2004-06-04 K and A: Memorial Day Weekend Trip

Memorial Day Weekend Trip

by K and A • 6/4/04

A and I drove up to New Hampshire (from DC) for Memorial Day weekend, and it was the best exhausting trip I have ever taken.

First of all, let me say a huge thank you to the folks who welcomed us, and especially to Dave Mincin who was unbelievably generous with both his time and his apartment. We drank beer and talked so much that A and I both lost our voices on the way home.

But onto New Hampshire. We got into Dover late Friday night, so Saturday was our first opportunity to look around. We joined Cal's group (Merrimack Valley FSPers) for a lunch meeting in Manchester ($1 beers at Millie's—thank you, Norm), and hung around talking for a few hours with early movers and friendly natives. After that, a stop at Hampton Beach, where we played in the sand, and a lovely drive up the coast to Portsmouth. If I had any interest at all in living in a city, we would be moving to Portsmouth. We sat outside at a coffee shop (Breaking New Grounds) on Market Square and enjoyed the sun.

From there, it was back to Dover for dinner at Newick's, a justifiably popular seafood place. We met some great people, and PattyE's husband, Bill, kept me full of fried clams and scallops from his platter. More beer flowed, and we stayed an hour past closing.

Sunday was driving day. We drove through seven of the ten counties in the state (Sullivan, Cheshire, and Hillsborough excepted), starting in Dover, heading up Rt. 153 to 302 through Crawford Notch and back down through Franconia Notch down along the western side of Winnipesaukee and back down to Dover. Notes on towns (scratched sporadically in a little notebook) follow:

• Rochester: Looked for a bakery for breakfast, and ended up at Dunkin Donuts instead. Discovered that "regular" coffee there means "cream and sugar." This may be a NH thing or a Dunkin Donuts thing.

• Wakefield: Nice little town. Finally spotted local baked goods stand as we swallowed the last of our Dunkin Donuts breakfast.

• Between Wakefield and Effingham, there's Province Lake. The road is in Maine, but the lake itself is in New Hampshire. Rough water, but quite a lovely spot, with tons of trees and mountains in the background. Some houses on the water and in close proximity. Also a marsh.

• Freedom: Beautiful little town, full of white clapboard houses, with a nice sign that says, "Welcome to Freedom." It was Sunday morning, and the entire town was clearly in the pretty old church (except for one older woman I spotted manning a yard sale).

• Conway: The town itself was kind of unremarkable—it reminded me of the medium-sized Virginia towns of my childhood. We did stop at a farmstand on the north side of town, where we bought fruit, honey, raspberry bread, etc. A nice old man ran the place, but it was a bit pricier than we expected.

• North Conway: Hippy outdoorsman kind of town, which has its good and bad points. Movie theater, bookstore, crafts fair, EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) store, and places to eat. We stopped for lunch at Flatbreads, which offers pizza out of a wood-burning oven. It was very good. Then we stopped in at the bookstore, and with his purchase, A got a receipt that said, "No Sales Tax 0.00." Only real turn-off was the traffic—there was actually at traffic jam in the middle of town. It took us way too long to go a few blocks. Partly the craft show, but it's only the beginning of the tourist season up there, so...

• Plymouth: Cute college town, with a nice little grocery store across from the college. They also have a movie theater, and a small but attractive downtown area. (Note: if you're dumb enough to stand in the middle of the road, cars will actually stop for you here.) We tried unsuccessfully to find the Bridgeside Diner, recommended by one of our guidebooks.

• Tamworth: Tamworth had two stores in town, one called the General Store, and the other called the Other Store. There was also an inn and a public school. Someone in town apparently owned a backhoe with which he was helping a neighbor plant a tree in front of his house. It looked pretty, but didn't feel quite right.

• Meredith: We ate dinner at a restaurant on Lake Winnepesaukee. Sat outside and ordered clam chowder, a lobster roll, a crab cake, and beer. Pretty developed town, so not for us, but we'd visit again.

• Gilmanton: Gilmanton itself is a pretty little town, and the area around it is very hilly, so the views can be spectacular. Up by Loon Pond, we drove on a highway that was designated as such in 1765.

• Northwood: Not sure, but we thought we smelled a paper factory. Worth checking that out.

Headed back to Dover to pick up Dave, and then met Joel (an early mover from Florida) in Manchester for "the biggest fireworks display ever in southern New Hampshire." They weren't kidding, and while the crowd was rowdy and drunk, everyone was also startlingly friendly. Big fair with four fried dough stands and a bunch of amusements (coin-toss-for-large-panda kind of things).

