Don’t know why this one won’t embed properly. Tech!
This is the thread that sparked me:
Here’s the essay:
Grow Up Like It’s 1979: Why New Hampshire Is the Last Free Playground in America
Picture this: It’s 1979 again. Not in a kitschy Polaroid-filter way, but in your bones. Back when childhood meant disappearing on your bike for hours with nothing but an apple, a pocketknife, and a wildly inflated sense of your own immortality. Back when parents said the magic words—“Go find something to do”—and somehow, you always did.
Now imagine living somewhere that still feels like that. Welcome to New Hampshire, the last place in America where childhood—and adulthood—still runs on ICE: Imagination, Creation, Exploration.
Why New Hampshire? Because It’s Not Just a State—It’s a Rebellion, a State of Mind
The Free State movement is intentional. We are not just gathering 20,000 liberty weirdos in New Hampshire (hi, good neighbors!)—we’re building a living, breathing experiment in human potential.
A whole corner of New England where freedom isn’t a slogan; it’s the operating system. And it turns out, when you stop micromanaging people within an inch of their lives, they become… awesome.
The state slogan may be “Live Free or Die,” but Freestaters aim to “Live free and thrive!”
The 1970s understood this. New Hampshire still does.
I — IMAGINE
Here, imagination runs wild the way it used to—before schedules took over childhood and screens colonized our brains. It floats down the mountains, shimmers in the morning fog drifting off the Merrimack, and hums along the old hiking trails like the land itself is remembering something.
Kids create worlds only they can explain. Adults rediscover the sacred art of staring out a window with no agenda. The forest feels conspiratorial—in the best way—whispering ideas you didn’t know you were ready for.
Every notion—silly, serious, or world-changing—finds form because liberty opens the door and leaves it swinging, inviting imagination to step through and stay.
C — CREATE
Creation in New Hampshire is gloriously, rebelliously physical.
Sure, we do digital. But the real magic is in tree forts, maker labs, community gardens, blacksmith shops, barns turned into art studios, and other wild projects birthed from DIY dreams.
You want to start a business? Plant a grove? Build a castle? Tiny home? Legalize flying cars?
In New Hampshire, you can—because you are the steward of your freedom.
E — EXPLORE
Explore everything—the physical realm, the digital frontier, the quantum weirdness, even the contours of your own consciousness.
Explore the land: With endless trails, hidden waterfalls, secret swimming holes, and the never-ending promise of adventure, New Hampshire rewards wanderers. Low population density + unzoned pockets + a culture of mind your own business means you still get to roam like a feral 70s kid. The nostalgia here isn’t accidental—it’s a structural feature. (Frankly, New Hampshire would make a pretty nifty little country.)
Explore ideas: Clubhouses, debates, pub chats, porch salons, conferences, podcasts—this is a community where the conversation never dies and everyone has a theory they’re game to defend.
Explore digital: Some of the earliest and boldest crypto adopters came from the Free State. Digital frontier thinking is woven into our culture, not grafted on.
Explore your psyche: The weird and wild edges of who you are emerge when no one is telling you to sit still, shut up, or comply. Freedom is a mirror—look into it and see what you’re made of.
Human Flourishing: The Free State Project’s Quiet Flex
You want receipts? Fine.
New Hampshire has been ranked #1 freest state in North America for 24 consecutive years. That’s not a fluke—that’s design.
Freedom manifests as:
• Economic Opportunity: Low taxes and light-touch regulation create that same exhilarating freedom you felt bombing down a hill with no helmet. It’s why entrepreneurs are drawn here—to come build without as many safeguards.
• Social Resilience: Kids raised with independence become competent adults. Adults allowed to take risks become resilient humans. Unstructured play is not nostalgia—it’s neuroscience.
• Cultural Vibrancy: From town parades to local theater and open-mic nights—ICE isn’t theoretical; it’s a civic value within our thriving community, and the state at large.
Return to Your Roots—Forward
In New Hampshire, you’re not escaping modernity; you’re reclaiming human flourishing.
You’re opting out of digital dementia and opting into real-world competence. You’re choosing bruised knees over brain-rot. You’re choosing independence over infantilization.
Become Independent
Here in the Free State, the 70s ethos—go play, take risks, figure it out, come home by dark—isn’t a wistful memory. It’s a deliberate practice.
A counterspell to the digital ensnarement of the 21st century.
Call to Action
If you crave a life where humans are trusted, kids roam free-ish, adults dream big, and communities thrive on imagination instead of regulation, then…
Move to New Hampshire. Not because it’s perfect, but because it’s free enough to let YOU be.
This is where ICE melts into human flourishing. Where the past whispers its wisdom to the future. Where the Free State Project proved something profound:
Give people freedom, and they come alive. Indeed, they… thrive.
More at:
Granite Eagle articles I mentioned… PART 1; PART 2; PART 3.
BONUS CONTENT: The gloaming with a murder of crows!