Posted on 10/14/2007 8:59:34 AM PDT by billorites
Nearly nine of 10 readers who participated in an online survey believe that southern New Hampshire is becoming more like Massachusetts -- and most are not happy about it.
Eighty-four percent of the nearly 900 people who took part in the informal UnionLeader.com survey are concerned that the "traditional culture" of New Hampshire is changing as people move here from other states -- including 63 percent who are "very" concerned. Only 10 percent were "not very concerned," while six percent were "not concerned at all."
Asked what the biggest change has been, more than half answered "politics." About 28 percent said it was traffic, and more than 16 percent thought it was the state's "more diverse population."
Of more than 400 respondents who answered a question about moving here from elsewhere, the majority -- 63 percent -- came from Massachusetts. Eighteen percent moved here from another New England state; the same percentage came from the mid-Atlantic region.
Plenty of folks blame Massachusetts transplants for new problems they see facing New Hampshire, such as crime, traffic and even rudeness. Many bemoaned the rise of a "nanny state" mentality and newcomers' demands for local services that push taxes up.
Here's how lifelong resident Todd Poulos, 40, of Manchester put it: "I am not a fan of the liberal politics that Massachusetts transplants bring with them. They are too eager to allow government to become larger and less willing to take personal responsibility."
Dennis Herrick, 56, said he supports the libertarian Free State Movement and is "disgusted with all the Nanny Staters" moving here from Massachusetts.
"The first thing they all want when they get here is a street light," Herrick wrote. "They're afraid of animal noises and they think the lights are free."
Milford resident Brandon Bishop, 23, wrote, "Massachusetts culture is affecting NH like the plague." And, as a result, he said, "Our property values are being driven higher than ever before, pushing hard-working Granite-Staters out of the local real estate market."
But many of those who are most critical of the influence of Massachusetts culture on the state are transplants themselves.
"We are becoming a 'nanny' state -- our individual rights are being trampled on by left-wing liberals who know what's best for everyone," wrote Don DeCapot of Londonderry, 60, who moved here from the Bay State more than 20 years ago.
Cathie Schneider, 54, another transplant, said New Hampshire is starting to look like its southern neighbor, "with no smoking laws, higher cig taxes and attempts at the seat belt laws too.
"Make no mistake, an income tax is coming too!" she warned.
Robert Tessier, 74, said he retired here to get away from city life and enjoy the state's natural beauty.
"Now they are destroying the area by building more and more hotels and shopping areas that we don't need," he wrote. "I moved away from that and now these people that loved this state are bringing all that is in Mass. and destroying our way of life."
Lee Ann McCarthy, 45, was among those who said politics is the biggest change. "Live Free or Die, open spaces and independent thinking is being replaced with We Know What's Best for You, Let's Build as Much as We Can, and the Politically Correct Way of thinking," she wrote.
And Peter Hudson, 32, compared the influx of out-of-staters to "the spreading of a locust or cancer."
►Salem selectman: We're still different
It's not just former Bay Staters sounding the alarm. Dave Petrangelo said he moved here from the "People's Republic of New York."
"New Hampshire was my last bastion of hope that you could live somewhere and not have the government making laws on every aspect of life, tax everything under the sun and actually had a 'personal responsibility' way of thinking," he wrote. "In the few years I have been here, I have seen that erode at an alarming pace as more out of staters move in and expect the same level of services, laws and coddling they received from their native states."
Keith Richardson, who moved here from Florida, said politics is the biggest change he's seen: "Voters moving here from MA voting to make NH the same as the state they left . . . It's like someone burning down their house, moving into a new one, and playing with matches!"
William Albenzi, 27, who moved here from California, wrote, "I am concerned that the people who come here solely for the inexpensive homes have not given up on big government social engineering experiments. The passage of a law restricting my ability to open a business in which I allow smoking illustrates that."
Brian Guilbert, 51, said his town of Londonderry has lots of transplants from Massachusetts who "moved here for the small town feel, form cliques, run for town office positions and eventually change the character of the town."
That's why Rick Bernier, 43, who lives in Cheshire County, suggests elected positions should be open only to those who have lived here 10 years or more. "I'm sick of people coming here, spending a couple of years and then running for some political position so they can 'make some positive changes,'" he wrote.
But Lou Eastman, 41, noted he moved here to escape the taxes, "nanny state" mentality and consumerism he's seen elsewhere. "I came here not to change the state or to implement my ideals in place of existing ones, but to help bolster and KEEP the ideals that made NH and this country great," wrote Eastman, who lives in Peterborough.
Rick Newman, 48, said the premise that people in New Hampshire are different from folks elsewhere is false: "Every state has liberals, conservatives, good people, bad people and so on."
But wait a minute...
Not everyone sees the changes as bad.
Brian Jennison, 57, grew up in Lee and remembers the state's downtowns were "dumpy" and rundown. He recently moved back to New Hampshire and is pleased with the changes he's seen.
"All these cities are thriving," he wrote. "The world moves on, and New Hampshire must move with it."
Tim Ashwell, 59, also finds recent changes here "generally positive."
"The inevitable growth of the state's southern tier is also leading the state to consider responsible development and land use policies that will pay off in the decades to come," he wrote.
And George M. Fodor, 62, a former Bay Stater, said, "It's vitally important that the 'traditional character' change as quickly as possible so that New Hampshire can enter the 21st century. Phony conservative values are an anathema to everything our country . . . represents."
Meanwhile, not everyone believes the state has really changed that much. About five percent of those surveyed said southern New Hampshire is still more like the rest of the state than like its southern neighbor, and nearly eight percent agreed with the statement "New Hampshire will never be like Massachusetts."
Among the latter was Rob Campbell, 37, who grew up in Salem and now lives in Manchester. His take? "Things change. Get over it."
But Paul Clay, 53, suggested a sinister consequence of all these newcomers moving in: "The Old Man of the Mountain left. He was fed up with the Mass. influx."
ISTR New Hampshire is the destination if the “Free State” movement.
WTF? Who’s Brainiac idea was that? Frigging bunch of Fruitloops. ARGH!
Hey, Not all of us are Massholes!!!
only about 78% are..........I really gotta move...sigh.
Maybe NH? :)
that’s the truth...and they are always in-your-face liberals who “know best” even tho the mtn natives have done quite well
I first started noticing this about 7-8 years ago, on my trips to New Hampshire. It has gotten a little worse each time I’ve gone back. I’m hoping enough Granite Staters with the old-time values remain, to repel the Mass. lib invaders and teach the values to their children.
Louisiana seems to be getting more conservative.
bump
Can everyone spell I-D-I-O-T??? This guy and ALL those like him, are exactly what is wrong with this country!
I don’t blame NH for not wanting MA culture and nanny state policies there, heck even MA doesn’t want it. Only those who believe in nothing, and will fall for anything, like this dope above.
Hey Idiot, Communism, socialism, liberalism, progressivism or whatever they are calling it now a days is so 20th century
“Like Yankees moving down South and telling us we should do things like they do up North.”
I hear you. You have my sympathies especially if they are the kind of Massholes I encounter on a daily basis. Hopefully, at least they aren’t as loud as the NY/NJ transplants?
I went 37 years before I heard a person, in all seriousness, refer to another human as a "damn northerner". Now I live in Texas and I hear it all the time. Heck, I even use the term!
The “free state project” hasn’t had the intended effect.
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