On Monday, we slowly headed home, driving from Dover to Concord, and then west across Vermont to New York. On the way we drove through:

• Concord: Ate at a bagel shop on the main drag, about a block from the capitol. The capitol building is exactly what you'd imagine, and the AARP and the NH Republicans have both set up shop directly across the street. While we ate, I noticed two kids, about 8 probably, who had ridden over to the bagel place on their scooters. They had lunch, unchained the scooters, and headed for home—all without adult supervision. That's an awfully nice thing to see in a state capital.

• Hopkinton: Another pretty place. This is where we first noticed the signs that forbid parking on city streets from midnight to 6AM, November 1 – May 1. Must be for snow plowing.

• Henniker: Now this is important: if you have a map that tells you that you can get back to Rt. 202 on The Oaks St, do not listen to your map. It's a dead end. Anyway, we saw two inns, a restaurant, and an elementary school. A very pretty place.

• Bennington: Bennington definitely does have a paper mill, although we didn't smell it. Probably not working on holidays.

• Dublin: Very hilly, and a consolidated school district. Home of Yankee Magazine, and a pretty view of Mt. Monadnock across Dublin Lake. There's a place called "Friendly Farm," with a petting zoo. We noticed that the temperature dropped 5 degrees between Concord and Dublin.

• Keene: Keene also has the strange parking prohibition. The circle downtown was nice, and I could see the small-but-upscale-ish appeal, but it was big enough to have some suburbia issues, which we're looking forward to getting away from.

From there it was out Rt. 9 and into Vermont, which looked surprisingly poor by comparison. Again, thanks to everyone who welcomed us, fed us, guided us, answered our questions, and generally rolled out the red carpet. We thought this trip would be an introduction to New Hampshire (which it was, to some extent), but it turned out to be as much an introduction to the truly amazing people who are part of the Free State Project. I had hoped that FSPers would make good neighbors, to each other and to NH natives, and now I'm sure that we will.

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2004-08-12 Phil Boncer: Impressions of NH and the FSP gathering

Impressions of NH and the FSP gathering

by Phil Boncer • 8/12/04

Kristine and I have just returned from nearly two weeks in NH. We drove almost 1300 miles around the state, which isn't bad for a 200 mile long state. We stopped in towns all over to gather info on real estate, zoning, available amenities, local attitudes, and general impressions. We were open about our intent to move to NH, and about our plans to try to buy a decent property, and have on it our home, a wholesale yarn-dyeing business in a barn or outbuilding that may employ up to 10 persons and would require a UPS delivery/pick-up, possibly a small one-classroom private school, and likely a second barn for hobbies and collections and such. We came back with two grocery sacks full of real estate booklets, newspapers, zoning and building regulations, employment ad papers, relocation packets, and assorted other literature.

We flew into Boston, arriving on the morning of 21 Jun (Monday), and rented a car. That day we drove through Portsmouth, Exeter, Salem, Nashua, and stayed the night at Stepping Stones B&B in Wilton (recommended; it was excellent and fairly inexpensive). Portsmouth is nice but quite expensive. Exeter is nice, but fairly expensive and has very strict zoning; they were not encouraging. Small towns nearby may offer some possibilities. Salem and Nashua were unenticing and not scenic, but offered cheap real estate, likely reasonable zoning, and easy access to Boston. Nashua seemed to have the best selection of ethnic restaurants of any city we visited in the state. Milford and Wilton were lovely, and reasonable in cost. Zoning would require variances for our plans, but the town clerks sounded positive about getting them.

Tuesday we went to Peterborough, Harrisville, Keene, and small towns in between. Mostly lovely, a bit depressed around Greenville. Peterborough zoning prohibitive. Harrisville dodgy, but other solutions possible, such as rening one of the local mill buildings for the yarn business. Keene is quite nice, and might be a good spot. Smaller towns in the area looked like good options were available. We stayed at the B&B in Wilton again.

Wednesday we headed north. Bedford looked like a good possibility. Manchester is a real city, and bears looking into; probably in the outskirts to affordably meet our needs/plans. Many neighborhoods had signs prohibiting trucks on their street at night, sometimes at all. Concord similar but smaller. We then detoured west through Bath, Lisbon, Sugar Hill, and Littleton. All very nice. Real estate is very reasonable up here. Zoning would require variances for our plans, but the town clerks here again sounded positive about getting them. This is all "above the notches", so weather will be more severe and shipping costs for the business higher.

Wednesday evening through Monday morning we spent at Roger's Campground in Lancaster. The gathering was fabulous, and we met many fine people and made several new friends. There was a fine and refreshing lack of obvious nutcases (something I admit to having been a bit worried about); by and large it seemed a group of people who could move in and make a difference without alienating everyone we came across. It was great to meet in person so many of those I've corresponded with online. I was quite impressed with the FSP leaders as well. Amanda is I think doing a fine job, and did well with the many press persons in attendance. It was nice to see Jason again; good to see him get to relax a bit, lovely to meet Mary. The organizers did a great job keeping it all rolling. Thanks to George and Dave and Tim and all others! The Saturday evening BBQ was a bit weak for the money, but it seemed that there were more people than expected. I might suggest having speakers and vendors in different rooms next time, which would allow both to conduct their affairs with less interference.

