, be a greeter @ Wallyworld, and keep that house.

As far as gun freedom, I shoot my AR off my front porch at a steel target, or my barrett up my 1100 foot driveway towards the ridge.

Literally

Fair warning about Plymouth - it is liberal with the state college there and all PSU students mostly do is drink and partake of smokeable, herbal substances. Plymouth is also going to be one of the first if not the first marijuana dispensery locations. I have gotten jacked up for concealed carrying on campus grounds.
 
In NH (White Mountains, Plymouth area), I found a house that was on 125 acres and in the right town. With current use, my taxes are 3300/year and have been stable or gone down (very) slightly over a 4 year period. I could literally walk away from my job in Ma, be a greeter @ Wallyworld, and keep that house.

As far as gun freedom, I shoot my AR off my front porch at a steel target, or my barrett up my 1100 foot driveway towards the ridge.

That's my dream.
 
suppressors are legal in VT as of i think July last year (not yet for hunting). Stamford/Readsboro/Whitingham would be considered areas, maybe up as far as Shaftsbury. Generally really rural and not the same mindset as Burlington AFAIK. Would definitely stay out of the loonbat territories.

the appeal for either of them is no FA-10 system [smile] (although 4473)
Land in Stamford is expensive, and most of the good spots are gone. Readsboro property is a lot cheaper, and right now there are a LOT of homes for sale with no buyers, though I'm not sure how many empty lots are for sale. I'm not familiar with the Whitingham property situation, but I think it's more like Stamford than Readsboro.

Send me a PM if you want any more details. I grew up in Stamford and have been a Readsboro resident for 10 years now, so I'm quite familiar with the region.

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Also far less gun shops in VT.

I just Googled "Gun Shops in Vermont" and it only turned up 30 in the whole state.
But it's likely proportional to population too, NH has 1.3 million people, while VT has only 630k, which is about equal to the population of Boston, but spread out over 9,623 square miles.
There are gun shops everywhere, you just need to know where to look. Most of them are small one-man operations that the owner runs out of their house. They're here though, and they're all over.

A couple houses up from me in town is a MA gun store owner who also has a VT FFL. A couple towns to my east is a guy that runs a shop out of his house. A couple towns west of me there are 3 shops, one of which is also run out of the owner's house.
 
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There are gun shops everywhere, you just need to know where to look. Most of them are small one-man operations that the owner runs out of their house. They're here though, and they're all over.

A couple houses up from me in town is a MA gun store owner who also has a VT FFL. A couple towns to my east is a guy that runs a shop out of his house. A couple towns west of me there are 3 shops, one of which is also run out of the owner's house.

The google searches turn up mostly just storefront shops, not home-based FFL's.
NH has loads of these low profile, part time, one-man-show FFL's too, but without local knowledge, most people would never know these places existed. This makes it tough for people from outside the area to find them, and they don't usually have large inventories to browse through.
It's much easier to find these types of businesses by searching the FFL lists on GunBroker, but many are only open a few hours a week or by appointment only. I found a guy a few blocks away from me this way, but he never answered my email inquiry, so it's hard to tell if he runs a serious business or if he's just a hobbyist with an FFL.
 
The google searches turn up mostly just storefront shops, not home-based FFL's.
NH has loads of these low profile, part time, one-man-show FFL's too, but without local knowledge, most people would never know these places existed. This makes it tough for people from outside the area to find them, and they don't usually have large inventories to browse through.
It's much easier to find these types of businesses by searching the FFL lists on GunBroker, but many are only open a few hours a week or by appointment only. I found a guy a few blocks away from me this way, but he never answered my email inquiry, so it's hard to tell if he runs a serious business or if he's just a hobbyist with an FFL.

The small-time FFLs can be annoying. There's supposed to be one on my street, however the building looks run down and foreclosed upon. There is one in Campton near Exit 28, but he only has weekend hours and I needed a FFL during the week.

That being said, if you want to browse, you'd go to a bigger shop anyways. A small time, local FFL is basically where you accept a shipped-in gun. I've not had good luck with small time FFLs and low prices - they usually over charge IMO.
 
A small time, local FFL is basically where you accept a shipped-in gun. I've not had good luck with small time FFLs and low prices - they usually over charge IMO.

There was a guy in Nashua that had a shop in his garage, he didn't have a huge inventory, but his prices were really low and he only charged $25 to do a transfer. This included purchases on GB, CDNN and Davidsons. I'd still be dealing with him but he moved to Utah last year.

[sad2]
 
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