Anyone from Wakefield, New Hampshire? (Rochester, Dover: real estate market, 2009, condos)

[Hepcat]

Hi, all! I was wondering if any of you had any thoughts on Wakefield, New Hampshire...I have been looking for land to purchase, with the idea of building in the future, when the kids leave for college. I have looked in Southern Maine, and not found the "right" place.

Any thoughts on the town? I had an elderly relative that lived there, I remember it years ago as being quite beautiful, but I don't remember details. How far do you need to go to shop for basics? I am not looking for waterfront property, just something quaint, somewhat rural. Don't need night life, bars, etc, maybe a few restaurants, with the ability to shop for food and household goods a reasonable distance away.

Any feedback at all would be MUCH appreciated....also any feedback on neighboring towns that I may not have thought of, is also welcome.

Thanks!

[buck naked]

Wakefield is a beautiful town - I would call it 1/2 way between Rochester and No. Conway....LOL so a half hour to shopping would be my estimate.

it has unbelievable views of Mt. Washington - the town is mostly unchanged

[xfountaingrl]

There are now a few grocery stores and other things in the area that were not there 3 years ago. It is starting to get bigger, while still staying quaint.

[Hepcat]

Thanks, buck..(love your screen name). I poked around a bit on line, it seems quite beautiful, quaint..it has a few places to eat, an Inn. Does it have a downtown area at all, or a Maine street? I saw it has a farmers market, I thought that was great. I lived in Durham/Dover years ago, but that area seems more developed now, and expensive.

[Hepcat]

Xfountaingirl, I think we posted at the same time! Thanks for the information. From what I have read about the town on it's website, it looks as though they are trying to preserve open space. So many nice towns do a poor job regulating development. Looking at some southern N.H. towns, when I see 1/4 acre lots where houses are being crammed in..I think that's a shame.

[Annabelle]

My relatives lived in Wakefield for many years. In the summer, there are numerous vacationers all heading to the lake cottages (7 lakes and some smaller ponds) so traffic on the weekends on Rt. 16 can be an issue. In the off season, Wakefield is just a sleepy little NH town. Not much going on. A couple of small restaurants and very little industry/jobs. Lots of snowmobilers in the winter. A nice place to live if you want quiet living.

[subzenith]

I live in Wakefield. In the wilderness of Wakefield, actually.

If you want land to develop, this place is seriously a gold mine. They're starting to get the right idea and build some condos up here by the lakes and stuff. I guarantee the real estate market up here is going to explode in the next couple of years.
We don't have a very expansive selection of stores: you have the Lovell Lake Food Center, which is a good little store with a lot of organics and local made stuff in addition to commercial goods; there's some convenience stores scattered about; and word on the street is that there's a new Hannaford going in in 2009. As far as restaurants go, the bigger places are of course the Poor People's Pub and Pine River Steak House, as well as several cute B&B's and some family-owned joints like Atlantic Chowder House and Lino's (formerly the Choo-Choo Cafe.)
If you're thinking about not only buying land but living here full-time and being a part of the community, you'll probably be pleased with how close-knit our community is. We do a lot of little parties, Wakefield Pride Day is always a blast. We all go see this year's SCAMP (middle and high-schoolers put on a play at the Opera House every spring) production and the City Council is always open to new members and their opinions and input on town improvements. The K-8 local public school, Paul Elementary, is where I went to school and they have a very promising student laptop program as well as progressive Gifted & Talented and Special Ed opportunites. 8th graders move on to Spaulding High in Rochester, which is something like the third biggest high school in the state or whatnot. As a current student at the above mentioned school, I would have to say it is a pretty nice place.
Even though it's nearly mid-April and we still have a foot or so of snow left on the ground in some places, Wakefield is still a sweet little town and you would probably like it a lot.

[buck naked]

(middle and high-schoolers put on a play at the Opera House every spring)



do they perform at the Rochester opera house? or does Wakefield have a facility? I'm surprised the kids go to Spaulding High in Rochester. Milton and Milton Mills have their own high school and they are closer to Rochester than Wakefield. Will Wakefield eventually have a high school?