Any information on Sutton? (Manchester, Concord: real estate, day care, hotel)

[dzmjp]

My husband and I are planning our trip this coming October, and noticed this town Sutton. I've visited their web page and the NH Profile page. It seems like a really cute little town - does anyone have any information about living there? Where do you do most of your shopping? Is it all part of the same school system as Warren (Keasage?)?

Any information is grately appreciated! Thank you so much to everyone on this forum!

PS, if anyone knows of a good B & B along that route, or just a hotel, I'm open to ideas! Thank you again!

[Brave Stranger]

Originally Posted by dzmjp

My husband and I are planning our trip this coming October, and noticed this town Sutton. I've visited their web page and the NH Profile page. It seems like a really cute little town - does anyone have any information about living there? Where do you do most of your shopping? Is it all part of the same school system as Warren (Keasage?)?

Any information is grately appreciated! Thank you so much to everyone on this forum!

PS, if anyone knows of a good B & B along that route, or just a hotel, I'm open to ideas! Thank you again!

Have you looked at the town of Bow NH ? Bow is just minutes outside of Concord with an excellent school systen & a new high school. Nice small town feel with all the stuff you need right in Concord. living in Bow would cut your drive-time for work & shopping to nothing. Nice in the winter

[Jazz_nh]

Hi,

I live in Sutton NH and can tell you anything you want to know about the town. I have lived here for ten years and migrated here from Massachusettes. It is a picture perfect New England town. All the residents are super friendly and really help each other out.
The school system in Sutton is part of the Kearsarge District. All the Kearsarge schools are in the town itself, The Elementary school, the middle school ( brand new in 2008) and the High School.

Sutton is located within a drivable distance to the major cities like Concord, Hanover/Lebanon, and Manchester. Also, A day trip to Boston or the seacoast is very managable from here.

Moderator cut: no real estate advertising

[GraniteStater]

Yes, Sutton is quite rural but is growing quickly in population with an 18% gain since 2000. However, the area still maintains its rural charm. It is about an equal distance to Lebanon and Concord with easy Interstate access via I-89. It is also quite hilly and wooded even compared with other areas of Merrimack County. Sutton is close to a few state parks and skiing.

[bryfry]

You can check out the Rosewood Country Inn in nearby Bradford. I stayed there last Oct and it was absolutely gorgeous. Also, check out New London just to the north. Nice town with lower taxes. Home to Colby-Sawyer College.

[dzmjp]

Wow! Thank you all so much for all of your feedback! This is fantastic! Our move wont be till next summer, but otherwise your house would be something we would check out! I am also checking out Bow, thank you for that heads up too! I may have a job prospect in Bedford, so Bow would be a quick(er) commute than Warner or Sutton.

I look forward to hearing all I can! Jazz_ nh, thank you so much for that insider information...if I do have any questions - do you mind if I DM you? Does anyone have any pictures?

Thank you all again! I will check out those b&B's! Thank you!!!

[notdancingqueen]

Other nearby towns you might consider are Warner, Bradford, N. Sutton, Sunapee, Wilmot/Wilmot Flat, Newbury, and New London. All are nice but they all have a different feel to them -- I strongly encourage you to drive around here for a few days to see which speaks to you.

There are a lot of Inns and B&Bs around here -- Shaker Meeting House was recommended to us by a trusted source. We also stayed at the New London Inn for a few nights when house hunting this past winter -- they had a promotion where if you stayed there and were working with a local realtor, your room rate was $99/night. Others I have heard good things about include Follansbee Inn at Kezar Lake and Dexters on Stagecoach Rd in Sunapee.

We just moved here 6 weeks ago from Annapolis so if you have any Newcomer questions feel free to ask - We spent much of Feb-May scoping out the area, searching for houses, etc. We loved our Realtor and are happy to pass along her name if you would like it.

Good lkuck - Jackie

[dzmjp]

Notdancingqueen, thank you so much for that information! We are going to check out all of I 89.. I've heard great things about that area - rural, nice rurals hills, views, etc... everything I'm trying to find on the East coast to get closer to family! Our trip is in October and can't wait!

Thank you so much for that information - and when we find our area - I'll def. contact you for your realtor info - May I ask, where did you end up settling and why?

[notdancingqueen]

We are in Wilmot (technically Wilmot Flat). We loved the proximity to New London (5 minutes) and its "amenties" -- which really means a gas station and grocery store but also Colby-Sawyer college which brings some culture and a fantastic preschool, plus an adorable town with cute shops and some decent restaurant choices -- without the higher New London tax rates. We can walk to the farmers market and bike to the town beach. We're close to Pleasant Lake and a 10-12 minute drive from Kezar lake, little sunapee and lake sunapee. 20 minutes from 2 ski mountains. We fell in love with the house and the property, too, though we didn't find The House that met all of our criteria. My backyard is practically in a state park. We also love the sense of community here. Mainly, we found this part of the region to be rural enough to be beautiful and quiet but not so far removed as to freak me out. We're coming from Annapolis so this was a big enough change and culture shock as it is without adding a 20 minute trek off I-89, then 10 minutes down a dirt lane and a 3 mile driveway -- we saw some beautiful homes in Newbury and Warner but they were too remote for my comfort.

Not all locations/parts of all towns are equally remote or convenient, though, so I highly encourage folks to spend enough time driving around that you get a sense of the differences between the towns, but also so that you get your bearings and develop a sense of direction and where you are in relation to everything else.

All (or almost all) of the towns I mentioned are part of the Kearsarge district which is a great school system so that didn't affect our town choice, though I *was* somewhat influenced by the school bus routes. Since Kearsarge is a regional school district kids can wind up on the bus for a really long time, and even have to transfer buses, if you live in certain parts of the district. This may be one of those things that eventually wouldn't be a big deal to me once I adjusted to it but right now I can't wrap my head around my kids on a bus for 45 minutes each way.

Good luck - Jackie

[dzmjp]

notdancingqueen - fantastic information! So far, all of the research I've done, it sounds like along 89 will be our area! I'm so excited for the trip and your information is appreciated! My daughter will be old enough for preschool by the time we make our move so hearing that there is a great preschool - SO IMPORTANT! I may have to find day care in that area as well. Thank you so much again! I will let you know how it goes!