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During my recent trip to Concord, I really liked the town and plan to move my family there. But there is an odd thing I noticed - I did not see any home with fencing around its property. I did a quick check of the city regulations, and it seemed that fences are allowed so long as they are 8 feet or shorter behind a house, 4 feet or shorter in front of the house, and do not obstruct the view for the traffic if the house is on a corner.
Why is it that no one has fences there? I saw some privacy hedges, but not actual fences/wall made of wood, stone or metal (iron or aluminum).
Fences aren't really a thing in NH. Usually either you have enough land it would be a waste of money, or you have enough respect to know where your plot ends, and which neighbors get tichy about the boundaries. Fencing is for farms and ornamentation, really.
Crime isn't high, people aren't terribly nosy, and most of us train our kids and dogs about limits pretty quickly. If you throw up a fence, people are going to see that as a declaration you want to keep everyone out, and that you don't trust them. We live in a semirural area, and there are three fences on the whole of our five mile road. Two are on farms to keep the horses, cows, and such in. The other is around the house of "those weird a-holes." We have never met them, but first thing they did on buying the house was throw up a hideous chain link fence around their quarter-acre of land, and now they're the jerk neighbors forever.
You're the same person that was freaking out over crime statistics, right? Are you sure you wouldn't be happier in a less populated area? I'd suggest a gun, but you seem a bit high strung for that. Really, you're anticipating a problem that doesn't exist in 90% of NH right now. Maybe you need to think more about what you really want out of a new neighborhood, because right now it sounds like concrete walls and guard dogs, and you won't find that around here.
I'm a lifelong NH resident and never understood fences solely for the purpose of delineating ones property or for just keeping people out. In the neighborhood where I grew up, we kids used the whole area to play. Currently, I cross a rear section of my neighbors property to access the lake. His kids cross my yard to get to the bus stop for school. We keep an eye on each other's homes when one of us is away. We like it this way.
I just did a search for where a former owner of my house lives in Concord. By all accounts, he has OCD and when visitors left his house or shop, he literally picked up a broom and swept the floor of their exiting path. He was the one who put up all the fencing around the back lot of our 11 acres. To order the same fencing today would run us around $90K. Anyway, I looked at his house through Google Maps street view... and it is exactly what I expected. His entire property is surrounded by a black metal fence, including across his driveway entrance. And within his property, everything is neat, clean and well groomed.
Why do you feel you need a fence? To keep pets in the yard?
Freedom isn't about "need." It's about "want."
And, yes, it's mostly to keep my dogs in and to keep mid-sized rodents out. I don't care for deer eating my garden.
And while my dogs are excellently trained, they are breeds with extremely high prey instinct. I don't need them to kill dozens of animals and bring them to me every day.
You're the same person that was freaking out over crime statistics, right? Are you sure you wouldn't be happier in a less populated area? I'd suggest a gun, but you seem a bit high strung for that. Really, you're anticipating a problem that doesn't exist in 90% of NH right now. Maybe you need to think more about what you really want out of a new neighborhood, because right now it sounds like concrete walls and guard dogs, and you won't find that around here.
1. If you are going to go all ad hominem and judgmental on someone you don't even know over the internet, at least do it based on accurate information.
2. I am not "freaking out." I am doing proper due diligence. Nowhere did I say that Concord is a crime-ridden ghetto. I simply pointed out that it is generally a moderate crime rate city (slightly below national average overall), with the one exception being the twice-the national average rape rate. Some of these things are called "facts."
3. I did not ask about concrete walls and guard dogs. I asked about why there doesn't seem to be many fences in town. Wooden fences are pretty common in much of the East Coast. If you don't have a constructive answer, I suggest you move on and let other people with useful answer occupy the bandwidth. Furthermore, I currently live in an area with a quarter of the national crime rate. There hasn't been a murder or rape in my zip code in about 10 years. I do not need concrete walls and guard dogs nor would I ever live in an area that requires such things.
4. I currently have a fence like this: http://constructionconceptsonline.co...rick-posts.jpg. And the entire property is surrounded by dozens and dozens of green giant arborvitaes. My two adjacent neighbors and I paid for the fencing together (and I planted the trees). I also happen to hold their house keys for them (for emergencies and such). Our children are the best of friends. Having fences is not about being jackasses or hiding or keeping my neighbors out. On the contrary, every single realtor who passed by complimented me on the fences and the landscaping.
5. As for guns, my family is made up of avid sportsmen. Let's leave it at that.
6. I currently live in an area that has five times the population density of Concord.
7. I am not "high strung." I tend to be highly rational and rely on objective metrics, and do not fly off the handle emotionally because someone doesn't find my city a perfect paradise.
If I was ever going to fence my yard, it would be similar to the link that you shared. That type of fence would look at home in the west end of Concord, near White Park. Nice walkable neighborhoods, far enough away from the highway and downtown to be quiet & peaceful. Larger lots but not so private that you can't get to know your neighbors...
If I was ever going to fence my yard, it would be similar to the link that you shared. That type of fence would look at home in the west end of Concord, near White Park. Nice walkable neighborhoods, far enough away from the highway and downtown to be quiet & peaceful. Larger lots but not so private that you can't get to know your neighbors...
It just so happens that I very much like some of the homes in that area, a triangle formed by School St, W. Washington, and Westbourne, I think. I really like the turn of the Century architecture there too. The walkability to the park and the downtown area is great. That area is currently my top choice.
One of my concerns, though, is that I saw some dilapidated houses within a couple of blocks from that area. I am not a fan of areas that have housing stock of dramatically different values.
My husband would prefer a larger property in Bow or Hopkinton surrounded by homes of similar size and value in the area. But we would have zero walkability.
ok so what's that quote I think it was Robert frost saying "good fences makes good neighbors"
In the area I grew up in nobody had fences except one neighbor and it was to keep the horses in. A few had split rail fences in the front yard. A nice wood fence can enhance a property but no to chain link. :-)
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