North Conway Area... relocating! (Warner: real estate, apartment, rentals)

[Mehggs]

Hi all, I have been here before in search of help and info on relocating to the North Conway area.... and I must say everyone here is wonderfully nice and helpful!

I guess I am just sick of maine, and everytime I go to Nh it makes me feel great, so I want to try living there

Hubby is in carpentry...eeek and I will take just about anything short of a convienience store these days lol.

Is there a better alternative to job/apartment hunting than the internet? I have used: craigslist.org and The conway daily sun, but just wondering if there were any little secrets I might be unaware of?

Anyone know the average cost of preschool in that area? or is there Pre-K? My son is 4 so I wouls really like to keep him in a semi educated/social environment, and its kinda crucial if I am working....

Just how bad are vehicle registration fees!? lol. I paid 750 to reg my new highlander this yr here in maine.....

I think thats all for now?

[Valerie C]

Hi Mehggs
I can't comment on the other stuff, but for apartment hunting, you can always search the MLS directly at Northern New England Real Estate Network - Official Website of the Northern New England MLS. Lots of agents use craigslist to advertise their listings (both rental and sales) and you don't realize it's an agent's posting until you call them. Might as well cut to the chase and see the rentals directly. Of course, some of the posts will be the owner, but IMO the majority is from real estate agents. Wish I could help w/ the other stuff, but we do have some mountain-dwelling members that should be stopping by to give their opinions

[Mehggs]

thank you valeriec. I did look there (because I saw that you reccommended it in another thread) and didnt find much but i certainly appreciate the suggestion!

[JMishy]

I live in North Conway!

Typically, I'd go to the Conway Daily Sun for apartment listings. You could try local realtors, since sometimes they have listings too, but most of the time it's for vacation rentals.

The preschools I looked at were around $250 a month and were only Tues/Thurs or Mon/Wed/Fri and 1/2 days. There is a Conway Headstart program and they have a sliding scale, I believe. I haven't checked into them.

Yes, vehicle registration is expensive. The State fee isn't too bad, but the Town one always gets me. The registration goes down the older your car is. The State one stays the same.

I hope that helps. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

[Mehggs]

Hi Jmishy!! Nice to sort of "meet" someone who lives in North Conway! Whenever I wind up in chats or on forums it seems most people are from s. NH (understandably so)so its a lil refreshing! I also appreciate the information!

I might have confused things a little when I said pre-school, because up here, my son is at a daycare (all day, 5days a week) which is also a preschool for children his age. I am curious what full time care in the area costs as well, not sure which route I am going to take with work and stuff.... up here I pay 150/wk or 600/mo however you sling it- its EXPENSIVE!

Do you know any rough estimates about the cost of electricity, DSL/high speed internet, and cable/dish? Or any info regarding good/bad companies? Obviously it would be a personal opinion, and thats fine by me, lol.

Again thanks!

[JMishy]

Let's see. I had to re-read the rules again to see what I'm allowed to post and not post. *lol* It's a bit confusing!

Anyway, I'll do my best and see what I can come up with. Keep in mind, we are a household of six and four of those are very young children. A lot of our utilities are going to be higher than average.

Electric can be either with Public Service of NH or the NH electrical co-op (depending on where you live). Ours runs around $150. That does not include gas which heats our home and is what we cook with. Don't ask how much that is...you'll faint...seriously...

I stay at home with my children, so I'm not 100% about daycare costs, but from what I remember from my friends, it's about the same. I know it really depends if you're keeping them at a home daycare (tends to be less expensive) or a larger daycare at a facility. I think it was something like $100-150 a week.

We use Time Warner cable for our high speed internet since my hubby works from home sometimes. We have a package that includes cable and internet. It's just over $100. You can get cheaper packages. We also use a VOIP (voice over IP) for our phone service through BroadVoice. It's $26 and includes local, long distance and all the perks (call waiting, caller ID, ect). There is Dish service in the Valley, but I'm not sure what the prices are. Verizon has DSL service, I believe.

It isn't cheap living in Conway. But, I find that you can make it work if you put your mind to it. I do understand what you mean about no one being from Conway. I usually feel like a loner out here! Mostly, people post asking about Conway, because they're vacationing up here. I, personally, love living here. Every morning, I wake up to mountain views outside of my window.

I don't know if that helped any. Good luck and I'd be more than happy to answer any other questions if you have them.

[Mehggs]

thanks so much for giving your best shot with all that- i really appreciate it, and it does give me a ballpark figure which is really helpful.

The toughest part so far has been finding my hubby a job, and truly he is the "bread winner" so it's pretty important! He is a carpenter, and it's just tough to find anyone looking for help at his rate/experience level. Like I said- I can just work in the hotel/cust service industry for now...

I really can't wait to get out there, its so beautiful and I just love the area. We come out there quite a bit just for the heck of it, to shop, to honeymoon, or sometimes just to come out there lol.

[JMishy]

Originally Posted by Mehggs

He is a carpenter, and it's just tough to find anyone looking for help at his rate/experience level.

I know you mentioned that you've looked at the Conway Daily Sun for rentals, but have you checked the Help Wanted section? I peeked at it today and there were carpentry jobs.

Good luck and hopefully it'll all work out for y'all to come down!

[Mehggs]

hahahahaha thats so funny- I just went back to their website (mind you I was on it yesterday) and there were two new carpentry jobs! THANKS!

[dmyankee]

New Hampshire, the way Maine should be.