off topic, get to know (Nashua, Seabrook: college, maintenance, to live in)

[lisa g]

I've just figured out that I needed to subscribe to this forum before my posts would appear.....doh!

Hopefully you don't mind my contribution to this thread. I just can't help myself after posting on this forum & wondering where my posts went.


where you from, ? Originally LI, NY. But I've lived in: FL(eeew), Brookline, NH then moved to SoCal, (3 yrs in Pasadena then 7 in Santa Clarita) where I lived for the past 10 yrs until moving back to NH (Hollis) last August.

do you like NH? I LOVE IT HERE! I have missed NH so much while in SoCal, and am relieved to be back.


are you a native? Sadly, no.

what gets your goat about NH? Drivers, I guess, although I can quickly dismiss any road induced irritation because I am so happy about being back here.


what you like best about NH ? Where do I begin? I'm much safer here than in SCV, where we lived in a nice neighborhood & still had auto break ins & thefts & I even had a close shave w/gang violence at the local grocery store...NO gangs in the small farm towns here and you are not forced to see thugs walking every main street. I can speak English and people understand me! I could go on & on.... Nh is the cleanest healthiest place I've lived. And there are SEASONS here! Oh, and there are many many haunted places in NH. Lots of history and you can just feel it. To me NH is right out of a Robert Frost poem...And I don't have to pay private school tuition to be sure my kids are safe and getting a good education!

what you do, where you live, any kids, favourite sports team, favourite sport, hobbies, where you would hate to live, worst place you ever lived, best film(movie) basically anything for a chit chat?

I"m a stay at home mom who should have a part time job! I have 2 kids and 3 little dogs, Not really a sports fan (I think that's easier to pull off here than in MA). I like running, watercolors, and trying to cook. Although I would never ever agree to live in FL again, I am happy to be out of Santa Clarita as well, and don't get it why many SoCal people(mostly transplants, which is the strange part) are so defensive of the place.

Hopefully this reply will appear--I've been reading lots of these NH threads and have been dying to post since I'm so enthusiastic about living here! It's been snowing all day, and I realized I'd rather be shoveling my driveway than doing anything back in SCV!!!

[WannaComeHome]

Hi Lisa!!
I'm from Hollis. Ok, I don't live there now, but my family still does (Wheeler Rd) and I"m flying in there tomorrow! small world ;-)

Bugg, the schools are excellent - combined with the kids from Brookline. The taxes are kinda high, because anything the schools ask for, they get. It's a lovely town.

[~Boo~]

Thanks for the info. It's on my list of towns to see on our next visit.

And yes, I've learned that good schools means higher taxes. It's all relative though...our taxes now aren't cheap considering I live on a postage stamp, and I chose the neighborhood because of the good schools...which in Cali paying more doesn't necessarly equate to a good school district IMO.

[remember-voltaire]

welcome lisa and look forward to reading your future posts

[Suzet2262]

Originally Posted by remember-voltaire

indeed you are correct bugga boo, off topic means just that
it's for anyone who wishes to hang around and we all get to introduce ourselves
there's even a picture thread done by our lovely moderator suzet which has pictures

Aww shucks. Lol.

Lisa, welcome to the NH Forum

[WannaComeHome]

Let's see, what more can I tell you about Holis. School-wise, they have an lower and upper elementary school (the upper grades used to be the middle school but...), a middle school (that used to be my high school), and a new high school. They are particularly into basketball, but play other sports as well. The school system has consistently been very highly thought of for quite a while (I graduated in '77 and it was good then, too).

The town is still pretty rural. There's the town center with a very small 'commons'. They may still have an Apple Festival and a Strawberry Festival. they added in some additional grocery stores - but it's still cheaper to go to Market Basket in Nashua. They got the ever-present Dunkin Donuts at the corner with the only traffic light in town (Rts 122 & 130). there are two fruit markets: Brookdale Fruit Farm, run by Mrs Hardy - although I hear her health is making things very difficult, and Lulls which is now being run by an old friend of the family (well, he's only 5 years older than me!). There is also another apple orchard on the way to Milford, but I can never remember the name of that one. Lull's and Brookdale are quite near each other on Broad Street/ Rt 130. The town is having a problem with McMansions: all the big fields keep getting bought up and developed, although I had heard that the town said you could only put up I think 3 houses on a field in a year (which is why they're trying to maximize their money), and you have to have at least 2 acres to build. And there's now a horse center on Wheeler Rd (much to the annoyance of the neighbors!). Someone donated an old barn (Lawrence Barn) to the town and it's been moved slightly (from 36 to 40 Depot Rd?!) and rehabbed into a Community Center. The town website is at <http://www.hollis.nh.us/>

It's a nice safe town - I was bored out of my mind there, so of course I'm always trying to go back

[fishnfool]

Do you kayak in the Mt. Washington Valley? I think it's the Saco River? I want to do that someday with my boys. Never did kayaking, but can't wait to try. Also, I like biking...do you mountain bike? I've heard Keene has some trails...I'd need some easy ones to start off on! Thanks for sharing!

I haven't taken the yak up there yet. I hike there A LOT in the summer but never paddled. I usually stick the to the coastline in the yak. Kayak surfing is a blast, and I fish from it alot in the rocks, Great Bay, Newcastle back channel and Pisct. mouth, and on the flats in Newburyport. It's horrible to say but I get bored doing river float trips now. Waves, swells, and getting towed by a monster striped bass has me hooked.

As for mountain biking, it's something I enjoy but it's probably last on my list. To be honest I couldn't get myself off the water all summer so other than a few bike rides along the coast with my girlfriend, my bike stayed inside. Exeter woods is a nice place to start though if you live near by....not really a destination though

[lisa g]

Yes to what WCH said about Hollis. The town is zoned for 2 acres. And no, we didn't buy a McMansion. One way Hollis maintains its integrity and small farm town culture is by limiting growth. This was of *great* appeal to us coming from SoCal. I'm done with being packed in like sardines. We thought our taxes in LA Cty were high too, but we are now willing to pay double that amount for local control if that makes sense. You forgot to mention Beaver Brook...http://www2.beaverbrook.org/ Lots of activities for naturalists or just plain outdoorsy types. The other orchard is Woodmont - I haven't yet checked out the trails there. I'm a big fan of Lulls, it's awesome to have access to excellent produce.

[WannaComeHome]

Originally Posted by lisa g

You forgot to mention Beaver Brook...http://www2.beaverbrook.org/ Lots of activities for naturalists or just plain outdoorsy types. The other orchard is Woodmont - I haven't yet checked out the trails there. I'm a big fan of Lulls, it's awesome to have access to excellent produce.

yes, Beaver Brook is really nice. Hollis has it's own Town Forest (not all towns do, though many have them). I've really only been in there a couple of times, but it was great.

Lull's has really come a long way. Dave Orde has worked very hard on it - the Ordes have been good friends of our family from long long ago. Grace Lull was a friend of my mother's - wonderful peaches in her orchard.

Woodmont! That's the one on the way to Milford? I can never remember, but I know it's there.

[WannaComeHome]

yep, Hollis is a great town, and often overlooked. not sure why. Like BaB's husband, I had felt that if I didn't go to college outside of New England, I'd never see any more of the country than my cousins in NJ! I've seen enough. I wannacomehome!

Long ago, I had a brother into kayaking. He made a couple out of canvas. paddled them in our pond, and even on the Contookook River. He really enjoyed it - except sometimes the canvas leaked or ripped.