can anyone match this criteria?? (Hollis, Brookline: school districts, colleges, property taxes)

[cindamella]

good thing we do own a gun or 2 and a pickup truck is the first thing my husband wants to purchase when we move :-)

we checked out bedford and it didnt do much for me (no offense to anyone who lives there!), hollis is too close to boston, but i feel like amherst may make the distance cut. & meredith sounds promising.

what about lee, madbury, dover & newington? i love proximity to beach and portsmouth, but do they meet "the criteria"?...1)conservative (or at least not very liberal), 2)good schools, 3)a downtown.

and does anyone hae an opinion about new london? we are visitng friends 2nd home there next month - they seem to love it.

thanks!!

[Verseau]

Newington is definitely the most conservative out of those towns, but it doesn't have a quaint town center to speak of. Much of the town is occupied by the shopping center and the Pease Air National Guard base. Of course, it is right next to Portsmouth's great downtown. The elementary school is in Newington and grades 7-12 go to Portsmouth. I've heard that the schools are good, but not great. Take that with a grain of salt.

I don't know what your definition of "very liberal" is, but those other towns definitely vote more Democratic than most towns in NH. Lee and Madbury also lack anything like a real downtown but the schools are excellent (shared with Durham, which is a college town with a lively center). The taxes are on the high side. Dover definitely has a sizeable and active downtown, but I've never heard anything fantastic about the schools, mostly 'mediocre.' Again, just hearsay.

New London sounds like a much better lead. Quaint downtown, good schools; it's a college town but the Sunapee area is a bit more conservative so it's close to middle-of-the-road politically. Taxes are pretty good.

[lisa g]

My advice is to *seriously consider private school or homeschooling* in NH. Schools here are very liberal and politicized at the expense of traditional academics and whatever value system you have at home. Especially Hollis, Amherst and Bedford schools. Beware.

[sgthoskins]

Originally Posted by Verseau

I don't know what your definition of "very liberal" is, but those other towns definitely vote more Democratic than most towns in NH.

I would guess Keene and Fitzwilliam would be good examples of "very liberal".

[cindamella]

so helpful, thank you!

although i love the idea of living near the beach, it sounds like the mountains and lakes may be more suitable for my family's ideals.

we leave for lake winnipesauke on monday and lake sunapee area 2 weeks later. i'm sure ill have more questions when i get back!

(fyi - i don want to get political here but, in a nutshell, my definition of "very liberal" is a town where too many of my neighbors would vote to keep obama in and send judd gregg out. i just couldn't deal with that mentality. i take your state motto very seriously.)

[Mac_Muz]

NH salt water is usually fairly cold water. Te gulf stream is out pretty far and the back eddies are cold. Fresh water lakes and onds are the warmest of all next in th later parts of summer rivers can be warmer than salt water.

After you see winnie make a effort to get on the kanc. Either go to conway and enter that way or go to North Woodstock and enter there, You must do this, if you plan to live in NH. Either way get in there and go to the top. You can thank me later.

I have no idea about towns and schools anymore my son will be 30 soon.

[seamusnh]

Originally Posted by lisa g

My advice is to *seriously consider private school or homeschooling* in NH. Schools here are very liberal and politicized at the expense of traditional academics and whatever value system you have at home. Especially Hollis, Amherst and Bedford schools. Beware.

I disagree. I am conservative and have one Souhegan graduate and two more there now. My wife and I are active in the schools. I do not encounter the same liberal attitude I have seen in other towns' school systems. The teachers are not in a union....

[notdancingqueen]

Cindamella, I responded to your PM -- check your messages and let's talk via email...

[rizzo0904]

I agree with Seamus...Hollis, Amherst, Bedford.

[lisa g]

Originally Posted by seamusnh

I'd check out Bedford, Hollis, and Amherst for the schools.

Bedford, Hollis and Amherst's schools are all highly controversial. They are academically light. In Hollis, demonstration of workplace competencies replaces testing of a traditional body of knowledge. Group 'values clarification', or the reconsideration of traditional (especially values based) personal and cultural beliefs occurs regularly in these schools, as well as repeated subjective psychological exercises toward group conformity without parental notification or permission. Check out these districts websites and their affiliates. Bedford offers IB, so taxes go directly to Geneva Switzerland, and the UN determines the anti-American curriculum. Amherst's Souhegan HS is a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, which is also radical and Hollis schools have purchased '21st Century Skills' from Maine educrats which should effectively prepare our students for competencies instead of professions.

I do not know about the Lakes Region, but you really need to be careful with public education in NH if you want your children to get a solid education and not become brainwashed anti-Americans. The Nashua area has some academically rigorous private Catholic schools, you just need to stay aware of how social justice themes are represented.