It has been said that the three most important words in real estate are “location, location, location.”
As I write these words, my eyes are drawn from the computer monitor to a local view too dazzling to ignore. Puffy cumulus clouds afire with orange, pink and purple hues are scuttling across a slate gray sky while the sun sets majestically behind tree-lined mountains on the far side of the lake.
I am so grateful for scenes like this, and for all of the natural beauty that surrounds us in the Lakes Region. But we have many more reasons to be thankful as residents and homeowners in our beautiful location, the Granite State. Here are a few:
Quality of Life
- New Hampshire has been ranked America’s “Most Livable State” eight times since 2004, according to Morgan Quitno Press, a research and publishing company that ranks U.S. cities and states.
- In 2017, S. News and World Report named New Hampshire the number one state in the nation for opportunity, number two for best state overall, number three for education, and number four for health care.
- New Hampshire was rated the number one state for “quality of life” for those considering moving to the United States, according to BritishExPats.com.
Employment and Earnings
- New Hampshire had the highest median household income in the nation in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- In October 2017, New Hampshire’s unemployment rate was 2.4 percent, which is the fourth lowest in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Family and Education
- This year New Hampshire was rated the best state to raise children, according to a report published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
- Also in 2017,S. News and World Report ranked New Hampshire as the number one state in the nation for Pre-K through 12 education.
Retirement
- In 2017 New Hampshire was Bankrate.com’s top pick for the best state to retire.
- New Hampshire was also chosen as the number one state for retirement by moneyrates.com. This ranking was based on cost of living, unemployment rate, tax burden, average climate, violent and property crime rates and life expectancy.
- The Lake Winnipesaukee area was rated the number one retirement place in the country under the category of “leisure living for recreational and cultural opportunities” by MacMillan Travel’s Fifth Edition of Retirement Places Rates.
These ratings give us some great reasons to be grateful we live here, but there are many more. New Hampshire has nearly 18 miles of ocean coastline, 40,000 miles of rivers and streams, and 1,300 lakes and ponds, including the “Tahoe of the East,” Lake Winnipesaukee.
The Granite State also boasts 182 mountains over 3,000 feet, and, with over 87 percent of the land covered by forests, including 760,000 acres of National Forest, New Hampshire is the second most forested state in the nation.
When it comes to “location, location, location,” New Hampshire is a hard place to beat, and I am sincerely thankful to live full time in a state whose beauty draws millions of worldwide visitors each year.
Please contact me if you would like help buying or selling a home in the Lakes Region. I also welcome your questions about buying and selling residential real estate.
Brent Metzger is a sale
s associate at Roche Realty Group in Meredith, NH. He can be reached on his cell phone at (603) 229-8322, at the office at (603) 279-7046, or by e-mail: brent@rocherealty.com
Please feel free to visit www.rocherealty.com to learn more about the Lakes Region and its real estate market.
