Move to Liberty: The Case for New Hampshire

CATO annually ranks all fifty US states in terms of freedom. New Hampshire has held the #1 spot for 12 years running. Even before that it never ranked below #2. It’s not only the freest state in the union now but has been for a very long time. This speaks to a deep institutional and cultural commitment to liberty. Anyone looking for a better life in a freer place should look closely at this state.

What’s so free about New Hampshire?

Local libertarians have made the answer to that question easy. In the promo documentary below, they list 101 reasons to move to New Hampshire, including lower taxes, better gun rights, jury nullification, school choice, and much more.

CATO’s full analysis notes that New Hampshire “does well in both economic freedom and personal freedom.” Many states perform well in one or the other, but performing well in both is unusual.

From my reading, there are really two key drivers of liberty in New Hampshire.

First, it has the most accessible, transparent, and least sclerotic state democracy in the US. New Hampshire’s 424-person legislature is the third-largest in the English speaking world. With a population of 1.4 million, that works out to one state representative for every 3,300 residents. This takes the money out of politics to some degree and makes it possible for ordinary people to run for state office; anyone with a modest amount of money and a few volunteers has a shot at winning an office representing just 3,300 people. By contrast, in California, there is one representative for every 465,000 people — unless you have a few million dollars for a campaign, you haven’t really got a chance at running.

Why does that matter? Most of what government does isn’t that popular but continues anyway because average person is powerless to stop it. Not so in New Hampshire. On top of all that, elected state representatives in New Hampshire are paid only $200 per year and must face reelection every two years; those looking for a well-paid, long and easy political career need not bother running for election here.

The other key driver underpinning liberty in this state is the people themselves. The state motto “Live Free or Die” was not only chosen in a popular referendum years ago but more recently has been proposed as an addition to the state flag. This popular attachment to liberty is most markedly manifested in the size, energy, and accomplishments of the local libertarian movement. When libertarians across the US decided to pick one state as their political homeland (an effort called the Free State Project), they picked New Hampshire, partly because local government was already relatively libertarian and partly because the state had a very active libertarian crowd.

That crowd is getting bigger: thousands of libertarians have moved here to join the Free State Project and more are coming all the time. The magnitude of this movement can be measured by the fact that a film is being made about it — a good trailer has just been released. As the saying goes, “Liberty lives in the hearts of the people,” and in that regard liberty is probably on more solid ground in New Hampshire than any other state.

But is New Hampshire a nice place to live?

US News ranks New Hampshire #6 in quality of life out of the 50 states; DataPandas ranks it #4; and WalletHub ranks it #3. The state blows the rest of the country out of the water on three factors: it has some of the lowest crime rates in the US, the quality of education is among the best, and not only is the healthcare system commonly highly-ranked but the population is among the healthiest. The state also ranks tops on a relatively strong economy, routinely scoring among the highest incomes and lowest unemployment rates.

If you’re an outdoor type, you’ll particularly love New Hampshire. It offers everything from beaches on the Atlantic to the most-hiked mountain in the Western Hemisphere — Mount Monadnock. New Hampshire is a hiker’s paradise, boasting 48 mountains with peaks higher than 4,000 feet, as well as access to the Appalachian Trail. Fishers will find easy access to deep-sea, river, lake and even ice fishing.

In terms of weather, New Hampshire ranks #1 in best states for seasonal variation. “Think of New Hampshire and you’ll probably imagine its fall foliage. If you’re looking for seasonal variation, it’s hard to do better than this state. Weather conditions are never overly extreme. Winters bring temperatures of about 34-39 degrees during the day and 17-23 degrees at night. Summers offer moderate temperatures ranging on average from 79 to 84 degrees.” If you’re concerned about cold, here are the warmest cities in the state.

A great opportunity to check out the place

Libertarians in New Hampshire celebrate their liberty once a year in June with the Porcupine Freedom Festival. It’s a great time to visit. Per their website:

“PorcFest is a multi-day celebration of liberty at Roger’s Campground in Northern New Hampshire. Campfires, panel discussions, presentations, movies, live talk shows, dancing, singing, music, food, parties, all around liberty-loving good times, and more are to be found at the most exciting liberty event of the year. PorcFest showcases some of New Hampshire’s finest people and offerings in the scenic White Mountains.”

The festival will be held at Roger’s Campground, Lancaster, New Hampshire, June 17th-23rd, 2024. You can learn more about it here.

Additional resources from the Free State Project

Libertarians in New Hampshire want pro-liberty types to move there, and they’ve really put out the welcome mat by organizing everything you need, from employment opportunities, to advice on where to live, etc. They even have volunteers who will answer your questions and others who run a Welcome Wagon to greet you when you get there. You can find details on all this here.