Urgently Need Feedback: Amherst & Hollis (Bedford: transplants, home, to buy)

[GregW]

We just drove through Amherst to Francistown, New Boston and a few other towns. Absolutely gorgeous. I would think either town would be nice to live in but they are relatively expensive. There was a grand old house for sale on the Amherst town green. Check out the local realtors. Both are nice places.
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[Valerie C]

That report has got to be quite unsettling for you! I can't imagine...
Not having lived in either Hollis or Amherst, I can't say with personal experience which would suit you best. I did want to offer another point of view regarding school year moves. My very shy and reserved daughter who had difficulty in making friends ragged on me for always planning our moves in summer. I thought I was doing her a favor by NOT making her to be the "new kid" but I've been told that "the new kid" gets introduced to everyone, and everyone wants to know all about where "the new kid" lived before, and supposedly would have been easier to make friends because everyone KNOWS that you don't know anyone as opposed to not knowing anyone at the beginning of the year, when everybody is greeting each other after having the summer off. Of course I was told this after making 4 moves in 5 years, all of them "summer moves"... <sigh>

Personally I would find the faster moving traffic on Main Street to be a irritation, especially between the 3 and 7 pm, and I would hesitate to ride my own bike along the road. There is a sidewalk on one side, so for kids anyway, they could use that. Compared to traffic in Cal. though, it may seem quite minimal to you. My brother's been living in SoCal for over a decade now, and he says that our worst traffic here in NH pales in comparison due to the sheer number of people there, He can have it, along with everything else that goes with his idea of paradise...

Originally Posted by WannaComeHome

Coming in mid-year is always difficult on the kids, and I think both towns can be kinda clique-ish. But there are probably ways to help get around that.

[NH2008]

Val, I've heard the same thing. Thank you. Honestly, I would never choose to move mid-year when he's just started adjusting to his new school and making new friends, but the thought of the house falling off the foundation or the roof caving in sort of trumps everything I do think it will be a bit tough on the kids, but I just don't know what else to do. We don't want to pay a fortune in rent to stay somewhere we don't plan on staying anyway.

Yes, it's not even even 5 a.m. yet and I'm so stressed I'm already up and checking email! Argh! Thanks for the thoughts GregW and Val.

[BF66389]

- How are the communities/residents different? Is there a different "feel" to the towns? Is one friendlier, more open, or more keep-to-yourself than the other?

The Hollis town hall folks were very friendly to us when we had to do some stuff. Neighbors that we've met have been nice. Still new to the area so we haven't met that many people yet. Anyone I've met from the area (police officer, manager at the town tump) were amazingly friendly and helpful (got a full tour of the dump and explanation of what they do with everything). To me this generally means "these people like their jobs/are happy"- what that also says is the town government must take care of its employees- a good thing. We're only 27/28 so we're on the younger side for homeowners in Hollis but haven't had any resentment from folks we've met (a worry we had initially).

- Any feedback on the schools? How about Souhegan Co-op? I'd also love feedback on the preschools. I have one child in preschool and another in kindergarten. My kids would both be entering mid-year so I'm really looking for teachers that would go the extra mile to help them make friends and get comfortable.

No, sorry. The only feedback I have is 3rd party. Got no complaints about Hollis schools, got a few about Amherst's concepts. That said they are both good schools. Did tour the Hollis high school- it was nice.

- How is growth/sprawl/development in both towns?

Hollis has minimum zoning of 2 acres for lots with at least 200 feet of road frontage and 4 acres for "back lots" (road frontage only for a driveway). There is also a big "push" for conservation (Beaver Brook Association, etc); that said it will grow up- but at least 2-4 acre lots and an agrarian friendly town will help minimize it. We found a lot of "new" homes in Amherst with half-acre lots; it seemed to be more dense to us. A LOT more developments/neighborhoods than Hollis which is more "house here, house there"

- In Hollis, if we lived on Main St, would there be a lot of traffic/noise? Too busy for our kids to bike?

During rush-hour times, depends on how safe/mature/good of riders they are, for the most part I'd say "too busy" but during off-peak times they'd probably be fine. We sat and had lunch by the monument one weekend and very few cars went by. That said there are some side-streets downtown where your kids could go. There is a nice playground they could safely get to as well (depending on their ages of course).

My suggestion- just go park and see.

- Does one town have more services than the other? What about activities? It seems like Amherst has a bit more going on (restaurants, shops) but I didn't see the commercial area.

"Downtown" Hollis to anything you could want is a 5-10 minute drive (for example: I ran out to Bed Bath and Beyond because my cooking knife broke last night while making dinner; the store is over by the mall in Nashua, it was any easy trip that I got back just fine to finish dinner (and I could have gotten one much closer but I had a coupon). That's one of the major reasons we chose Hollis of Amherst. Amherst is pretty cool- but getting anywhere from Amherst just seemed to be more of a challenge from most areas of the town (obviously parts are right on 101A so these are excluded). The southwest corner of Hollis is "further out there"...but not nearly as much as the northwest corner of Amherst...

- If you live in one of these towns, what made you choose one over the other?

My wife and I relocated up here from the greater Washington DC area about a year ago. We rented in Merrimack for a year (to learn the area) and then bought in Hollis a few months ago.

