I was in your position about a year ago, difference being I grew up here. I had enough of CA even though I was making a lot...a damn lot. Packed up a UHaul and drove across the country and never looked back.

Northwood is known for great schools. Residents go to Coe Brown for high school, but outsiders pay really well to get their kids in. All the local schools are fairly good. I had my girls in a daycare center in a different town that was on a farm, and every day the kids went on small hikes and took care of the animals in between their little class times. A very different culture for sure.

You'll find really good houses for great prices, and the property taxes are something people tend to bitch about because there's not much else to bitch about. I live in a really old "city" near Portsmouth and it's pretty awesome with local history and such.

Yeah, your idea is entirely feasible. And you'll probably never regret it. There's been rumors of the Mass lib attitude sneaking in, and in some little ways it's true. But lately, and all through my life that I can remember, there's a real sense of community being involved in local politics. All the Bloomberg proposed bullshit was killed recently, by a long shot. Not only was his bill shot down, the state went ahead and made some follow on laws to ensure the continued freedom of everything he was trying to restrict. There's a lot of Democrats, but they're the old school kind that were concerned with the actions of a government that wasn't dictated by the people. In most of NH, democrat and liberal are NOT synonymous.

Also, I just realized there's a New England sub forum...if anyone in the area wants to shoot, really shoot, let me know!