Moving to NH....? (Dover, Portsmouth, Somersworth: elementary school, incomes, price)

[Valerie C]

tlynn, we have one regular who up and moved here just in time for winter, pets and all. Luckily they all were able to get jobs, but it's not a method I'd recommend. I think that Lady Luck was shining on this particular gypsy's trip, and she was meant to come home.

And Isis, black flies, the only good thing about them is that they're only out for about a month, and then they're gone. However, they do bite, and they bite hard. And the ones that don't bite will swarm your head and make you crazy (not a long trip for some of us!)

And the FWD vs RWD, well I have to say that I learned to drive with RWD (showing my age here?) and have never been in an accident in which I was driving, snow or no... I do find that now with FWD, I don't need snow tires, I can get away w/ good all-seasons. And I put mega-miles on my vehicles...

Snow tires, slow down, and you'll get there

[Suzet2262]

Originally Posted by Tlynn3

Suzette thank you for moving my thread, I had no idea where to start
This all has been very helpful. I am planning a move from Orlando. I want to settle down and perhaps buy a small cottage one day. It seemed the job market was so much better in that area for what my current work as an Administrative Assistant. Also, I like the conservative side of things so I am hoping to find a good church and job. My plan was to move up in May and then I will have about 3 weeks to get working and bringing in income. I would like to rent a room in a house until I am on my feet financially.

Does anyone have advice on the best cities to commute to with decent salaries. Or has anyone actually moved up without a job? I will have only 1 month finances to hold me.

thanks again - I'm glad for this forum

You are quite welcome. If you ever have any questions on posting or any thing else about the CD Forum, you can DM(direct message) me anytime. Have fun on the board. There are some wonderful people here that will help answer your questions, as you have seen already.

[east2west]

Tlynn3,
When we moved up to NH from MD, we were told about the black flies and worried about them. When spring first arrived and the black flies came, we laughed, because we had pictured these big black flies (sort of like horse flies) that would attack us. It ended up that the black flies resembled gnats that swarm around your head and are very annoying and yes, they can hurt when they bite. But it was much worse in our imagination than the reality of the black fly. Don't let that be a dealbreaker for you, they are mostly around the water and forested areas and not as bad out in your yard or neighborhood. Welcome to NH, you're going to love it!

[east2west]

Tlynn3,
As far as your car, you should be fine. NH plowing is great and road are cleared quickly. That being said, you will see a lot of Subaru's up here for the 4 wheel drive. Are they necessary, no; are they more reliable in the snow than a front wheel drive, yes. Do you need a 4 wheel drive to make it up here, no, not at all. And with gas as expensive as it is, you will be glad for your small economy car. Good all season tires suffice in my opinion, unless you are living way up north.

[east2west]

rb1274,
Great family! Those boys are going to love NH. Our sons do! There is so much to do outdoors and it's great to see kids enjoying nature instead of living on video games and tv. Barrington is a nice area with lots of water surrounding it. Research the surrounding towns and you'll have lots of good choices for places to live. It will be a huge change from CA. One thing you will notice is how people in NH are very practical and put no stock in designer names, clothing, etc. It is very refreshing. The other great thing for your family, is how many great places there are to visit in just a days drive to see the other parts of New England. From Barrington, you can easily explore Maine and Mass and take lots of day trips around NH. You will have many opportunities to teach your sons to fish, hike, camp, rock climb, ski or snowboard, hunt and just about anything you can think to do outdoors. I think you will find NH a refreshing change from what has been going on in CA the last few years. Welcome and good luck.

[aponeil]

DId you say your job is in Barrington? Towns nearby with nice offerings include Dover which has a great downtown and is quickly becoming a nice selfcontained city. It's a quick hop to Portsmouth - a fantastic hangout town. It was once called (now say this with your best Boston accent) "Ovah in Dovah" as a slam for NOT being in Portsmouth, but now it's quite nice. Good schools. That is Strafford Cty. In Rockingham Cty, you can easily get to Barrington from Newmarket (not great upper school bdg- having trouble with rebuild passing in votes). Lee is nice and it's upper school is part of Oyster River which is in Durham where UHN is located. Very good schools. Not much to Lee however. Nottingham has affordable houses still and is close to Barrington. Coming from SoCal, your dollar may go quite far to afford some of the more sought after coastal towns: Stratham, Exeter, Brentwood. Those are all in the same SAU 16 and not a bad drive to Barrington given that we don't have bad traffic here. 125 (the route you'd take from those towns to work) is heavier in the summer, however, due to vacationers avoiding I95 on vacation trips heading north to lakes regions. I would avoid Epping for not so great schools and not a great reputation - Eppin', The Center of the Universe" is a common slam. Thank you Epping for Walmart and Lowe's and now Starbucks, though.
Happy to answer more Q's if you have them. Hope this helps. We are actually considering moving out of this area as we find it unaffordable on 1 income. We cannot seem to get ahead and this is a common story for many in this coastal/southern NH area. NH is considered the most livable, but young people who value family time and not having 2 incomes to pay a mortgage do find it to be a struggle. We have mass #'s of young families leaving the state due to this.
Check out a new documentary: Communities & Consequences - A changing human ecology.
Communities and Consequences | New Hampshire's Changing Human Ecology

[veghead13]

Tlynn- your Hyundai Accent will fit right in with the rest of the cars here. I see tons everyday. I drive a '97 Honda Accord, which I also see a bunch of. Us New Hampshirites don't care too much about the appearance of a car, just that it gets you to the places you wanna go! welcome to NH!

[rb1274]

I have just returned to NY from visiting NH. I looked at housing and the surrounding towns. My wife and I loved the Portsmouth area. Although looks pricey. Housing will be in the Barrington area, saw the elementary school, looks nice and fairly new. Closest town for shopping and such I think would be Dover and Somersworth.

Its taken a while to get here but I think if all goes well we will be moving before the end of the summer!!!!

Thank you for all of your advice in this link!!!!

Ryan

[newhampshiregirl]

Hi Ryan! I love Portsmouth! My parents were from Dover and Somersworth, so I spent a good deal of time down there. I went to UNH, so Durham, Portsmouth & Dover were my stomping grounds. I did my internship at the Portsmouth Junior High School (MANY years ago), and was very impressed with the school sytem.

Best of luck with your move and welcome home to NH!

[WannaComeHome]

Hey, that's great! Congratulations, hopefully, on the promotion and move.