A few questions about Londonderry (Manchester, Nashua: real estate, for rent, health insurance)

[LoveSnow]

After some soul search and internet research, Londonderry came up to the top of our list.

I still have a few questions:

1. How is the commute to Manchester or Nashua if one happens to work there 8-5?

2. How is the commute to Boston airport? How much time do you need to give yourself in advance?

3. In winter, are the roads to Nashua and Manchester safe? (as they can be in winter, anyway)

4. Do Londonderry, Nashua or Manchester have good cardiology doctors and facilities or you'd need to travel to Boston? How about major health insurance coverage - do they limit your network by state?

5. Is there a "delivery" charge for electricity in Londonderry?

6. People say cell phone coverage is poor. What about this particular area?

7. Is there high speed internet in Londonderry? (5Mb/sec and up)

That's it for now

[buck naked]

1. commute can range from 10 minutes to 1/2 hour - depending on weather...Londonderry is close to both towns

2. Boston airport - roughly an hour, but because the new rules say you have to check in two hours before the flight, you have to leave 3 hours early....LOL

3. roads are very good in winter

4. all the cities have excellent cardiology programs - never heard of limitations on health coverage because of where you live.

5. if you buy electricity from PSNH - there is a delivery charge for renting the high transmission wires of approximately $50. per month added to your regular usage fees

6. never noticed a problem with cell phone coverage EXCEPT when near the airport

7. yes for high speed internet connections


good luck with your move to Londonderry!

[LoveSnow]

Thank you, buck naked.

All good except the electricity surcharge. And what do they charge per kwt/hr, do you know?

Also, how hot are the summers in Londonderry?

I was looking through real estate listings and saw a home, a big and expensive one, with a window AC unit. Is it because it is too hot and rooms upstairs need more cool, or because central AC is not a norm?

Should I expect a central AC in Londonderry homes?

What do Londonderry people use to warm their homes? Oil?

[buck naked]

I don't have AC - never have needed it - we only get two or three really hot days and I find some way to cool off - usually water does it...LOL

kwt/hr is 8.8 cents - I use approx. 620 per month

then there is the distribution charge of 0.2919 per kwh
the transmission charge of .00826 per kwh
the stranded cost recovery charge of .00774 per kwh - add them up and the supplier services usually equal the same or more than the actual energy charge

I would not expect central AC, but a lot of homes do have them as well as central vacuum, a nice plus feature in new homes

most people heat with oil or natural gas....some supplement the heat with wood stoves or fireplaces - I just installed a wood pellet stove in the basement to help with next years heating bills

[Valerie C]

LoveSnow, there are a couple of us here who live in Londonderry. GregW will probably be along to share his experiences and thoughts of Londonderry. It's amazing how differently we all can view the same town!

1) Commute
To Manchester, easy. You're driving in the opposite direction as 90% of the other traffic on 93. Or you can access Manchester by heading north on Mammoth Road/128 to 28, which might work better, depending on which side of Manchester you're working at. I live in South Londonderry, and I can get to Manchester in 15-20 minutes.

Nashua would be a little tougher, but still not bad. You may have to travel across the bridge (Rte 111/3A) to get to the downtown area OR north to Manchester, and pick up Route 3 (portions toll) to get to the industrial area.

2) Logan Airport
To be honest, early AM flights would be really difficult to get to. Give yourself at least 2 hours drive. Traffic on 93 south in the morning is terrible, and even though there is a plan in place to widen, it's expected to take 10 years to get the 10-mile stretch of NH from Salem to Manchester finished. So don't expect much relief for the Boston commuters for a few years Of course if the flight is after 11 AM, that time can be drastically reduced (I can make it to the airport in under an hour, mid-day.

3) Roads in Londonderry, and much of southern NH actually, are cleared very well and very quickly. I live on a back road, and there's only been a couple of occasions throughout this very snowy winter where I had any sort of issue. And that was due to ice and not snow...

4) Cardiology, without a doubt, Catholic Medical Center (CMC) in Manchester is the best in the area. Elliot (also in Manchester) is a good hospital for "routine" medical care, but people come from out of the area for the excellent reputation at CMC.

5) Electricity - Our supplier is PSNH, and I believe there *is* a delivery charge. I'll check back when I get home to see exactly what that charge is. What ticks me off is the "stranded recovery charge" which is basically how we consumers pay for bad investment decisions.

