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Hello everyone! I am looking for other people from the larger metro areas of Arizona and California to give me their take on making the switch to New Hampshire, specifically, the Nashua area and cities east of there (Chester, Londonderry, etc). I'm not concerned with weather (have lived in areas where it snows[Flagstaff, AZ] and rains alot[London]) but I am concerned with flooding and overall safety. I live in what is considered a 'safe and friendly' town. Yet I would not dream of letting my children wander more than 10' from my front door for fear of being hit by an idiot driver or preyed upon by some sicko. Ok, I confess to being a bit of a worry-wort, but seriously....My gran lives in the house where I spent a good deal of my youth and I cannot get over how it has changed. It usedd to be an upscale area of Phoenix, where I wandered the back alleys freely with my neighborhood pals. Now, one occasionally hears gunfire during the night. I compared the stats for her zip code to one in Manchester (fairly equal population) and I was ready to jump on a plane and move to NH that very minute! I have read posts that harp on the SE portion of NH as being an extention of Mass. and have suggested that the crime is aweful and drugs are rampant in certain cities. Many of these posts have come from people who don't appear to have lived in truly large-scale metro areas (forgive me if my impression is mistaken). So now I come to my main request: is there anyone out there who can give me their opinion of S. NH life as compared to the larger metro areas of Phoenix, AZ or the SoCal Inland Empire? Your input is greatly appreciated and eagerly anticipated. Thanks! Have a great day
I am living in the Inland Empire (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) and we are seriously considering a move into So. NH. We are actually going there the first week of Oct to visit with a potential employer and look over neighborhoods and schools! I understand *exactly* what you are talking about when you mention the crime rates of towns like ours compared to the big city of Manchester. My town is considered very safe and I do let my kids run around our neighborhood and even let my 12 yo son walk a few blocks to the local grocery, Taco Bell and Starbucks. BUT.....if you read our local paper you will read about gang graffiti, shootings and drug deals in town. We recently had a shooting at our new *upscale* outdoor shopping mall. This didn't strike fear in me---I take it as the changing times and the overgrowth of our town.
Now, with that mindframe, I see NH as what I always imagined what *real* living could be. Tree lined streets, wooded 1 acre lots with Colonial homes, four seasons, farms, orchards.....Not a lot of traffic or crowds if you decided to go to a local lake or beach on a summer weekend. From what I have gathered from this wonderful site, it seems that what I have imagined is really true!! I am not that naiive to think that it would be flawless and I'm sure, in time, things could change as most places do but in the meantime I believe my family can live a slower-paced life and have a better quality life than we do now. Definitely visit and get a feel for the area and you then you will be able to make a decision about a possible move!!
Now, with that mindframe, I see NH as what I always imagined what *real* living could be. Tree lined streets, wooded 1 acre lots with Colonial homes, four seasons, farms, orchards.....Not a lot of traffic or crowds if you decided to go to a local lake or beach on a summer weekend. From what I have gathered from this wonderful site, it seems that what I have imagined is really true!! I am not that naiive to think that it would be flawless and I'm sure, in time, things could change as most places do but in the meantime I believe my family can live a slower-paced life and have a better quality life than we do now. Definitely visit and get a feel for the area and you then you will be able to make a decision about a possible move!!
There are towns just like that, we have treelines streets, I often see the children walking the streets to the parks often by themselves, homes with their front doors wide open and flowers on the porch, lots of colonial and victorian houses along the streets with sidewalks . I had always imagined NH as you would see in a movie of like say My Girl with the beautiful houses and perfectly places tree's and well lets just say I haven't been let down yet
Used to live on Red Hill and also at the top of Haven (well, it WAS the 'top' of Haven when I lived there LOL. I'm sure there are plenty of houses way up past Deer Canyon, now). I have a fond nostalgia for Cucamonga. Used to hang out at Roses (now, finally closed, I think), the old skate rink on Carnelian next to where Hens and Herefords used to be. When I lived on Red Hill I used to walk down to the Sweet Mercantile (used to be in the Red Hill shopping center on Baseline/Carnelian) with my girl friend. We were about 10 years old then. Red Hill was like an oasis of safety (and still feels that way) in the middle of a fairly large suburb. Until the mid 90's, when the population really started to skyrocket, Cucamonga still felt like a small town to me. I liked it there. It makes me sad to visit now because it has changed so much. Many of my old haunts are gone. Last time I was in the area I was actually living in Claremont which, thankfully, still feels small (in spite of what they did to 'revitalise' the downtown). Well, I could remenisce (hmm...how do you spell that? Does not look right) all night long. You don't run across too many Cucamongans out here. Here they all seem to be from LA. Please let me know how your trip goes. Have fun!