The press presence was amazing, both local and national. Most of them seemed to be fairly positively disposed, and to have a reasonable understanding of the movement. Articles in the papers over the next couple of days were pretty fair and reasonably positive.

We did attend the NHLA dinner on Friday evening. It was well organized and well attended. The speakers were interesting and even the food was decent! Thanks to Mr. Murphy and the Pratts, as well as the many others I'm sure had a hand in it. A small pack of liberals protested with signs. Their favorite slogan seems to be "Government is not the problem." Sorry guys, but you're wrong. Government is in fact, if not the entire problem, usually a big part of it.

We also went on the trip to Grafton on Sunday. It looked quite promising for the longer term, but will need time and work, especially on Bob's land, which is still very raw. Grafton is the closest cheap real estate to Lebanon/Hanover where Dartmouth College is locaed, and might make a very good investment. On the way back we took a look at Lebanon/Hanover, since there may be industries there I can work in. These looked nice but expensive and probably overzoned. Haverhill looked possible.

On Monday we left the campground and headed first up to Berlin, which looked pretty active. The main employer in the town is a paper mill that makes their paper "from scratch" as the librarians told us. Real estate is very cheap. It's likely too far north for us, however. We then came back south and toured the Lakes region. Pretty, but both very expensive and a little tacky but mainly touristy with ski condos everywhere. Unlikely to be what we want. We stayed in a campground and got rained on very heavily.

Tuesday we continued our tour of the lakes region, through Conway and the like.

Wednesday we went to Rochester, which looks depressed and a bit rundown. Reasonable real estate and workable zoning probably available. Somersworth was cute. We drove the beach/coast road; very posh and expensive, crowded. Parts were scenic, but no thanks. Dover might offer some possibilities. We stayed the night in Dover with Dave Mincin. Thanks, Dave!

Thursday we went back for another look at Exeter and Portsmouth, having learned much more about what to look for. Our initial impressions were comfirmed. We stayed at a B&B in Portsmouth, and had a fantastic (but expensive) meal at a French restaurant called Lindbergh's Crossing. I highly recommend it if you have the inclination for fine dining, it was worth the price!

Friday we walked Portsmouth some more. It's sort of more upscale touristy; more art and less outlet malls. Then we drove back to Boston and flew home.

Some notes:

1. New Hampshire is beautiful almost everywhere, and livable in most places. Almost all of the west half of the state looked pretty good; most of the east half seemed unsuitable for us for one reason or another.

2. As usual, the cities seem more politically liberal than the countryside.

3. Several towns were incorporated in the 1800's, from parts of surrounding towns. I asked around at the FSP fest if anyone had looked to see if this was still possible, to create our own free town somewhere rather than disrupt an existing order, and was told by several that it was not. I have since found out, however, that Sugar Hill was incorporated in 1962, and that there are a few unincorporated areas still existing (albeit mostly way up north). I think further investigation is warranted.

4. NH natives are very nice and were almost universally welcoming and friendly. Most had heard of the Free State Project, although many had not. None gave us bad reactions to the concept (except for the protestors at the NHLA dinner).

5. Kristine and I are going, whether or not the FSP officially succeeds. Even if nothing there improves, it's a very good place, and a damn sight better than California.

6. We can certainly make a difference, and I think we can actually succeed in our goals, as long as we are willing to take a long-term, respectful, gentle, and patient approach. I think most NH residents are open to our ideas, and will help us achieve a real freedom, provided we don't act like a bull in a china shop, and piss everyone off before they get to know us.

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2004-05-31 Patrick Houlmiere

NH Visit

by Patrick Houlmiere • 5/31/04

When my wife Edwina, and I heard Walter Williams introduce the concept of the Free State Project on a radio talk show a couple years ago, we immediately knew we were in. We found the FSP website and put our names down.

Once New Hampshire was chosen last fall, we began researching this great, little, fascinating place through books and websites. The more we learned, the more we got excited. Finally last month I flew to Manchester, rented a car and hit the road. In 6 days I covered over 1100 miles, during which I met a couple dozen Porcupines already living there, and several of them took the time to guide me around their community. Everyone of them was unusually bright, committed to the project, and passionate about its agenda. I found Porcupines to be full of hope, optimism, and had a contagious "we can do it" attitude – they truly believe this is a done deal! I can't wait to have thousands of characters like them living within minutes from my front door! With everyone enthusiastically working on the same issues, things will have to change and improve – We will bring back small, Constitutional government, and the socialists among us will have to flee elsewhere, because parasites can't suck on 'quills' very well... It will be fun watching them crawl south, or west... Anywhere but the Free State.

