Worst places in N.H. (Manchester, Nashua: crime rate, how much, high school)

[mlynnsoucy]

I'm sure you all know this by now, but Manchester is no good! (inner city anyway) Nashua too. SOOOO many punks here, rude obnoxious people, every time you turn around there's a new building going up, too many people already we don't need more apartment buildings!!

My dream home will be in Pittsburg someday. It's peaceful, quiet and not a rude soul to be found. It's also a plus that 80% of the land is protected so you know there will be no over-crowding.

[nhyrnut]

Pittsburg is awsome but property values skyrocketed there over the last 2 years I know ppl with camps up there they almost sold them with 300% profit. but both decided to hold on to them I'm glad as they kept them as we go hunting up there every year lol

[mlynnsoucy]

I know what you mean. I go camping in Pittsburg at least once a year, this year we were able to get up there 3 times . Every time I've been up there for the past 2 years it seems like every privately owned piece of property is for sale. Used to be able to get a decent parcel for $1000. This summer I was thinking about buying and the cheapest thing I could find was 1/8 of an acre, undeveloped for $24,000. At least the taxes are still dirt cheap, and you know it'll never be built up.

[nhyrnut]

give it a while the price of land in nh will come down in about 1 year it will still cost more but not as much as now.

[MsJL]

Originally Posted by nhyrnut

I want to know what towns people would NOT want to live in. You can't just say a Town or City in N.H. without stating the reasons for it. So where in N.H. would you not want to live and WHY?

I lived in Derry, Strafford (near Rochester), and Manchester over a 10-year period. Know many of the other areas of central/southern NH, as well, and I'm really sorry to say - I couldn't recommend any of them.

First, the cost to live there is prohibitive, especially property taxes - and that incredible amount of money taken from homeowners every year never, in my experience and opinion, was well-reflected in town maintenance or services. Much of it went to badly overcrowded schools, an issue which is made worse every time the towns approve yet another subdivision. Trust me, NH doesn't look like the pictures you see of it - it's urban sprawl.

Unless you go to one of the small towns, where you find no hospitals, schools, town services (like plowing, water or sewer lines, streetlights), doctors or dentists (they live near the cities - better money) for miles. The small towns also rarely have what you'd call a town center, because they aren't really towns. They're just a bunch of houses, spaced far apart. It's a state of extremes, in that regard - all or nothing.

The politics are a mess, for reasons already mentioned.

The people are stressed-out and very unfriendly, as a whole. But for good reasons, so it's hard to fault them.

Traffic is a nightmare, especially as you approach Salem. (Salem is one big shopping center, because people from MA come there to avoid paying state sales tax when they shop.)

The crime is pretty bad in the cities now. It wasn't so much when I first got there, but a lot of things changed in 10 years.

The climate is typical NE, but I have to wonder if the increase in ice storms there was because of the warming of the environment due to all of the rapid development. Ice is a whole lot harder to deal with than snow, and we would get a decent amount every winter.

If you go there, be careful what you pay for a house. The market's very soft, partly because properties have been way overvalued for a while. You can probably pick up a bargain if you know what the situation really is; at the very least, don't pay $450,000 for a house that you won't be able to sell for anywhere near that amount in a year. (BTW, you won't find anything even half-decent, near a town with services, for under $275-$300K.)

For (nature) recreation, with all the towns overdeveloped and so much traffic, you really have to go a good distance north - other than that, it's pretty much the mall, or places like McDonald's Playland for the kids. Cultural pursuits and interests aren't well accomodated.

Overall, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I'd never advise anyone to live there.

[HaverhillBound]

Originally Posted by MsJL

I lived in Derry, Strafford (near Rochester), and Manchester over a 10-year period. Know many of the other areas of central/southern NH, as well, and I'm really sorry to say - I couldn't recommend any of them.

First, the cost to live there is prohibitive, especially property taxes - and that incredible amount of money taken from homeowners every year never, in my experience and opinion, was well-reflected in town maintenance or services. Much of it went to badly overcrowded schools, an issue which is made worse every time the towns approve yet another subdivision. Trust me, NH doesn't look like the pictures you see of it - it's urban sprawl.

Unless you go to one of the small towns, where you find no hospitals, schools, town services (like plowing, water or sewer lines, streetlights), doctors or dentists (they live near the cities - better money) for miles. The small towns also rarely have what you'd call a town center, because they aren't really towns. They're just a bunch of houses, spaced far apart. It's a state of extremes, in that regard - all or nothing.

The politics are a mess, for reasons already mentioned.

The people are stressed-out and very unfriendly, as a whole. But for good reasons, so it's hard to fault them.

Traffic is a nightmare, especially as you approach Salem. (Salem is one big shopping center, because people from MA come there to avoid paying state sales tax when they shop.)

The crime is pretty bad in the cities now. It wasn't so much when I first got there, but a lot of things changed in 10 years.

The climate is typical NE, but I have to wonder if the increase in ice storms there was because of the warming of the environment due to all of the rapid development. Ice is a whole lot harder to deal with than snow, and we would get a decent amount every winter.

If you go there, be careful what you pay for a house. The market's very soft, partly because properties have been way overvalued for a while. You can probably pick up a bargain if you know what the situation really is; at the very least, don't pay $450,000 for a house that you won't be able to sell for anywhere near that amount in a year. (BTW, you won't find anything even half-decent, near a town with services, for under $275-$300K.)

For (nature) recreation, with all the towns overdeveloped and so much traffic, you really have to go a good distance north - other than that, it's pretty much the mall, or places like McDonald's Playland for the kids. Cultural pursuits and interests aren't well accomodated.

Overall, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I'd never advise anyone to live there.

SOme of what you said is very true, but it only applies to towns south of Concord, north of there, it is a different world.

[MsJL]

Oh, absolutely. I said in the first sentence that I was talking about central/southern NH, but I could have been clearer about where many of the small towns are.

You're right, it's a different world up north.

[nhyrnut]

Northern NH is very similar to VT its just more Conservative but its a moderate conservative with the excption of a few towns.

[smarty]

I think I am seeing a theme here...

Nice = living in an area where you see your neighbor when you want to. Where talking and seeing animals is preferred.
Worst = living in an area where you have to look at neighbor every day.

Just an observation of a person living in Taxachussetts.

[HaverhillBound]

Originally Posted by smarty

I think I am seeing a theme here...

Nice = living in an area where you don't have any neighbors.
Worst = living in an area where you have to look at neighbor every day.

Just an observation of a person living in Taxachussetts.

Fixed for you..