Northern America
by Emma Bennett
A Place to Consider Living
New Hampshire
Canada
Arizona
#1 Hampstead, New Hampshire
Live Free or Die
Crime - New Hampshire is the 3rd safest state in the U.S.A. In New Hampshire, there are approximately 33,170 crimes per year. Hampstead ranks 62 on the crime index where 100 is the safest. In Hampstead, there are aproximately 121 crimes per year.
Taxes - New Hampshire has a 5% individual income tax, 8.5% corporate income tax, 0% sales tax, and pays $2518 in property taxes. In Hampstead the tax rate is $23.68, which breaks down to $4.00 town rate, $16.34 local school rate, $2.33 state school rate, and $1.01 county rate.
Schools - New Hampshire ranks 4th in schools out of the U.S. with a high school graduation rate of 78.3%. Hampstead sends its high schoolers to Pinkerton Academy in Derry, NH which was given a bronze in the national ranking.
Religion - In NH, 35.15% of its 1,323,459 people are religious. Most of the people are Catholic with 24.00% of the population. The rest of the percentage goes in small amounts to religions such as Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and other forms of Christian.
Climate - The climate in New Hampshire varies in what season you are in. In the summer, it is usually warm and sunny with rain storms scattered here and there. In the winter, it is usually very cold with lows sometime approaching below zero, depending on where you live. we get a lot of snow, but be prepared, it could go from 40 degrees F one day, to 7 degrees F the next.
Jobs/Unemployment Rate - The unemployment rate for New Hampshire is 4.9%. The number of people working in New Hampshire has increased to 706,030 from 2013.
Recreation - There are all sorts of types of recreation in New Hampshire from skiing, biking, and hiking, to fishing, boating, hunting and a lot more.
Property Values - The average value for a home in New Hampshire right now is about $207,300. The values of homes in New Hampshire have gone up 5.9% over the past year. The average price for a home in NH right now is $224,000
Population - The population of NH is 1.321 million people.
Racial Makeup - 91.9% are white, 3.0% are Hispanic or Latino, 2.4% are Asian and 1.4% are black or African-American.
#2 Ontario, Canada
Eh?
Taxes - In Ontario, personal income tax rates can range from 5% to 13%. There is a property tax which is based on value of your home. There is also a race track tax which puts a 0.5% tax on all bets placed in an Ontario horse race held in Ontario. There are also a lot more taxes. (see the link below)
Schools - Ontario is claimed to have the best educational system and is used as a role model for the rest of the world. Teachers do not slack off and are very very strict. Ontario requires you to go to school until you are 18 or have a high school diploma. This means no dropping out. Ontario also has a school year of 190 days.
Religion - In Ontario, 76.9% of their people are affiliated with religion. The most popular, Catholic, obtains about 31%. A close follower, Protestant, obtains about 21% of people. Many other religions are also practiced in Ontario including Muslim, Hindu, Christian Orthodox, and Jewish, just to name a few.
Climate - The climate of Ontario differs from season to season and from place to place. In July, the average high temperature ranges from 82 to 74 degrees F. In January the average low varies from -15 to 20 degrees F.
Jobs/Unemployment Rate - The unemployment rate of Ontario is 7.9%. There are about 12,442,710 people working.
Recreation - In Ontario's outdoors you can go on a trail walk, hike, backpack in one of the many national forests, mountain bike, take and ATV on an adventure, and much more. Closer to Ontario's capital,Toronto, you can cycle, skate, walk, jog, golf, and even ski in the winter.
Property Values - In January of 2013, a house in Ontario would cost $372,000. Today, that same house would cost $402,000, an 8% increase.
Population - The population of Ontario is 13.51 million people.
Racial Makeup - 75.4% are white, 8% are South Asian, 5.2% are Chinese, 4.5% are black, 2.3% are Filipino, 1.4% are Latin American, 1.2% are Arab, .7% are Korean, and .2% are Japanese
#3 Phoenix, Arizona
The Grand Canyon State
Taxes - In Arizona, there is a personal income tax, vehicle tax, gas tax, estate tax, and property tax. Arizona's gas tax has their people pay an extra 18 cents on gas per gallon on every regular, personal car.
Schools - Arizona ranks 5th worst for education in the U.S. The graduation rate for Arizona is around 67%.
Religion - In Arizona, 37.23% of its 6.553 million people are religious. Most of the people are Catholic, with 14.81% of the population. The rest of the percentage goes in small amounts to religions such as LDS, Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, and other Christian.
Climate - Arizona has seasons but not as much as states farther north. The average rainfall in 10.8 inches while the average snowfall is 6.6 inches. The average July high is 100 degrees and the average January low is 32 degrees.
Jobs/Unemployment Rate - The unemployment rate in Arizona is 7.6%. There are about 6,054,972 people working in Arizona.
Recreation - Some forms of recreation include hiking, biking, camping, fishing, skiing, rock climbing, boating, and jet skiing.
Property Values - The average home in Arizona is worth about $178,300. The price of a home has gone up 9.7% in the past year. The average price of a home in Arizona would be about $215,000.
Population - The population of Arizona is 6,626,624 people.
Racial Makeup - 57.1% are white, 4.5% are black or African American, 5.3% are American Indian, 3.1% are Asian, 30.2% are Hispanic or Latino.
Where I Want to Live
Canada was a close second for me because there isn't a lot of crime, the schools are great, and the climate is what I am looking for, just like New Hampshire. Now here is the catch, the taxes are way too high and the average house costs $402,000, way to high for me.
I would never want to live in Phoenix, just because of where it is located and because of the climate. I would never be able to ski and I would live in fear that one night my house might get broken into. The unemployment rate is way too high, which makes me uneasy about getting a job when I am out of college. Plus, Arizona ranks 5th worst in the U.S for education.
All in all, New Hampshire is a great choice for me because it fits all of my needs for what I want when I grow up.