101 Reasons to Move to New Hampshire

What are the prospects for achieving greater liberty where you currently live? If you are like many, the outlook is not good. The Free State Project offers a solution: join thousands of other liberty-lovers who are moving to New Hampshire, America's freest state, and working together there to achieve true liberty in our lifetime. Liberty is on the march in New Hampshire thanks to Free State Project participants and a great freedom-oriented political culture. If you care about liberty, we want you to be a part of bringing the ideas of liberty into practice.

The Free State Project seeks 20,000 pro-liberty activists to move to New Hampshire. We are looking for neighborly, productive, tolerant folks from all walks of life, of all ages, creeds, and colors who agree to the political philosophy that the maximum role of government is the protection life, liberty, and property. It exists at most to protect people’s rights, and should neither provide for people nor punish them for activities that interfere with no one else.

The purpose of this page is to highlight reasons why New Hampshire was chosen as the destination of the Free State Project and give you a sense of what you’ll be gaining by moving there. Topics covered are New Hampshire's government, politics, economy, geography, and quality of life.

Of course, there’s no substitute for experiencing New Hampshire and its pro-liberty activist community. If you are interested in visiting New Hampshire, talking with current participants and movers, or getting additional information about the Free State Project, please email us, call us at 888-377-2515, or post on our forum.

Government

# Reason Source
1 New Hampshire has no general sales tax. NH Department of Revenue Administration
2 New Hampshire has no general personal income tax. Dividends and interest are taxed at only 5%. Bankrate
3 New Hampshire state law prohibits the use of eminent domain for private use or private development. USA Today
4 New Hampshire offers some of the least restrictive gun laws in the nation: no permit is required to open carry and a concealed carry permit is available on a shall issue basis. Pro-Gun New Hampshire
5 New Hampshire is the only state that does not have a mandatory seatbelt law for adults. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
6 New Hampshire is one of only three states that places no helmet restrictions on motorcyclists. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
7 New Hampshire is one of only three states that does not mandate automobile liability insurance. Insure.com
8 New Hampshire has no capital gains tax. Area Development Online
9 New Hampshire legislators are paid only $100 per year, helping ensure the existence of a citizen legislature committed to public service. National Conference of State Legislatures
10 New Hampshire has one of the smallest state bureaucracies. The Cato Institute
11 New Hampshire's constitution is one of only four state constitutions that expressly protect citizens' right to revolution (Section 1, Article 10). State of New Hampshire
12 New Hampshire offers the best representation of any state in the nation with a 400-member House of Representatives for a population of 1.3 million people. Wikipedia - Government of New Hampshire
13 New Hampshire's unique Executive Council provides an additional check on the power of the Governor. Support of the independently elected five member council is required for state contracts over $5,000, high-level agency appointments, and pardons. Wikipedia - Executive Council of New Hampshire
14 New Hampshire has no inventory tax. Area Development Online
15 New Hampshire has no tax on machinery or equipment. Area Development Online
16 Reflecting New Hampshire's relationship and openness to the public, the state capitol building has no metal detectors (and at 190 years old, is the oldest state house in continual use). The Ridley Report
17 New Hampshire is ranked 3rd for receiving the least federal spending as a percentage of federal taxes paid. The Tax Foundation
18 New Hampshire's constitution does not specifically prohibit secession.
19 New Hampshire is one of the few states that does not regulate raw milk sales. National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
20 New Hampshire is ranked 3rd for fewest Federal Public Corruption Convictions (14) from 1997-2006. U.S. Department of Justice
21 New Hampshire officials, from town clerks to the state governor, are accessible to the public and generally have a walk-right-in office policy.

