Boston-area?

[ECSNorway]

So, my family is considering relocating to the New England Coast area, as my brother is pretty well established in Boston and my parents want to spend their remaining active years in that area with both of their children close at hand. So if this deal goes through, I'm likely to end up somewhere in the area between Boston MA and Portsmouth NH. Any of us live in that region, got some time to discuss it?

Looking to get a handle on good/affordable places to live, the local gamer/sci-fi/nerd scene, that kind of thing.

[classicdrogn]

I'm likely to end up somewhere in the area between Boston MA and Portsmouth NH. Any of us live in that region, got some time to discuss it?

Looking to get a handle on good/affordable places to live, the local gamer/sci-fi/nerd scene, that kind of thing.

I can't really provide too much in the way of detail, but if you're within an hour to an hour and a half commute of Boston, "Affordable" tends to be judged by the standard of "compared to living in Boston." More generally, NH only has property tax, no sales or state income tax except on dividends and interest from investments, so rents/cost of home ownership will be higher but everything else will be lower. Remember to figure that in when you're looking at rates, or deciding whether to buy. If you have any kind of collection of blades or firearms or thoughts of starting one, forget about MA. In fact, if you like carrying a pocket knife with a blade more than 3" long, forget about MA. On the other hand, if anyone in the household has an iffy situation for medical insurance, MA is the better bet there - whether Obamacare gets torn apart on the national level or not, MA has universal basic coverage on the state level.

[robkelk]

Quoting from Wikivoyage's page about Boston, in the hotels section:

If anything will blow your budget it will be the accommodations. Boston has some of the most expensive real estate in the country, behind only the Bay Area and NYC. In 2016 the average room in town cost $254 a night! The city is aware of the problem and more hotels are either planned or under construction.

(emphasis in original)

So, yeah, you probably want to end up somewhere away from Boston.