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I would suggest Peterborough. While smaller than those other towns mentioned it has almost all of the things you are looking for. Sure, Portsmouth, Exeter, Amherst and Bedford are all nice but you get a lot more land and house for your money when you get away from the coast and the cities in N.H. After living down south near the water, i just don't see the advantage of paying high prices to live near the coast here. The water never really gets warm enough to enjoy it. plenty of nice ponds and lakes to swim and fish in all over the state.
Peterborough and the surrounding towns are what people think of when they picture N.H. White steeple churches surrounded by mountains and ponds. Yet still close enough to the major cities for job opportunities. no neon signs or drive-thrus allowed. Whenever I go to those other towns all i notice is Strip malls a lot of tract housing and the increase in traffic.
Thank you for the lists. To answer some of the questions brought forward. Rural living with houses on acreage are appealing. Septic is not a problem. I have visited old friends in Londonderry on my way through to Maine. Flown in and out of Manchester. Housing in the range of 300,000-400,00K. We have driven in and through Maine extensively. Been through NH, Mass and Vermont several times and have seen small towns that seem quaint and walkable. Even like upstate (rural) NY. As far as climate, the most diversified of weather mixing hot, cold, snow and sunshine. Are their pockets of NH that have these micro climates more so than the other parts of the state?
Nothing wrong with Mayberry right? I actually live in "Mayberry", just cant take the politics of my state, and am being taxed to death.
Are there better schools in some of those towns mentioned above?
I would suggest Peterborough. While smaller than those other towns mentioned it has almost all of the things you are looking for. Sure, Portsmouth, Exeter, Amherst and Bedford are all nice but you get a lot more land and house for your money when you get away from the coast and the cities in N.H. After living down south near the water, i just don't see the advantage of paying high prices to live near the coast here. The water never really gets warm enough to enjoy it. plenty of nice ponds and lakes to swim and fish in all over the state.
Peterborough and the surrounding towns are what people think of when they picture N.H. White steeple churches surrounded by mountains and ponds. Yet still close enough to the major cities for job opportunities. no neon signs or drive-thrus allowed. Whenever I go to those other towns all i notice is Strip malls a lot of tract housing and the increase in traffic.
Peterborough has high property taxes and is in the snow belt. And I’m not sure how Conval HS stacks up these days.
Coming from the West Coast is going to be a huge cultural shock. The sea coast area, specifically Portsmouth, will probably be the easiest transition.
Thank you for the lists. To answer some of the questions brought forward. Rural living with houses on acreage are appealing. Septic is not a problem. I have visited old friends in Londonderry on my way through to Maine. Flown in and out of Manchester. Housing in the range of 300,000-400,00K. We have driven in and through Maine extensively. Been through NH, Mass and Vermont several times and have seen small towns that seem quaint and walkable. Even like upstate (rural) NY. As far as climate, the most diversified of weather mixing hot, cold, snow and sunshine. Are their pockets of NH that have these micro climates more so than the other parts of the state?
Nothing wrong with Mayberry right? I actually live in "Mayberry", just cant take the politics of my state, and am being taxed to death.
Are there better schools in some of those towns mentioned above?
I grew up in NH and have lived in the Bay Area for 25 years. I can assure you the “micro climates” in NH are no where near as pronounced as they are on the West Coast. Ie, there’s nothing that compares to driving through the Caldecott tunnel and emerging to a 20 degree temperature difference. Most people would never use the micro climate term.
Everywhere in NH will have 4 distinct seasons. The further north and west you go, the more snow you will get. But it’s not like getting rain in the Bay Area and 3 feet of snow in Tahoe. The changes are just not as dramatic in NH. You will experience 4 seasons everywhere, and winter will be the longest.
There aren’t many walkable towns in NH if you mean being able to live mostly without a car.
It’s just not that dense. Quaint in the New England sense and walkable to stores, etc, is few and far between. The only town that hasn’t been mentioned that I would add is Hanover. It’s isolated though, more so than Peterborough is.
I live in Londonderry. It is a car town that does not have any effective downtown. Next door is Derry that does have a small downtown but is still mostly a car town. Rochester also has a downtown but does not have the economy of Portsmouth. If I liked cities and could afford it I would live in Portsmouth. Next most likely would be Laconia so long as I could be somewhere during Bike Week.
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