What are the nice suburbs of the Manchester area? (Nashua: low crime, neighborhoods)

[movingover]

I know the nicer suburbs of Portsmouth are Exeter, New Market, Epping, etc. What would be equivalent towns in terms of low crime, great schools, and nice layout and amenities?

[NH2008]

Bedford. Don't know if Amherst could be considered a suburb of Manchester, but if so, Amherst too.

[leggo]

Ditto what NH2008 said -- also I would consider Amherst to be a suburb. A guy from work lives there and it takes about 20-25 min. to get to Manchester.

[rmcewan]

Originally Posted by movingover

I know the nicer suburbs of Portsmouth are Exeter, New Market, Epping, etc. What would be equivalent towns in terms of low crime, great schools, and nice layout and amenities?

The NICER suburbs of Portsmouth are New Castle, Rye Beach, and Greenland.

None of the towns you mention are real suburbs in the sense that they are a residential continuation of the sprawl from the main city. There are miles of countryside between them.
The commute to Manchester would be just as good from Epping as the one to Portsmouth (being on Rt 101). I'd also say there are much nicer towns than Epping withing a few miles of Portsmouth. Barrington would be a similar match (economically and politically) for Epping.
Exeter would definitely feel slighted described as a burb of Portsmouth. It's a significant town in its own right.
Newmarket is on the opposite side of Great Bay from Portsmouth and requires a long drive on the single-lane highways 108/133 or 108/4 to get to Portsmouth.

However, almost any town on the Seacoast is a great place to live in and commute to Portsmouth. Portsmouth itself is a beautiful city, with a lively downtown, and a variety of traditional in-town living options.

[movingover]

What about Derry, NH? Is that a nice place?

[jakiedoodle]

I live in Candia which is about 10 minutes from the Mall of NH in Manchester and I LOVE it here!!! The town is small, very friendly, extremely low crime. My son goes to the elementary school and I'm very happy with the school system. Teacher/student ratio is excellent, giving teachers more time to spend with students individually if necessary. Candia's academic ratings for their students are above the state average.
Plus, if you need to go shopping, to the mall, banks, etc...Manchester is only 10 minutes away and you can find everything you need there.
Good Luck!! : )

[jakiedoodle]

I have heard Derry has good schools. I don't know how property taxes are now, but they always used to be on the high end of the scale. They do have a lot to offer with conveniences, etc. I would consider Derry to be one of the larger towns in the Manchester area with Auburn, Chester, Candia being on the smaller side.

[WannaComeHome]

Derry is tied (with Keene?) as the 3rd largest city in the state.

[Valerie C]

IMO, there is "nice" and there is "upscale". Some of the "nice" suburbs of Manchester (and Nashua, since it's only 10 miles from Manchester) Some of the "nice" suburbs of Manchester will be Auburn, Chester, Candia, Goffstown, Hudson. Some of these towns are "nicer" than others, and I would encourage more in-depth research, such as the very informative city data pages on each town. There is a TON of data available: http://www.city-data.com/city/New-Hampshire.html

More upscale would include Bedford, Amherst, Hollis, Windham, and possibly Merrimack & Londonderry. The Town of Derry is nice, with some VERY NICE neighborhoods, but also some less desirable areas (lots of apt. buildings) and a fairly decent downtown area with restaurants, shopping, etc. The big draw for Derry of course is Pinkerton Academy. As you would expect, you'll pay higher taxes in these towns vs. others...

[CometVoyager]

Originally Posted by Valerie C

IMO, there is "nice" and there is "upscale". Some of the "nice" suburbs of Manchester (and Nashua, since it's only 10 miles from Manchester) Some of the "nice" suburbs of Manchester will be Auburn, Chester, Candia, Goffstown, Hudson.

More upscale would include Bedford, Amherst, Hollis, Windham, and possibly Merrimack & Londonderry. The Town of Derry is nice, with some VERY NICE neighborhoods, but also some less desirable areas (lots of apt. buildings) and a fairly decent downtown area with restaurants, shopping, etc. The big draw for Derry of course is Pinkerton Academy. As you would expect, you'll pay higher taxes in these towns vs. others...

Good info Val! In your opinion which of these communities that you mentioned portray a traditional picturesque NE Town?