Politics

# Reason Source
22 The Free State Project has been endorsed by many in the pro-liberty community, including Ron Paul and Walter Williams. The Free State Project
23 New Hampshire culture still reflects its famous motto, Live Free or Die. State of New Hampshire
24 Four Free State Project participants have already been elected to the NH House of Representatives (as of 2008). The Ridley Report
25 New Hampshire has many liberty-minded members in its state government unaffiliated with the Free State Project. New Hampshire Liberty Alliance
26 New Hampshire offers small, easy to canvass voting districts. Each member of the House of Representatives represents about 3,000 people. NationMaster.com
27 Dozens of successful, pro-liberty organizations have been created and reinforced, addressing education, taxes, guns, homeschooling, drugs, currency, and many other issues. Whatever your interest, you will likely find an existing group you can help or people willing to join you in the creation of a new one.
28 New Hampshire has several gun rights organizations (Gun Owners of New Hampshire, Second Amendment Sisters, and Pro-Gun New Hampshire to name a few) that successfully work to expand gun freedoms in NH and protect the state's shall-issue concealed carry permit process and free open-carry laws. Free State Project
29 New Hampshire is awash with pro-liberty media. On the radio, there is Free Talk Live, based in Keene and heard nationwide, The Liberty Conspiracy, and the Katherine Albrecht Show. The RidleyReport and several independent videographers are very popular on YouTube. Local TV stations broadcast Free Minds TV and Capitol Access. NH-based liberty forums and blogs, along with Anarchy In Your Head cartoon series, help spread the message of liberty worldwide.
30 The NH Underground is an active, peaceful civil disobedience network. This group has organized activities ranging from conducting an open-carry litter pickup after curfew, to filming police encounters, to throwing snow balls at federal buildings, to producing radio, television, and internet broadcasts. New Hampshire Underground
31 The New Hampshire Liberty Alliance (NHLA) is a non-partisan coalition working to increase personal freedom through education and political action. They actively lobby for and against legislation, rate legislators based on their pro- or anti-freedom voting records, and recruit and train liberty candidates. New Hampshire Liberty Alliance
32 New Hampshire has a large, politically active, and rapidly growing homeschooling population. New Hampshire Homeschooling Coalition
33 New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary provides significant leverage in the national debate. Wikipedia - New Hampshire Primary
34 Communication with the NH liberty community is a phone call away. Through Porcupine 411, reports of speed traps and check points, political events, and news as-it-happens are recorded and broadcast via email as audio file attachments. Porcupine-411
35 New Hampshire allows for fusion candidates whereby an individual can be the listed on the ballot as the candidate for more than one party. Several Libertarians have been elected to office running as fusion Libertarians and Democrats or Republicans. Wikipedia - Electoral Fusion
36 Independent voters comprise 44% of the New Hampshire electorate, attesting to the citizens' spirit of independence and a dissatisfaction with major parties. Globe Newspaper
37 New Hampshire has a long tradition of local control through town meetings, where town citizens vote on their budgets line-by-line, in the form of warrants. Wikipedia - Town Meeting
38 New Hampshire has an active jury nullification movement, which has had jury nullification bills passed by the House twice. NH Public Radio
39 In 2003, then-New Hampshire Governor Craig Benson signed up as a friend of the Free State Project and has publicly voiced his support for the Free State Project on numerous occasions. The Free State Project
40 Statewide officers in both the legislative and executive branches are elected every two years, giving voters the opportunity to clean house more often than in other states. Wikipedia - Elections in New Hampshire
41 New Hampshire local elections are mostly nonpartisan.
42 Mainstream newspapers and television stations have been receptive of and fair to the Free State Project. The Free State Project
43 New Hampshire has a large, active Libertarian Party which has won many state and local elections. Libertarian Party of New Hampshire
44 New Hampshire was the first state to adopt same-sex union legislation without a challenge to existing law. Marriage between two adults, regardless of gender, is now legal in New Hampshire. Union Leader
45 New Hampshire rejected the Real ID (national identification card) program. Free State Project participants were crucial in securing this outcome. Reuters