Here are a few random observations that impressed me as I scouted New Hampshire:

• Gas was 50 cents cheaper than in Nevada and 70 cents cheaper than in California!

• I didn't see any graffiti anywhere! Did I miss something or does that mean so called "gangs" can't thrive in New Hampshire?

• Locals are great! Every single person I came in contact with as I traveled was polite, pleasant, and they went out of their way to help or give directions.

• Cell phones are nearly useless in two thirds of the state! That seems like an opportunity for one of us to fix that.

• There are attractive little towns everywhere among the many creeks, rivers, lakes, trees, hills, and mountains. The place is beautiful – even during mud season – I can only imagine what Spring, Summer, and Fall will be like. (I won't speculate about how nice Winter might be... yet)

• Except for abnormally high housing costs in some central and southeast townships, the rest of the state seemed reasonable, even more affordable than northern Nevada.

• Keene gets my vote for the most ideal community to live in – It has everything Edwina and I are looking for (except for the ocean;-) I think we will end up there.

In conclusion – we are not waiting until 2006 – we want to join the growing "we can do it" crowd, NOW... We'll be NH residents by mid summer!

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2004-08-08 William N. Kilarjian: A New Yorker looks at NH

A New Yorker looks at New Hampshire

by William N. Kilarjian &#149 8/8/04

This last Fourth of July my wife, myself and our Jack Russell Terrier 'Mac' traveled to New Hampshire from our home in Westchester County, NY. This was only the second trip to the granite state for my wife and the first for Mac. In my youth our family had traveled often to New Hampshire on summer vacations, frequenting Manchester, Portsmouth, Nashua and Lake Winnipesaukee. Those summer trips and subsequent trips thereafter always engendered a feeling of being drawn to the Old Man of the Mountain. New Hampshire's appealing qualities are manifest. In the muscular natural beauty, the open, friendly and forthrightness of the people, the dignity of her cities and towns. Admirable traits abound.

On this trip we planned to visit Keene and then continue north to stay with friends in the Berlin and Gorham area. We departed NY and made our first port of call. We found Keene and its environs to be thoroughly lovely. The Main Street, which we strolled along amiably, is nonpareil. Reasoned development policies clearly in evidence, Keene possesses the needed commercial attributes and infrastructure without sacrificing the feeling of neighborly community.

Our next stops were in Berlin and Gorham. Here we met friends, took in the beautiful fireworks display in Gorham and basked in the wonderful surroundings. Berlin, while obviously a factory town, fortunes ebbing and flowing as the tide thereon, seems as if the tide is coming back in with a vengeance. In many locations we noticed new or just getting ready to open businesses. There is a sense of optimism about town. This augurs well for the future. A note about the Fourth of July fireworks show in Gorham. When the National Anthem started it was heartening to see the vast majority of people stand while it played. In me this evoked clear thoughts on the meaning of patriotism and brought to mind Adlai Stevenson:

"Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."

A short frenzied burst of patriotic emotion is what we saw in New York after recent events. True to type, New Yorkers have reverted to their particular and peculiar form of condescension towards not only our nation but to those who evince the tranquil and steady patriotism of a lifetime. Being a life long New Yorker, born in New York City in Jamaica, Queens and raised in Astoria, I am keenly aware of the attitudes of New Yorkers toward what they regard the "lesser States" and those who dwell in them.

One of the reasons we made the Keene area our first stop was because of our intention to move there over the course of the next year. Deciding to leave our settled life in New York was not done on a whim. Sadly, or perhaps not so, it has become a necessary reality. New York as presently constituted no longer resembles the New York of my youth. Decades of misguided government policies both fiscal and social have taken the empire out of the Empire State. Also, as a life long conservative and republican one no longer feels especially welcome. A monolithic political structure is not conducive to representative government. The State itself, particularly in the area of government, has become unwieldy. In light of the stark differences that exist in the three main regions it may be time to consider devolving to three smaller states - North, West and South New York State. Perhaps this might stem the tide so to speak and bring sanity back to governance. Well, enough about New York.

After deciding to make the move we researched New Hampshire and several other states and in nearly every measure and survey year after year New Hampshire ranks at the top or highly in nearly every category. Its admirable qualities and policies of government at every level plus an abiding belief in the fundamental ability of the individual or business to make their own way sans the tender mercies of government are attributes seen all to infrequently in government these days. Frankly, there was really no way New Hampshire was going to lose in our book. Our minds had already been made up; we were just going through the motions in cursory fashion.

The entire trip was thoroughly enjoyable. All that we saw and did along with the people we spoke with reinforced for us that we made the right choice in deciding to move to New Hampshire.

We look forward to making New Hampshire our new home.

William N. Kilarjian is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of the United Kingdom.

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