Relocation to Mass, with small kids (Boston, Lowell: school district, college, to live in)

[MAtoNC!]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

My parents used to live in Londonderry, and several of their neighbors commuted to Andover. I don't know how many rentals there would be, but maybe you could look around that area, or possible Windham or Derry. Londonderry has good schools, as I understand.

I've heard good things about those towns. But what about the traffic? How long is the commute?

As far as Southern NH I wouldn't recommend Salem or Plaistow for someone that is not familiar with the area. Some parts are fine and some are not. It's that spillover affect that I mentioned regarding Methuen.

[CaseyB]

Oh, I'd stay out of Salem, too. I think the commute is a little over a half hour. My parent's subdivision was pretty close to the highway (exit 4, maybe). I lived in Newton at the time, and I could get to their house in 45 minutes.

[Valerie C]

What area(s) of Plaistow do you find questionable? At this time, Plaistow has no rental property available, at least on MLS. Possibly because most of the few apartment complexes in town have been converted to condo's and are now owned privately, some by investors, some by owner's who occupy.
Salem's main problem isn't so much the residents, it's the Massachusetts people who come there to shop & shoplift. The vast majority of police logs show it time and time again (Police - Police Logs - Salem - New Hampshire). Housing in town ranges from million+ dollar homes to little mobile home parks along the strip, and everything in between. At this time, the cheapest 3-bedroom rental is $2,000 a month. Yeah, definitely an area to stay away from

Originally Posted by MAtoNC!

As far as Southern NH I wouldn't recommend Salem or Plaistow for someone that is not familiar with the area. Some parts are fine and some are not. It's that spillover affect that I mentioned regarding Methuen.

[MAtoNC!]

In my opinion, Salem and Plaistow are too commercial and lack charm compared to the other Southern NH towns mentioned. The traffic on 28 & 125 is awful. Crime in Plaistow? Not so much... In Salem? Yes, it's a problem.

[lorrhob06]

I'm not sure I'm that comfortable moving to NH and working in MA. I think it will be enough to learn one state much less two. Plus mentally (since I've never lived that close to another state) it would bug me that my kids were going to school in another state even though it was only 30miles away.

I've added Amesburry to my list, I looked around and found several places that would work. Someone mentioned the rarity of central air, as a southerner with no experience with "real winter" that scares me. Can someone please explain how you manage the winters without central heat?

[CaseyB]

You'll have central heat. "Central Air" to us is central air conditioning, rarer in New England.

[WinterWonder]

The spill over you mentioned before - is it prevalent in Windham, NH or Atkinson, NH?

[Valerie C]

lorrhob, glad you're added Amesbury to the list. (one of my suggestions on my first post to you, before we got all tangled up with the Haverhill discussion) It's got a really cute downtown, excellent highway access (Rte 495), the beach is but a short drive, and if you're into biking, a great place to ride along the powwow river, and just across the river in Newburyport, Maudslay State Park (bring your insect repellent!) for festivals, etc.

You asked how we manage without central heat... we definitely do have central heat! Rest assured, the majority of homes will have a baseboard forced hot water system to heat the house. Others will have forced hot air, or electric panels to provide heat. I actually grew up in a house without central heat (yes there is such a thing!) and let me tell you, the 2nd floor was COLD. However, we managed to live through such an ordeal, and lived to tell about it

Just wanted to add... You'll find it amazing how close NH really is once you're here, you don't have to cross a giant river or anything to get to the other side. What I wanted to add is that if you work in Mass, you may want to live in Mass, because NH has much higher property taxes. Not a big deal while you're renting, but if you ever decided to buy a home of your own, you'd be hit double with higher NH property taxes plus Massachusetts state income tax. That's all...

[noniwilli]

I lived in Wakefield for 12 years, had 2 kids in the schools & loved it...the lake is lovely, there is a cute downtown, the library is GREAT, ample shopping & restaurants and is REALLY accessible to the highwayand has the commuter rail into the city, which is convenient. The people are wonderful, down to earth....I miss it! You would really like it here...

[lorrhob06]

I am relieved to hear that central heat will not be so hard to find. I'm a big wimp when it comes cold. Wakefield and Amesbury both sound like nice areas I would love to be that close to the beach, and being near a good place to ride bikes is great too (we all love to ride)

Thanks again to everyone who posted an answer to my question, I will be up there in mid-April and I feel much better now that I have an idea of where to look.