Economy

# Reason Source
46 New Hampshire offers the 2nd lowest tax burden as a percentage of gross income in the nation. CNNMoney.com
47 New Hampshire is friendly to small businesses and entrepreneurs. New Hampshire is frequently in top 10 nationwide listings for offering a business-friendly environment.
48 New Hampshire's median household income of $63,942 is the 3rd highest in the country. Kaiser Family Foundation
49 Early FSP movers have taken advantage of the tremendous business climate in NH by starting a number of successful businesses, including bars/restaurants, a microbrewery, construction companies, HVAC contractor/reseller, real estate practice, freedom-oriented bookstore, computer consulting, web hosting, radio/TV shows, and non-profit organizations.
50 The Free State Project community is Liberty Dollar and gold/silver currency-friendly. Many individuals and businesses accept them and a Shire Silver alternate currency is in the works by some participants. Shire Silver System
51 New Hampshire has a diverse economy, making it hospitable to movers from many lines of work. NashuaTelegraph
52 New Hampshire's current unemployment rate (6.3%) is over 2 percentage points lower than the national average (8.9%) - April 2009. NH Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau
53 New Hampshire is ranked 8th best in the Tax Foundation's 2009 State Business Tax Climate Index. The Tax Foundation
54 New Hampshire was ranked 3rd in economic competitiveness. The Beacon Hill Institute
55 New Hampshire is ranked 2nd nationally in the Work Environment Index. Political Economy Research Institute
56 New Hampshire is ranked 6th in the nation for percentage of patents filed per 100,000 workers. Kauffman Foundation
57 New Hampshire has the lowest percentage of residents and children living in poverty in the nation. The Eagle Tribune
58 New Hampshire offers 5 Free Trade Zones, including those at Manchester Airport and the Port of NH. NH Division of Ports & Harbors
59 New Hampshire's overall per capita tax collection is a low $1,673. U.S. Census Bureau
60 For states with populations under 1.5 million, New Hampshire is ranked 4th for the number of new jobs forecast, 2004-2014. New Hampshire Department of Employment Security
61 Retail businesses benefit from proximity to Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Canada as residents shop in New Hampshire to benefit from the lack of sales tax.
62 New Hampshire is ranked 47th out of the 50 states in the amount of farm subsidies it receives. Environmental Working Group
63 New Hampshire is ranked 10th in the nation for offering the highest percentage of "knowledge jobs." The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
64 Portsmouth has the 19th lowest unemployment rate out of 369 metropolitan areas in the U.S. and thus is among the "30 Best Markets to Find a Job." CareerBuilder.com
65 New Hampshire is ranked 7th in the nation for venture capital invested as a percentage of Gross State Product. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
66 New Hampshire is ranked 8th in the nation for percentage of high-tech jobs. American Electronics Association
67 New Hampshire has a $0.196/gallon tax on gasoline; $1.33/pack of cigarettes; $0.30/gallon of beer; and zero tax on spirits. These are among the lowest in the region. The Tax Foundation
68 New Hampshire is ranked 9th in the Milken Institute's Technology and Science State Ranking. The Milken Institute
69 New Hampshire has an active and diverse agricultural sector that ranges from livestock to dairy products to apples to flowers. New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food

Geography & Environment

# Reason Source
70 New Hampshire's relatively small geographic size facilitates activism statewide and makes frequent collaboration and meetings among FSP members possible.
71 New Hampshire offers abundant water resources. The potential for water shortages in NH is insignificant. New Hampshire/Vermont Water Science Center
72 New Hampshire offers easy access to beaches, lakes, rivers, mountains, and forests.
73 New Hampshire offers outdoor activities throughout the year, including biking, bird watching, boating, camping, climbing, fishing, golfing, going to the beach, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, skate boarding, skiing, and snowmobiling. NH Outdoors
74 NH is a great place for hikers, boasting 48 mountains with peaks higher than 4,000 feet, access to the Appalachian Trail, and numerous trails of various distances and difficulties throughout the state. NH Outdoors
75 With its deep-water port on the Atlantic Ocean, NH has access to worldwide trade markets.
76 New Hampshire shares a border with Canada, facilitating international trade and travel.
77 With the majority of the nation's population already living east of the Mississippi, New Hampshire has a large, nearby population from which to draw freedom-lovers in order to reach and exceed the goal of 20,000 participants.
78 New Hampshire is home to the tallest mountain in the Northeast, Mt. Washington, affording 100-mile views of three states and Canada. The Mount Washington Observatory

