northampton vs concord (Manchester, Nashua, Londonderry: relocate, property taxes, budget)

[skinut74]

my wife and i are looking to relocate from long island to somewhere less crowded. we have job offers in both concord nh and northampton ma. can anyone offer a reason for choosing one over the other? thanks to all who reply.

[nicolem]

Hi,

I don't know anything about North Hampton but live in Concord-am moving out of Concord in October. I personally do not like Concord so keep that in mind when you read my post.

Here are some of the issues that I have with Concord, however they may not bother you. Concord is very liberal. They refuse to spray for EEE. They cut money in the snow budget twice recently in place of lesser important things. If you are a working person, IMHO, you get little in Concord. They are moving refugees here and they are all on public assistance. The organization that moved them here sprung it on the local government AFTER the budget was made so there will be more cuts. So the snow budget gets cut for people who have to ride to work, but we can give more handouts that I do not understand. Concord is growing and housing is crazy. Probably not as high as Mass but it is crazy. They are always doing roadwork, but it is never to make the road better. It is work like laying underground pipes for new developments. They dig the road up, add pipes and pave over. Then the road is in road shape then it was before. The road that is by me that was supposed to be widened and fixed- that has already been put off to like 2010
I personally think the people in Concord are rude and never hold the door or say thank you, but that is just me. I just prefer other parts of NH.


Now, for the things I like about Concord. You are right by Rt 93 and the location is great-about an hour from seacoast, mountains, Nashua, Keene. It is still relatively safe. They have a nice downtown.

I would think housing would be less expensive in NH than it would be in MA but it is not cheap.

Taxes are less in NH. Yes property taxes are high and you pay to register your car. However, we have no sales or income tax. NH is consistently ranked in the top 5 or better for overall lowest tax burden.

Again, I really like NH just not Concord-it is just not for me and I am trying to be honest. I am sure you will hear from people that love it as well.

If you have specific questions about Concord, feel free to ask.

Nicole

[Valerie C]

To skinut74, just about anywhere you settle in NH will probably be less crowded than Long Island For real peace and quiet, you might want to consider living outside the city, and commuting in, as many do. If you chose to live somewhere south of the city (Bedford, Deerfield, Northwood) you'll be doing a reverse commute, and on the lighter-traffic side of the highway. The towns to the east (Chichester, Pembroke) and west (Hopkinton, Warner) are quieter, could be considered bedroom communities, not a whole lot of jobs, etc. Sidewalks roll up early evening Are schools much of a consideration for you? The towns with the best schools will have a higher property value AND a higher tax bill to go along with it. Just something else to consider in the big mix...


You know, I've heard this over and over again about Concord in the last couple of years. Makes me a sad For a capital city, Concord had retained much of it's "townlike" atmosphere... It's too bad that things seem to be changing. I can't help but wonder if these changes are due to changes in the way people are voting here these last few years. NH USED TO BE the state that didn't give out the handouts, except for community/church charity for special cases. Everybody needs help sometimes, but when it becomes a lifestyle sponsored by the government (and our taxes) than it's a problem.

[LoveSnow]

Hmmm... Once I try to decide on an area, I read something that makes me search further... Any ideas why?

Valerie, I read your posts, and those where you mention schools. This would be my first consideration - all the way from elementary and up. Exeter is expensive. What about Bow? I read somewhere Bow school district is a good one (it said it's one of "outperforming" in NH). Property there seems to be affordable, taxes not as high as in other areas. And it is close to a city (don't want it to be too rural).

What other areas are worth considering (decent schools + about average home prices)?

Another thing - in big towns there are good and bad areas. Some are so bad, I won't drive there, mush less stop at a gas station. Anything like that in NH and Concord in particular?

[nicolem]

Originally Posted by LoveSnow

Another thing - in big towns there are good and bad areas. Some are so bad, I won't drive there, mush less stop at a gas station. Anything like that in NH and Concord in particular?

No nothing like that in Concord. However, there are parts of Manchester and Nashua that are pretty bad-certainly areas that I would certainly avoid at night and even on the day. If you plan to move to either, I suggest some real good research of the area.

Nicole

[Valerie C]

I agree wholeheartedly with Nicole on this one. There are some definite bad areas in Manchester and Nashua, some areas that I won't venture into to show without an escort. I refuse to put myself or my clients in possible danger. Realtors sometimes put ourselves into stupid situations without thinking... (don't even get me going on that one!)

In Concord there are some areas that are definitely more run-down than others, but I've never felt that gut-instinct that says "don't stop here" as I have in certain areas of the aforementioned cities. But that said, there are some very nice areas of both cities. Manchester's north end has great walking neighborhoods, very nice homes on small city lots with beautiful landscaping. Tudor-style homes, capes, beautiful Victorians. As with any city, you need to keep aware of your surroundings (something we forget while living our lives in suburbia...)

Bow is a great town, very charming, suburban/rural in spots, but you're just south of Concord, so pretty convenient to everything, including Rte 93/89 to get to points north (white mountains/lakes) and south (Massachusetts) Depending on which side of Bow you're living in, easy access to Concord OR Manchester. And their schools are great, same thing can't be said about many other towns with their tax rate or population.

