Where to move in New Hampshire? (Manchester, Nashua: houses, buying, high school)

[scamper]

Hi Everyone,
First let me say how excited I am to hear from all of you!! Secondly, let me introduce myself. I am 30 years old, am married with no children (yet!) and 2 small dogs. I am an interior designer & artist. I work both as a designer for a small architectural firm as well as a design educator at an art & design college in Denver. My husband is a social worker. We currently live in Fort Collins Colorado, and are looking to move back East to be closer to famly & friends. (I am originally from Mass. and all my family is scattered around New England-we moved to Colorado for Grad School).

We are looking to move to either Vermont or New Hampshire to start our family. We would love to buy a home in a somewhat rural area with a good amount of property (1+ acre(s)) that is located close the ammenities of a more urban community. We will both need to find new jobs, so oppurtunities for both of our fields are important as well. We would each prefer a commute to work that's under 30 minutes.

Other things that are important to us and our lifestyle include:

- great outdoor activities like skiing, bike riding (trails?), hiking, etc.
- variety of locally owned shops & restaraunts (and breweries!)
- music, art, and various local festivals
- family-friendly communities where we can make new friends our age
- great school systems
- pet-friendly vibe
- good jobs (social work, art, interior design)
- nice people & community with healthy, outgoing, liberal, & optimistic
views on life!

Any advice on where we should be looking would be so greatly appreciated!!!

[buck naked]

sounds like anyplace in NH.


good luck finding a job, you will find hundreds of applicants for one position. So be ready to market your skills - the competition is fierce.

[maestramommy]

Hi Scamper! We just moved to Bedford from SoCal this summer. There are parts of Bedford that are more "rural" than others, but a lot of houses here sit on 1+acres. I don't know how true this is, but our buying agent just told me that zoning for Bedford is now 2 acres. If you want to be close to urban amenities Bedford is really close to Manchester. My husband bikes to work in Manchester most days, yet our area is sorta "rural suburban". At least to me it is! The great schools are one of the main reasons we moved here, as well as the family friendly feel. The library is great, and the town parks and rec. sponsors 2-3 public playdates a week at the town hall. The only thing I don't like is the complete lack of sidewalks. I've seen sidwalks in the area close to the high school, otherwise this is not a pedestrian friendly town, which is really too bad. We live less than a 5 minute drive from the town center, and if they had sidewalks, I wouldn't have to drive my car for such an embarrassingly short distance. Otherwise, I really like it here.

[NH2008]

It sounds to me like you're talking about the Seacoast. Portsmouth is artsy, has a lot of street and film festivals, is known for its restaurants, is an hour from Boston, is on the water, and is an easy drive from hiking and skiing. It would be a good bet for interior design jobs as the area is wealthy and has the highest home prices in the state. It's a small city so social work jobs shouldn't be a problem. It's also close to Durham, home to UNH. It's the only city I've visited in NH that has that hustle/bustle feeling on the streets - people milling about in and out of restaurants, lots of bars, live music, etc. The combination of things you are looking for is hard to find in NH, in my opinion, and I don't know of anyplace beside Portsmouth where you could find it all. (The other option would be Peterborough - search the archives for the recent threads. It's very artsy and liberal with lots of locally owned businesses, but also more rural. Maybe also Hanover.)

In terms of finding a house outside Portsmouth with more land, I'd check out Hampton Falls, Rye, Exeter...

SeacoastNH.com - Home

[dzmjp]

I was thinking more of Henniker or Peterborough. I know, just from reading this forum, that Peterborough is quite artsy. We just visited, and it sounds like Henniker has what you are looking for as well. Henniker is at the base of Pat's Peak with a cute down town. Do a search on the forum for Peterborough and Henniker, you will find a huge lot of information. Hope this helps you a little! I"m in the same boat as you, but those would be my recommondations for you.

Good luck! This forum is extremely helpful!!!

[jthibodeau]

I'll go along with Portsmouth, Manchester, Concord, Hanover/Lebanon and Peterborough and the surrounding towns. Although Peterborough may be just a "bit out of town" for you. Unless your into the central village area, most towns require 2 acres or more for subdivision. You may even find properties between 2 and 5 acres for roughly the same price.

Good Luck....

[BF66389]

I'd suggest Hollis. But mainly because my wife and I need friends (we're new/in your age group as well).

That said- Nashua is 5-10 minutes away; Portsmouth is just under an hour, Boston is just under an hour, Keene/Peterborough are 45 minutes, Manchester is 20 minutes, Ocean is under an hour, White Mountains are about 1.5 hours, Lakes are about an hour- so its VERY centrally located for everything you enjoy.

We have great local hiking trails, local farms for produce, and I always see tons of folks out walking their dogs. Most of the town's homes are on farms or 2 or 4 acre lots with trees/space/fields in between...but when you want "condensed" or "city" its nearby (Nashua for small, Boston for big, Portsmouth/Keene for Artsy). Great schools too- should you decide to have kids.

As for political climate- its "live and let live"; there is a mix of different views but keeping the town in good shape economically, environmentally, and educationally are shared values.

As for meeting folks...again- the "social" scene is in Nashua, but its just next door- so you can have your cake (the property, woods, farms, gorgeous) and eat it too (stores, shopping, more-urban) next door. And if thats not enough...you can mix it up between towns (like my wife and I do). Spent Saturday at the Pumpkin Festival in Keene; headed to Portsmouth on Sunday for a nice dinner.

[AngelaK]

Towns that fit your criteria that have good school systems include Londonderry, Bow, Hopkinton, Hollis-Brookline, Exeter. If schools are important, those are the places I would focus on.

[scamper]

Thank you all for your very helpful posts!! I am going to be busy this weekend researching all that you have suggested! I am familiar with a few of the places recommended, but not from the viewpoint of a 30-something year old looking to start a family (I grew up in West Newbury, MA which is very close to the NH border, and moved away almost 5 years ago). I'm excited about exploring NH again!

[GregW]

I suggest getting the jobs before the move. Consider this economy before doing anything.