Stratham Questions (Manchester, Nashua, Concord: insurance, condo, crime)

[bailey0625]

Hi!
I'm new to this board, hoping someone can help me out with some information about Stratham. We are in Florida now, thinking of swapping houses with someone in Stratham. It's actually a condex. We don't know much about Stratham at all. Does Stratham's power come from the Seabrook power plant, should we be concerned about the power plant? The property has a well, no experience with wells? Any thing we should be concerned about? Would we have traffic problems since it's close to the seacoast? I've heard it's rural, has good schools, friendly, but expensive. Taxes seem high!We're originally from Wilmington, MA about 20 minutes N. of Boston. Where would be the closest city to work in? Any information you could give me would be appreciated, it's so hard to do this from down here! Thanks!

[fishnfool]

There isn't really any downtown stratham or any central area to it. It's rural for the seacoast but not really "rural" by my standards (some small farms and larger spread out housing developments, but it's not out in the stix). I can't help with the wells or power, but I would assume it does get its power from seabrook (as (I would assume most of southern NH does?) Why that is a concern I don't know, unless you are worried about living in close proximity to the plant.

Traffic can be a pain. 108 gets a little crowded at rush hour and people don't drive the speed limit in parts where it drops to 2 lanes if you are heading north to newmarket/dover. The stretch in stratham is wide with lots of restaurants and stores. You would have to hop on 101 to get to 95 but that's not a big deal as you're about 4-5 miles from it, if that.

The closest town would be exeter, but most of the towns on the seacoast aren't far away at all. There are lots of smaller back roads that cut through to hampton, n hampton, greenland, portsmouth, etc. There is a large office complex anchored by Timberland and Lindt chocolate in stratham. I actually work in a small office located there. I have no idea what type of jobs you have so that may not matter much.

The houses there are nice and new but it's much more of a suburb (of what I don't know). Don't expect a nice quaint, new england town like the ones surrounding it.

[Annabelle]

I live in Exeter and work in Stratham traveling Rt. 108 and 33 each day during the usual "rush hours". The traffic is heavy but it moves right along and really is not that bad no matter which direction you are heading on those main roads. Only takes me 12 minutes on the road each day and most of that is stopping at the stop lights near the shopping areas. Depending where you work, if it is south of Stratham and you travel 95, then there are the usual times when traffic is heavy. I know people in Stratham that are employed as far away as Portland, ME, up to Concord and Dover, over to Nashua and south to Boston.

I have never heard anyone voice a concern about the power plant. Power plant, what power plant? oh yeah, Seabrook. It was just awarded one of the "Business of the Year" Awards from the Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce. Here's a quote from the announcement:

"Seabrook Station, now known as FPL Energy, was credited for overcoming criticism and adversity when the plant was built in the 1970s, to now being known as one of the best run nuclear plants in the country." They are also very active in the community.

We had a well at a previous residence in another state. Something to ask the owners is how deep the well is. Is the water "hard"? When was it last tested and what were the levels of chemicals? Is the tap water decent tasting? Is a filter needed?

Good luck!

[bailey0625]

Thank you for your reply's expecially about the wells, we have never dealt with one before. We previously worked for a semi-conductor company, I'm a stay at home mom for now, my husband installs windows & doors in Florida, but will most likely go back to similar field (semi-conductor, etc, he was a chem. tech)

[Valerie C]

You'll also want to know who's responsibility it will be to have the septic tank pumped/maintained, where the leachfield is, etc. You wouldn't want to put a shed or try to garden in that area! A condo would have the condo committee/association fees taking care of all the common features (exterior, roof, well & septic) but with a condex it's the individual owners of each unit who take care of these things. Is there a master insurance policy? If so, do they need to know if the units are being rented? You may need "renters insurance" for your possessions--master policy usually will only cover the building or comprehensive items.

[Yankeehombre]

Stratham is a good location to commute to Portsmouth20 mins. Some bio-tech, software + tech jobs, or Boston, 1 hr, 15 minutes if traffic is not excessive, but Friday nights commuting up I-95 can be a bear, due mostly to delays at the Hampton Tolls, 3-5 mile back-up is not uncommon.
Also to weekenders heading for the north country. its possible to jump off I95 in Seabrook or even Amesbury MA+ take back roads the last 7-15 miles. Manchester is just shy of an hour's commute from there.

Shopping is handy. There are 3 major supermarkets actually in Stratham. Lowes + Home Depot in Hampton/Seabrook. MallWart in south Portsmouth on rt1. Target being built on 33 in Greenland. Portsmoth + Exeter Hospitals are near too.There's no night life in Stratham, but Exeter and Newmarket has a few small places. I don't recall anything cultural ever going on in Stratham, other than the Stratham fair in the fall, An old car show.
Just being on the Seacoast offers many opportunities for recreation. The beaches are only 10-15 minutes depending upon summertime traffic.Yes power is generated at Seabrook, or bartered from the grid by PSNH, (the nuke plant operator). Water problems on the seacost tend to be of the nature of excessive water. As mentioned demand official resuls from an accredited water testing facility.
Pawtuckaway State Park is under 30 minutes and offers clean swimming water, camping,rock clibing, day hiking. The white mountains are just over an hour's commute. The Maine coast is easily accessed via I-95. then, theres deep sea fishing to be had everywhere. The train to Boston or Portland is only about $14.00-$16.00 1-way, from Exeter or Durham W/ free parking.A day walking Boston is always fun. Stations & Destinations - Boston, MA
The new municipal complex disease seems to have run its course in Stratham, whereby carpet-bagging urbanites have decided municipal infrastructure wasn't the oppulent facilities they're accustomed to. Stratham has a brand new Police and fire Station begging to be restocked with new equipment, personnel, overhead, etc. . Expect further tax increases since none of this has been paid for yet. The top crime solved was probably a bank cashier that walked with a few hundred of the bank's dollars. There is no crime to speak of there, stolen bycycles, bench warrant arrests, kids W/ alcohol possession etc.. I've never heard of any in-fighting between town officials there. All seems smooth. Most "focused" local paper is The Exeter News Letter WWW.seacoastonline.com (broken link)