I've been a machinist for 10 years. I'm at least as good at it as one should be with 10 years experience, maybe a little better, but the problem is that that's only on a lathe, and most non-oil and gas machining jobs require you to be able to run a mill, which I was never trained to do. Also, I have no idea what the cost of living is in NH. My base pay now is a bit over $50k, and there's no way I could currently work for less than that. I mean, I could if I absolutely had to, but I'd have to give up quite a bit and destroy what little credit I have in the process. In a few years though, I'll have some things paid off, or nearly paid off, which will free up some income, and by then, if I've decided Texas no longer suits me, I should be able to move without much financial inconvenience and will be able to live comfortably should I be forced to take a pay cut.

For now, though, I'm going to check out your weather link and see how I feel about all that.