What is Merrimack like? (Manchester, Nashua: real estate, houses, employment)

[dianeski]

I'm originally from the Boston area. We moved south 18 years ago because we couldn't afford Boston-area housing. The area we're in now (NC) is extremely affordable. We have a home and property here.

Now I have a job opp in Merrimack, NH. How affordable is Merrimack? What is the town like? I see it's only an hour from Boston. I don't want to pay Boston prices!

Thanks so much in advance....

[casualobserver]

Merrimack is "as affordable" as any other town in the Southeast quadrant of the state and yes, way less than communities closer to Boston. Without a price range (and there will be several within Merrimack), I couldn't help you further except to say, if you don't mind a bit of commute time, you could even live up around Tilton (north) or Francestown (west) and drive whatever housing cost range even lower.

[Valerie C]

Can't blame you for not wanting to pay Boston prices! Yikes! Since you're looking at employment in NH, probably best to live in NH also. Tax reasons, maybe quality of life reasons as well. As casual observer notes, there is a wide diversity of prices in Merrimack, and affordable? Well, that is such a relative term (New England home prices are becoming *more* affordable than they were say 3 years ago...

Are schools a consideration? There are several towns nearby that may be more affordable than Merrimack, more rural (if that's what you're looking for...) I think Merrimack is in a great location-lots of shopping, restaurants, etc nearby in Nashua and Amherst, but not right on top of the neighborhoods. There are a couple of nice parks as well, swimming areas for residents only at the lake.

[cmp1111]

I moved to Merrimack after growing up in Central Illinois (rural farm area). We've been here for 6 years now. We like it - very central to Manchester and Nashua - shopping, downtowns, and so forth in either direction.

We live on a one block street where all the lots are just over an acre. I think I have the best neighbors in town but it's really very nice to be close enough to borrow milk, but not be right on top of each other. There are many areas of town like this.

We have twins just in kindergarten, so I can't say personally too much about the schools, but we are very happy so far.

There are several nice restaurants right in town, and as I mentioned before, you have Nashua & Manchester both nearby.

There is no "quaint little downtown" around a square, but the town hall is pretty.

We found it the best option for blending rural and affordable. I didn't want a "city atmosphere" of zero lot lines and postage stamp yards, and my husband wanted the convenience of shopping, eating, and proximity to the highway. He commutes to Lexington, MA, but he is a pilot and doesn't have to drive it every day, nor usually in rush hour.

Hope this helps - if you want anything more specific, just let me know!

[Lin&Mark]

We moved to Merrimack last February. We like it here but we were so used to cheap cheap real estate (we are from western New York), that we almost had a heart attack at the price of houses and the taxes. Real property taxes are high in most of New York State, but not as high as here. (unless you are talking about areas in and around NY City). We have decided not to buy here because of the market. We don't plan to live in the area very long, so it doesn't make sense for us to buy.

Wish we could trade places with you. My husband's job brought us here. We have wanted for some time to move to North Carolina. My nephew and his wife used to live in the Charlotte area and he loved it. Seems more reasonable than NH in most things. Where abouts in NC do you live? Plus, I have always lived in big snow areas and would like to live somewhere where there isn't any or at least very little snow. I don't like being cold. For the most part, it is a beautiful state and Merrimack is a nice place to live and convenient to pretty much everything! I think you would enjoy it here. From what I hear, it is definitely cheaper than Massachusetts!

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

[alt+f4]

I don't believe anyone has mentioned the tolls. It's not a major inconvenience, but every exit in Merrimack has a toll on it, making quick trips around town cost a couple bucks more. Do a search on the topic on Union Leader - Front Page News (the Manchester newspaper) and you'll see quite a bit on it from 2007.

The real estate there is average for southern NH. You have a bit of the high-price flowover from Bedford, one of the more affluent communities in the state. Property taxes are quite high because of the high school (and maybe other factors). The town overall has lots of options for dining, food shopping, etc. Quick trips (10-15 mins) to Manchester or Nashua will get you to huge malls and retail areas.

[Valerie C]

I do everything I can to avoid the tolls in Merrimack, and find that unless I'm really in a hurry to get to Nashua or Manchester, there's no need to jump on the turnpike...