Quality of Life

# Reason Source
79 New Hampshire has an active pro-liberty social community. Participants host weekly events like Taproom Tuesdays, Ice Cream Social Sundays, and holiday parties, along with weekly and monthly mixers. In addition, the annual NH Liberty Forum and Porcupine Freedom Festival attract hundreds of liberty lovers from around the country. Your social calendar will always be full! NH Liberty Calendar
80 New Hampshire has been ranked #1 in the nation for quality of life and livability five years in a row. Congressional Quarterly
81 New Hampshire is the safest state in the country . Congressional Quarterly
82 New Hampshire is the 2nd healthiest state in the nation. Congressional Quarterly
83 New Hampshire is ranked 3rd for health care quality. The Commonwealth Fund
84 New Hampshire has the 3rd fewest fatalities per 100 million miles driven. Reason Foundation
85 New Hampshire is ranked 1st nationally in the index for child well-being. The Annie E. Casey Foundation
86 New Hampshire is the least expensive state in which to own a vehicle. Edmunds
87 New Hampshire is a state with breathtaking beauty and scenery - the ocean, lakes, mountains, forests, rivers, picturesque New England towns, covered bridges, and historical homes.
88 New Hampshire enjoys all four seasons. Fall foliage attracts tourists from all over; in winter, snow-related recreational activities are popular; spring brings blooming wildflowers and greenery galore; and in the summer, outdoor festivals abound.
89 New Hampshire offers many private/non-government schooling options, ranging from home schools, to Montessori schools, to religious schools, to boarding schools, to traditional private high schools. GreatSchools
90 New Hampshire is home to quality, diverse dining options for all tastes and budgets. NH Dining Guide
91 New Hampshire is considered at very low risk for hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and forest fires. Insurance Center Associates
92 New Hampshire offers hundreds of private, non-profit organizations ranging from food banks, to youth mentoring, to health services. NH Center for Nonprofits
93 New Hampshire is home to an array of colleges, from Ivy League member Dartmouth to technical trade schools. New Hampshire Postsecondary Education Commission
94 New Hampshire is home to people of all religions and as well as those who are non-religious. The New Hampshire population is among the most religiously tolerant, with 73% believing that other religions can lead to eternal life. Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
95 Air transportation to and from New Hampshire is facilitated by 116 registered airports, 60 registered heliports, and 6 registered sea plane bases. NH Department of Transportation
96 New Hampshire offers modern, extensive cellular and Internet infrastructures and statewide access to low-cost, high-speed Internet. Fiber Optics (FiOS) service available in select areas.
97 New Hampshire offers extraordinary opportunities for black bear, coyote, bobcats, moose, white-tailed deer, and beaver hunting as well as deep-sea, river, and lake fishing. NH Department of Resources and Economic Development
98 In addition to many small and unique family-owned businesses, most large, national chain stores are within short driving distance.
99 New Hampshire has a plethora of gun clubs throughout the state. NH Fish and Game Department
100 New Hampshire offers an incredibly diverse mix of communities. Whether you are interested in living in a city, in the suburbs, on a farm, by the beach, in the mountains, or on a lake, you can find your dream home in New Hampshire.
101 Being in New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project offers the added benefit of knowing you are part of something historic. Rather than just talking about liberty and accepting your loss of freedoms, you will be an active participant in making history, achieving Liberty in Our Lifetime!
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