Family-oriented communities in New Hampshire (Manchester, Nashua: house, theater, best school districts)

[willsmommy]

Hi All, My husband and I are looking to relocate from Long, Island, NY to Southern New Hampshire with our 6 1/2 yr son and our husky. We are currently researching the following areas: Nashua, Manchester, Hampton, Dover, and New Londonderry. Can you tell me if any of these areas have kid-friendly communities? We are looking for a family-friendly environment where safety is a priority along with good schools. Can anyone help?
Also, everyone is talking about the high property taxes - whats considered high for New Hampshire? Thanks for your input.

[WannaComeHome]

well, the ones you've listed are pretty big. Manchester is the largest city in the state - comes with everything you'd expect of a city (ok, not big compared to NYC or even Boston, but still.. that's why it's called the Queen City). Nashua is the second largest. Derry and Keene (opposite side of southern NH) tie for the 3rd largest. So most of your locations are much more city than town, and will have quite a different feel to them.

Londonderry is quite different and by all reports (since I don't live there, but many here do) is very lovely.

Generally speaking, NH is one of the safest states in the country - even Manchester (compared to NYC or Boston). Any of the towns will be perfectly safe. Schools will vary in quality. Nashua has some good schools but in general seems to be 'adequate', not thrilling. Hollis (beside Nashua) is excellent.

I'll let others from the other regions talk more about their schools.

[bryfry]

In many communities that have good schools, expect to pay more in taxes. A decent 3BR home in the $300-350k range in Londonderry will probably cost you $5-6k a year.

Take a look at Bedford or Bow as well. Those also fit your criteria.

[BF66389]

High in NH is nothing like high on long island. I recall seeing shacks with 20k in property taxes near King's Point...

[maestramommy]

We just moved to Bedford from SoCal. We chose Bedford because of the schools. Our home is in the high $300ks and the adjusted tax for this year is about $6.5k. Maybe someone here can direct you to a specific link for property taxes, I'm sure there is a thread on this subject on the first page. But my initial impression was that the tax rate in Bow was a little higher. They're supposed to have excellent schools as well. Our older dd is not yet in preschool, but we did visit the district preschool for an eval and it was very good experience. Bedford has a great playground/town pool that is very family friendly, and the folks around here have been pretty open and welcoming. As far as I can tell Bedford is a pretty safe town. There have been reports on a strange man trying to accost teen girls (not sure if he's been caught yet), but other than that, nothing.

[Valerie C]

Hi WillsMommy
You've found a great place to do your research--I think there is someone who either lives or has lived in each of these towns here on CD Forum. I'm going to assume that you mean Londonderry (we have a New London as well, but it's further north than any of the other towns you mentioned).

IMO, you've got a great list to go by here. As mentioned, Manchester and Nashua are true cities, and have good and not-so-good areas. Personally, I'm partial to Londonderry because I live and work here, and I've got kids going through the school system. While it's not considered a "walkable" town, it is one of the very safe places, and the schools are excellent. Property taxes are higher than some, lower than others at $18.22 per thousand of assessed value. Londonderry does NOT have a playground (other than the ones at the elementary schools) but other towns are near enough that you can drive easily. Manchester, Derry and Hudson all have multiple parks, Windham and Salem as well.

You also mentioned that your husky is coming along--there's a great off-leash dog park in nearby Derry--great fun for dogs and their people ...

I've got to run and toss something together for dinner but will check back in later on tonight...

Originally Posted by willsmommy

Hi All, My husband and I are looking to relocate from Long, Island, NY to Southern New Hampshire with our 6 1/2 yr son and our husky. We are currently researching the following areas: Nashua, Manchester, Hampton, Dover, and New Londonderry. Can you tell me if any of these areas have kid-friendly communities? We are looking for a family-friendly environment where safety is a priority along with good schools. Can anyone help?
Also, everyone is talking about the high property taxes - whats considered high for New Hampshire? Thanks for your input.

[Ken E]

Dover would be my pick.

[notdancingqueen]

Willsmommy, I grew up on LI in one of the best school districts-- there is NO comparison between high taxes there and "high" taxes here! It's all relative. Unless you live in a town where your taxes are unusually low (e.g., Glen Head/Glenwood Landing because of LILCO) or you are moving to a house on the water up here, NH property taxes will barely register on your radar.

Jackie

[NH2008]

If I were looking at those cities, I'd consider Bedford (just outside Manchester), Hollis (just outside Nashua, with the top-rated schools in the state) or Hampton Falls. Bedford and Hollis have awesome schools all the way through, Hampton Falls less so after middle school when local students merge with others in a larger high school. Each is distinct. Bedford (to me) feels like a modern suburb with lots of new housing and no real downtown. It has lots of suburban conveniences like My Gym, pediatricians' offices, etc. Hollis has the classic New England small town square but a more rural feel with lots of farmland and a large nature preserve. Hampton Falls is lovely but the Seacoast in general is a bit built-up for my taste - the flip side to that being that there's a lot to do in Portsmouth (children's museum, theater, restaurants) and the school issue is a disadvantage in my mind.

Hope that helps!

[willsmommy]

Hi Everyone, Thank you so much for your input - you've given us some great towns to look at. As for taxes - you're right - your high and our high are totally different. We were originally looking to move local and the homes we were looking at - the taxes we close to $11,000 (which is ridiculous). So that's a relief. We are planning a trip in a few weeks - wish us luck :-)