We liked both Hollis and Amherst but chose Hollis for a few reasons:
1) Proximity to "stuff"

Tis was our biggest reason, we could get to the highway to get to work easily, food store easily, and everything else easily, I can be at the Mall in Nashua in 10 minutes; in Amherst it felt like we had to drive for awhile to get anywhere and the areas we liked the most were furthest away from "stuff". We both commute to Bedford MA and I frequent Logan Airport as well...neither is a hassle compared to DC by any means.

2) Feel
I prefer aggrarian to mountainous, my wife said Hollis seemed "cuter"

3) Schools
Both are good, but got consistant good feedback on Hollis

4) Homes
We found the home we liked in Hollis, prices seemed comparable

5) Environment
Amherst had some areas we really didn't like, Hollis didn't... Overall Hollis seems more "well kept"; Amherst is too- but some places seem more forgotten.

In short- both Amherst and Hollis are nice towns. We found that the location/look & feel/schools of Hollis were a bit better than Amherst and therefore chose Hollis instead.

[BF66389]

By the way, comparing Hollis & Amherst really is nit-picking. When I say Hollis is better than Amherst its like saying "Ferrari is nicer than Lamborghini"...both are amazing; there are just a few differences that could sway your opinion based on what you like.

[lisa g]

No, Main St. is not undesirable, it's just that with all the schools along that route there is serious bus and car traffic mornings and afternoons. And each school starts and dismisses at staggering times, so the flow of traffic is fairly extended if that makes sense. Another reason an old house you may be interested in may not have sold could be its condition. Old houses are beautiful and charming, but be sure to have whatever home you are interested in inspected by a reputable home inspector. I pass one cute one on Main St. that has been for sale for well over a year now and can only assume it's not in good condition, regardless of its curb appeal.

As for curriculum...>sigh<...I hesitated to write that because my perspective is not typical. There is an emphasis on language arts('writing across the disciplines' light), but *before* mastery of grammar, spelling, vocabulary, cursive handwriting is taught/expected. To me, this is backward, or it should occur simultaneously before bad habits set in. Everyday Mathematics is still a hot button topic: Opposed to Everyday Mathematics program in Hollis, NH

[BF66389]

No, Main St. is not undesirable, it's just that with all the schools along that route there is serious bus and car traffic mornings and afternoons. And each school starts and dismisses at staggering times, so the flow of traffic is fairly extended if that makes sense. Another reason an old house you may be interested in may not have sold could be its condition. Old houses are beautiful and charming, but be sure to have whatever home you are interested in inspected by a reputable home inspector. I pass one cute one on Main St. that has been for sale for well over a year now and can only assume it's not in good condition, regardless of its curb appeal.

We found the same thing...many of the homes that sat for awhile were essentially dumps or had something big wrong with them (check for water damage- intensely). Also be able to help your inspector, point out things you have conserns about. 2 pairs of eyes are better than one.

As for curriculum...>sigh<...I hesitated to write that because my perspective is not typical. There is an emphasis on language arts('writing across the disciplines' light), but *before* mastery of grammar, spelling, vocabulary, cursive handwriting is taught/expected. To me, this is backward, or it should occur simultaneously before bad habits set in. Everyday Mathematics is still a hot button topic: Opposed to Everyday Mathematics program in Hollis, NH

At least NH told No-Child-Left-Behind to go away. Teaching entirely to the NCLB tests is the reason my mother left teaching after over 30 years. It was very sad for her to be so limited (she taught special ed and some of her biggest "accomplishments" were students who went on to become neuro-surgeons, engineers, etc because she was able to teach them in a way that they could understand...and eventually they learned to teach themselves using the same methods).

That said, Everyday Math and Writing Across Disciplines are both good and bad. Depends on the teacher/students/parents. Like any other system new methods are tried (remember Phonics)- some work, some don't. These particular methods are challenging. On one hand I can see clearly how they are beneficial (I use aspects of what is defined as "Everyday Math" everyday at work to solve complex mathematical problems without the help of a computer in meetings and the like) but on the other it is critical to know theory/proper methods as well (when I do use the computer- I need to be able to understand the logic/setup my scripts correctly). Likewise it is important students can see how "writing" isn't just limited to english class. My view is moderation- learning the new methods as well as integrating the key building block knowledge of the "old"; and this is something that parents/teachers are responsible for.

[lisa g]

Exactly, BF! My kids are in public school, but that's not where their education ends. I continue to 'fill in the holes' at home, and feel that their education is my responsibility - I am taking advantage of what is offered publicly, but that's just one piece of the puzzle for us. I am not completely opposed to writing across the disciplines or everyday math, I just had to be candid and say that they are not perfect, and there are gaps that need to be filled in, imo. Lots of people who choose Hollis for its schools (and comparatively speaking, I suspect Hollis' schools-at least elementary- are deserving of the reputation they've earned) are probably fine w/curriculum.

[NH2008]

Thanks for the insight. I am not able to post "reps" or else I would definitely be handing them out left and right. I can see that I have a lot of homework to do on the issues schools are facing today. I write about education and I am still mystified by a lot of these terms and ideas.

Don't suppose either of you has an inspector to recommend?

Thanks again!

[BF66389]

NH doesn't require licensing of home inspectors. To that end I'd suggest using one who is licensed in MA as well (who does require it). I'll send you a PM with some other info.