Best schools, as I said in a previous post, come with unfortunately a high price tag. Not so much the home prices (thankfully they are dropping every day) but tax bills. It's a necessary evil, and as long as you don't move to a small town w/ small tax then vote to change it to what you want it to be... you're doing well by doing your research here and online. Let's see. Any town (such as Exeter, Stratham, Brentwood) within the SAU16 region, you'll find property values/taxes are not as high as let's say Oyster River (Lee,Durham,Madbury) or Londonderry, Bedford, but probably higher than Danville, Epping, Pittsfield. It's a beautiful area, close to the seacoast, but not so accessible to the Concord area. Is there an area that you're trying to stay somewhat close to for commuting purposes? There are good schools all over the state, and it's a small state, comparatively speaking, but commutes need to be manageable!

[LoveSnow]

Thank you, Valerie. Well, commuting is definitely an important part so I don't want to go too far from a major airport (which would be Boston, right?). I want a town that is not too rural with nothing to do, yet quiet and laid back.

Driving. Distances in NH are nothing comparatively to TX. Not that I travel far every day, but here the nearest big city is almost 2 hr drive away.

Concord area seems right. So I am doing more research on it. Laconia must be beautiful, but little too far away. Is it?

Why are you people complaining about your taxes? No tax is too small, that's for sure. But yours are lower than what we pay here in TX (and TX is conservative!). And we have a hefty sales tax too (8% average depending on the area on everything but basic foods and medicines). I checked remax.com, they list taxes for properties. Even Exeter tax is lower than some areas in San Antonio, for example. Really.

[Valerie C]

No no no... unless you need to travel internationally, Manchester (Manchester Boston Regional Airport: Manchester, NH USA: A Boston Area Airport & The Convenient Alternative to Logan International Airport) would be the airport of choice. Soooo much easier to get to, park, deal with. Literally 5 minutes off the highway. Hopefully that would work for the commute... we'll talk in a bit about some of the other towns (gotta run off now...)

Originally Posted by LoveSnow

Thank you, Valerie. Well, commuting is definitely an important part so I don't want to go too far from a major airport (which would be Boston, right?). I want a town that is not too rural with nothing to do, yet quiet and laid back. <snip>
.

[skinut74]

valerie, schools are not important to us. commuting for less than 30 min would not be a problem. we ahve been viewing house online and have seen some in weare, sutton, hopkinton, chichester, epsom, warner and henniker that look interesting. any advice?

[ogre]

Originally Posted by skinut74

my wife and i are looking to relocate from long island to somewhere less crowded. we have job offers in both concord nh and northampton ma. can anyone offer a reason for choosing one over the other? thanks to all who reply.

I know downtown Northampton prettty well, and am familiar with that general area, since I lived for a number of years in nearby Amherst, MA. Concord I don't know so well. I've heard a little about it, and have driven through it several times, and stopped to eat there a few times. From getting a look at Concord on those occasions, I can tell you that Concord looks more like a small city, while Northampton is a town--a pretty good-sized town (that has the role of service and commercial center for its local area), but a town, not a city.

NicoleM describes Concord as "liberal." Not being familiar with Concord, I don't know exactly what this means in the case of Concord, but it can mean different things. For example, an area that is heavily Democratic because there's a large blue-collar segment to the population is not the same as a place dominated by yuppie limousine liberals. I do know that Northampton would also be considered "liberal." This gets a little complicated, because many of the small rural towns near Noho are quite conservative. I don't know the voting patterns in those towns, but I mean they're conservative in the generic sense, specifically in the sense of having very cliquish populations that can give the cold shoulder to outsiders, and will shut outsiders out of the employment possibilities in favor of hiring fellow local yokels.

Noho itself has traditionally had a reputation as a tolerant place, where folks of various stripes manage to live in peace with each other. I've heard some rumblings that in recent years the town may have become more rigidly politically correct, and less tolerant of even mainstream conservatives, but these are only occasional rumors I've heard, and it's been long enough since I've been in the area that I can't say from personal experience what might be going on there at present. I can say that the area has a number of colleges, including Smith College in Northampton. This makes for an odd mix of those narrow, cliquish rural towns and some very leftward-leaning towns where the colleges are. Being that these are college towns, the leftward leanings tend to take the form of rigid political correctness--meaning intolerance of any deviation from the p.c. line--as well as typical college-town characters, such as freaky-looking people on the downtown streets, and those pathetic hangers-on who are chronologically in their 30's and 40's (and 50's and 60's), but who have never grown up and who hang around with the college kids and party with them all the time.

It's important to note that the extreme college-town character is found in Amherst, which is the home of a large university (UMass) which absolutely dominates the town. In Noho, you'll see less of this, and more of a population that is not directly associated with the one small college in town, but there is still some college-town, freaky left-wing character to Noho--nothing like Amherst, though. Generally, Noho is a clean, pleasant town, with an attractive, vibrant little downtown, filled with an eclectic mix of shops and eateries.

Another point to consider in comparing Northampton and Concord is that one is in MA and the other in NH. You might want to keep in mind the difference in the two states' politics, taxes, etc.

Also, if you are an outdoors enthusiast, or would place a lot of emphasis on the outdoor scenery where you would live, you might want to know that Northampton and Concord offer a tradeoff: Noho is in an area with gorgeous scenery, being in a broad valley that has clusters of hills and small mountains scattered throughout, while the local natural scenery around Concord is more ordinary. The tradeoff is that Concord is a shorter drive away from lakes and good-sized mountains which offer some serious outdoor recreation.

Hope this helps, and best of luck with your decision.