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Can anyone tell me their thoughts or feelings on Peterborough, Hillsborough, or Winchester? I still really love Keene, but I have been checking these towns out too.
I've been to Peterborough a few times.
It's a cute place of 5000 or so, rivers run through it so make sure you locate on high ground.
Small town atmosphere, lots of funky little places, the dinah is a local gathering place.
It seems a laid-back place I could get used to despite the fact that its politics tend to the hard left.
We're in Peterborough and love it here. I was surprised by Tara's posts about Keene's lack of culture since it is oozing out here. Basically there are more things going on each week than we could ever hope to do. It is a small town though and has a small town feel. Lots of people here are into getting outside and the environment, so it is a nice fit for us. It is more left than other areas of NH, but I'm finding there is a good mix of artsy people, fiber-arts/waldorf folk, mainstream people, and the traditional "live free or die" culture.
Drawbacks? Well, we were from New England, but lived in CA for 8 years so the weather is taking a bit of getting used to again. This winter was a humdinger for snow and we've never been in a place with a mud season. This last month is the only time I've heard people complain about the weather though. They are sick of winter and anxious to get rid of the mud. My kids like it though!!
The job market is not great - not horrible, but not hopping. A lot of people here are working creatively - making their own businesses etc. My husband is in tech and commutes to Mass, along with several other people I know here. They are building a lot of housing here so hopefully that will change!!
Taxes are high, but they are high in the other places in Mass we were looking too - and you have income tax there.
There are "gaps" in services and stores, but for us it is fine. We like shopping in smaller stores and buying other things off the web, so it is our style. Bigger stores are available in a 20-30 minute drive, so it is not a big deal to us. Things like driving my kids 25 min for swimming lessons bugs me, but keeping up swimming is important to me, so I do it.
We haven't been here for a full bug season, so I can't comment on that. It was pretty nasty back in Northeast Mass though, so I hope it is better.
There are four main schools here that people send their kids to: public school, the Well School, Mountain Shadows, and Keene Monadnock Waldorf. There is a homeschool community here, but it is not huge - probably because of all the options.
If you own a house in CA, I would totally recommend renting out your house for a year and coming here (or wherever) to rent and see if it is your lifestyle. It is very different.
My little guys are going nuts so I have to go - hope this helps!
Hillsboro is ok - there's not a great deal to it, it's a bigger town than many (hey, it's actually got the Rite Aid drug store and a McDonalds! whoo-hoo ) and it's not far from Concord.
Peterborough is more artsy, has a nice downtown area. Hubby refers to it as the 'town with no restaurants' - not because there aren't any, but we couldn't find them on the main roads, or what we did find was either closed, very expensive & a bit.. 'crunchy granola' for our tastes - lol, we ended up returning to VT and stopping in Keene at an Appleby's!. One thing no one ever mentions about Peterborough, is that for anyone with any medical concerns - they've got a regional hospital there (it's actually where I was born!).
Peterborough is great - because of the MacDowell Colony (a beautiful place that allows artists and writers to stay and work for free) it has a hugely disproportionate number of literary giants passing through. The lovely local bookstore (independent, with a cafe!) has a whole shelf devoted to books by MacDowell authors.
There is a real downtown with a number of shops and restaurants. I agree that in some ways it feels more western Massy or Vermonty than NH - but it certainly IS part of NH. The wonderful Thornton Wilder play "Our Town" was set here (can you tell that I like to read?) Real estate is significantly less expensive than it would be a bit further south and the area is gorgeous.
One thing I would think about is schools. While we ultimately decided that it was too far from Boston for us (dh's travel schedule) and didn't really investigate local schools, I noticed that the sellers of both houses we looked at had sent their kids to boarding school for high school. It sounds like there are some other private school options (which makes me wonder if the local schools aren't too great?) but I remember thinking it would be a long drive to St Paul's in Concord...
Peterborough has a bunch of restaurants for all different styles and wallets, but I could see them being a little hard to find for visitors. My favorites are Harlow's, Aesop's Tables and for a splurge, Pearl.
As for the public school, the system is considered the best in the area. We're homeschoolers at heart though, so we take any school system with a grain of salt. What I DO like about this school system (ConVal) is that they emphasize the child more than the test (coming from CA you'll know what I mean). The kids do a lot of interesting things (flying lessons, beekeeping, skate boarding lessons, robotics team, etc). That being said, if I thought my kids needed something different, I would look elsewhere too. The ConVal system is huge since it includes the area towns. My kids are elementary and below so we haven't hit the big middle school or huge high school yet. For some kids it works, and for some it doesn't.
Hillsborough I found to be quite blue collar and vastly different from Petersborough. Hillsboro didn't have a decent downtown area. It is a bit closer to Concord, just as Peterborough is closer to Keene. Just didn't click with us, if you know what I mean.
On the other hand, Petersborough was fun. A bit (maybe more) left of center, but it was still fun to check out all the cool shops. NH2008 seemed to nail it by comparing it to Western Mass (Berkshires). We have a place out there as well and it seems very much the same attitude. They have a Stop and Shop grocery, but it is in dire need of an update. The plaza that it's located in is a bit old. Due to it's politics and some other issues, it's off our radar, but I can see it's appeal to others. That whole area near Keene definately is the more liberal section of NH, aside from maybe Concord.
Winchester was never on my list, so I never checked it out.
...It sounds like there are some other private school options (which makes me wonder if the local schools aren't too great?) but I remember thinking it would be a long drive to St Paul's in Concord...
Did you realize that St. Paul's is $40k a year? You don't drive kids there; you drop them off for a year while you stay at the villa in Monte Carlo.
Most boarding schools take day students but you're right - I just checked the website and it is one of only 6 boarding schools in the US that doesn't. So scratch that. I personally wouldn't want to send my kids to boarding school, but I graduated from one and my parents definitely never had a villa in Monte Carlo...
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) and it's not far from Concord.