Just saw in the paper yesterday they sold Nichol's Farm and are building townhomes and shopping center on the corner of Grove and Foothill. Poor Red Hill has tons of traffic going through it now--People want to take a shortcut to Foothill. It has grown SO much and is still nice but getting a little too close for comfort. It's really sad the only *farm* (strawberries) will be gone.
I can't WAIT to be in NH in just a week and a few days!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SabrinaAne
RCMomTO4
Used to live on Red Hill and also at the top of Haven (well, it WAS the 'top' of Haven when I lived there LOL. I'm sure there are plenty of houses way up past Deer Canyon, now). I have a fond nostalgia for Cucamonga. Used to hang out at Roses (now, finally closed, I think), the old skate rink on Carnelian next to where Hens and Herefords used to be. When I lived on Red Hill I used to walk down to the Sweet Mercantile (used to be in the Red Hill shopping center on Baseline/Carnelian) with my girl friend. We were about 10 years old then. Red Hill was like an oasis of safety (and still feels that way) in the middle of a fairly large suburb. Until the mid 90's, when the population really started to skyrocket, Cucamonga still felt like a small town to me. I liked it there. It makes me sad to visit now because it has changed so much. Many of my old haunts are gone. Last time I was in the area I was actually living in Claremont which, thankfully, still feels small (in spite of what they did to 'revitalise' the downtown). Well, I could remenisce (hmm...how do you spell that? Does not look right) all night long. You don't run across too many Cucamongans out here. Here they all seem to be from LA. Please let me know how your trip goes. Have fun!
Having grown up in Alta Loma (went to Alta Loma Jr. High) and then spent adult time living in Claremont (lived on 12th, one block from Wolfe's market) and now reside in Needles I know what you are talking about. The "city" no longer is what it was and living here in this small town is great but the weather and lack of culture and activities is something that I will never get used to. We are wanting to move to Durham by next summer.
I don't think we are idealizing New England but living in SoCal has burned us out.
Needles?! Ugh! How did you wind up there?? My Husband and I were wondering when you went to ALJHS. We both went there in 87 & 88. When I was in Claremont I lived just off Indian Hill & Baseline. I used to love going to Wolfe's and walking down to the Old School House to fritter away my hard earned money on comic books. Last time I was there I went to Nick's (think it's been renamed). The clientel had changed, but the place was basically the same. It felt nice to find at least one place that seemed familiar. Too bad about what RCMOMTO4 said about Nichol's farm. How many summers did we stop for our flats of strawberries on the way home up the Hill. Sigh...well, nothing stays the same. Honestly, a prime parcel of land like that...I'm surprised they held out for as long as they did! Well, I hear there are strawberry farms in NH and (bonus!) blueberries, too. I can hardly wait to escape this heat and smog and congestion!
Oh, I hear you there! I'm so looking forward to going to a couple apple orchards in Londonderry and maybe even a pumpkin patch just to be at a real one. Did either of you go to the Cal Poly pumpkin patch. Very icky, although they were trying to make it *quaint.* I will say that I will miss the Nichols Farm---they had the BEST berries!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SabrinaAne
Well, I hear there are strawberry farms in NH and (bonus!) blueberries, too. I can hardly wait to escape this heat and smog and congestion!
SabrinaAne, have you been to NH or the New England area before? The difference between here and there is like night and day.
Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the country. Manchester is not even in the top 100. The City of Phoenix by itself (not including other cities in the metro area) has a larger population than the entire State of New Hampshire. So unless every man, woman, and child living in Manchester is a criminal, there just aren't that many people you have to worry about.
Sure, Manchester has its crime as all cities do, but IMO there is just no comparison to large metro areas like Phoenix.
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