Where is the best place to live? (Manchester, Nashua: appointed, sales)

[isis297]

I know this is going to be a matter of opinion, but I am curious what you are guys are going to say.

My husband and I are originally from MD. We've lived in the Capital Region of NY for almost 4 years now. We want to find our forever home though and don't feel like we have yet. We have reasons to think about moving closer to MD but MD, PA, WV and DE are leaving a lot to be desired.

If we do some things differently, I could see us staying here in NY even though the cost of living drives me crazy but I have been thinking about NH as well. My SIL lives in Derry and my BIL lives in Londonderry and I've always liked it there. My oldest always came home "sick" but I've come to the conclusion it's been allergies because we've had the same problem here in NY and I've learned Clariton is a lifesaver.

The question is, could NH actually give us what we are looking for? The main things we are looking for are:

1) great schools/job opportunities - my husband is in IT and dabbles in music
2) decent house/property for the money - here a 3 br 2 1/2 bath with 2 car garage on 1/3 acre goes for the low $200's...I'd love a few acres!!
3) not too expensive property taxes - here on the property above we are paying about $4500/year
4) great healthcare - my mom is not the healthiest and would end up with or near us...she's been on life support 3 times in 10 years
5) great community programs - things for the kids like swimming lessons at a community pool maybe, soccer, enrichment programs (all without costing an arm and a leg) and maybe some programs for my mom (senior) and challenged aunt

One of my concerns is are there extra taxes the state incorporates since there isn't a state income tax? Is there a charge when you register your car there?

What is your suggestion as to the town that offers all or most of the above and how far it is from the Derry/Manchester areas?

Thank you for your advice!!

[DareToDream]

Isis - We relocated from the Mid-Hudson region of NYS in April of 2006 to northern NH. While I can't answer a lot of your specific concerns, I can say that the overall cost of living up here, anyway, is less than it was in the Mid-Hudson region. The salaries in this area are also less. We bought our home in February - for the same type of location with the same amount of land, it would have cost us easily 3 times what we paid here and the taxes are NOTHING compared to what they would have been in NYS...here, the tax for the house is $2500 - in NY, well, who knows since they just did a "revaluation" in the area we came from (the house is on a dead end, within walking distance to the high school and middle school). Car registration is more than in NY.

Again, I don't know the "living situation" in the area you mentioned, but, frankly, we are going to be THRILLED this year to only pay federal taxes and not NYS taxes on top of those - For 2006, we still had to pay NYS income tax, but we won't have to this year! YAY!!!!!

Even up here, there are at least three hospitals relatively close-by, there is a Senior Living facility with all kinds of activities, doctors and dentists up the ying-yang and a lot of activities for kids, so I would imagine the area you are thinking of would certainly have these things.

Winters up here are colder than where you're looking, but this past winter was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting it to be. The roads were well maintained, we were not snowed in at all (heck, we moved during the "Valentine's Day Blizzard"). Even though it got to -20 or so for a few days, it still didn't have an impact on us doing things - we just layered, layered, layered and were fine...but again, south of here was not as cold.

Hopefully someone will be on who knows the area you're looking at and can give you more definitive information.

[WannaComeHome]

Isis,
I still live in MD (PG County). From what I've worked out: taxes in NH will probably be about 1/2 what they are here!

Property taxes are high - they vary from town to town (not much to do with county) so check your town taxes as part of your research - but the high property tax is offset by no sales or state income tax. Many people think that tends to equalize it.. but if you've lived in MD then you know it's definately NOT so!

Schools and community programs also vary by town. Just remember: NH is pretty rural (by MD standards), there's not necessarily that much to do.

[bryfry]

It's hard to balance all of the "want list" items. You may hit on a few, but then you'll be disappointed on the others.

The taxes you want are available in some towns, but you are out in the boonies and the kids won't have local stuff to do. You may be too far away from decent health care as well. You may be able to find most of the items on your list, but have compromise for it in taxes. Most towns you are looking for are in the $5k to $6k range in taxes for your house type with some small acreage.

Londonderry is not a bad choice. It has no town "center" (meaning a defined center with stores and sidewalks), most of the stuff is on RT 102 in the form of strip malls and large store outlets. It's basically suburbia. Plenty to do and close to Manchester and Nashua. Hubby should be ok there. Bedford is also another choice. There are many others.

Get out a map, start picking places to check out. Most towns have web sites and here is a link to the NH town profiles:

NH Community Profiles

This will direct you to the profile of each town in NH. There is a lot of data there, but you can find just about everything you need to know including tax, municipal, internet access, community programs, etc.

Also use this forum!! Most of your questions have already been covered somewhere! Click on the search tab above, go to advanced, and then type in a town, subject, etc. and let it go. You'll find all sorts of stuff (good and bad) about most things NH!

[Valerie C]

Londonderry isn't a bad choice, but the OP mentioned one sentence an amount in the low 200's, and that they would like a couple of acres. Couple of acres in Londonderry is substantially more...

I love living in Londonderry,but do have to be honest and say that one thing it's lacking is reasonably priced community programs. I knew that when we chose Londonderry that the only swimming available is at the gym (WCWC - The Workout Club and Wellness Center) so can't complain about it now Londonderry taxes ARE high, but than again, so are Bedford, Wndham, Lee, Durham, and every other town with excellent schools...

I'll be happy to help you with info on various towns and what they offer. There are a number of good health care facilities throughout the state, I think it's just finding the balance that bryfry mentioned...

Originally Posted by bryfry

It's hard to balance all of the "want list" items <snip>

Londonderry is not a bad choice. It has no town "center" (meaning a defined center with stores and sidewalks), most of the stuff is on RT 102 in the form of strip malls and large store outlets. It's basically suburbia. Plenty to do and close to Manchester and Nashua. Hubby should be ok there. Bedford is also another choice. There are many others.

<snip>

Also use this forum!! Most of your questions have already been covered somewhere! Click on the search tab above, go to advanced, and then type in a town, subject, etc. and let it go. You'll find all sorts of stuff (good and bad) about most things NH!