6) Cell Coverage. There is an infamous "dead zone" which is worst from the Manchester line all along Route 128, almost all the way through town. Londonderry isn't the only town along 128 that has this problem. The dead zone extends all the way down through south Londonderry, Windham and much of Pelham as well. This is the only area of Londonderry where cell service is an issue.

7) I've had high speed internet since 2002, and FIOS since 2006

Have fun researching the area. If you can think of any more Londonderry Q's, post them here.

Originally Posted by LoveSnow

After some soul search and internet research, Londonderry came up to the top of our list.

I still have a few questions:

1. How is the commute to Manchester or Nashua if one happens to work there 8-5?

2. How is the commute to Boston airport? How much time do you need to give yourself in advance?

3. In winter, are the roads to Nashua and Manchester safe? (as they can be in winter, anyway)

4. Do Londonderry, Nashua or Manchester have good cardiology doctors and facilities or you'd need to travel to Boston? How about major health insurance coverage - do they limit your network by state?

5. Is there a "delivery" charge for electricity in Londonderry?

6. People say cell phone coverage is poor. What about this particular area?

7. Is there high speed internet in Londonderry? (5Mb/sec and up)

That's it for now

[buck naked]

before moving to anywhere, I would begin my search for illegal toxic waste dumps - did you know that 1 in 4 Americans live on land that may be polluted

one of the largest illegal toxic waste dumps in the nation was located at the Londonderry/Auburn town lines - in 1974 it was declared a superfund site and NH got some $$ for cleanup

this article speaks a little about it:

MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR SETTLEMENT REACHED IN NH SUPERFUND CASE | Press Releases | New England | US EPA

most of the land has been sold to a developer - but it's legal - the town capped the property and the years have gone by - most people have never heard of it.

[kwiley1221]

Originally Posted by buck naked

I don't have AC - never have needed it - we only get two or three really hot days

I have to agree. I am originally from Texas and used to running the AC about half the year.

We ran the AC last year (our first summer in NH) about 3 or 4 days total as I recall...

[LoveSnow]

Originally Posted by buck naked

before moving to anywhere, I would begin my search for illegal toxic waste dumps - did you know that 1 in 4 Americans live on land that may be polluted

one of the largest illegal toxic waste dumps in the nation was located at the Londonderry/Auburn town lines - in 1974 it was declared a superfund site and NH got some $$ for cleanup

this article speaks a little about it:

MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR SETTLEMENT REACHED IN NH SUPERFUND CASE | Press Releases | New England | US EPA

most of the land has been sold to a developer - but it's legal - the town capped the property and the years have gone by - most people have never heard of it.

Ouch! So did they clean it up, or the area is still toxic?

Well, if 1 out of 4 live on a polluted land, then it is almost everywhere

[Valerie C]

LoveSnow,
Not sure where you're coming in from, or what you're used to, but summers in southern NH are tolerable. We might get a total of 7-10 days (but not all at once!) where AC would be appreciated. Evenings are generally on the chilly side (60's/70's) with just a couple of hot and humid evenings to put up with. Those are the nights that a wall AC unit is used

The vast majority of homes in NH use oil to heat their home, and will have forced hot water/baseboard heat. Many homes in the cities (Nashua, Hudson, Portsmouth, Manchester, etc) will have some Natural Gas. Newer homes will use propane fuel, and have forced hot air. Some people search specifically for FHA heat so that they have the option to add central AC if it's not already in place. Adding ductwork to an existing home can be done, but it's a whole lot easier with the ductwork already in place!

Looking at my electric bill, interesting to compare to buck naked's. For last month, we used 609 KWH (8.4 cents per KWH).
Energy Cost=51.02
Delivery Cost=36.71
Interesting...

Oh, by the way, here's the EPA website for NH (NPL Sites in New Hampshire | National Priorities List (NPL) | US EPA) where you can search for the various superfund sites. I thought I remembered more sites, but as you can see, three are in Londonderry: Holton Circle, Tinkham Garage, and the Auburn Road Landfill. All 3 are considered "complete" by EPA, and there is construction ongoing in the general area at 2 of the 3 sites (single family homes at Holton Circle and 55+ condominiums at the Tinkham Garage site)

Originally Posted by buck naked

one of the largest illegal toxic waste dumps in the nation was located at the Londonderry/Auburn town lines - in 1974 it was declared a superfund site and NH got some $$ for cleanup.

[LoveSnow]

Valerie, I am in south TX. Our AC runs 360+ days a year. Like Kwiley, I am used to having AC. In fact, it is even somewhat scary not to have one. What if it gets hot?