Want to leave NYC-thinking of Hanover (Manchester, Nashua: sales, real estate, apartment)

[thebooman]

We would like to leave NYC with our seven year old. Was thinking of Hanover because we have heard good things about it and would enjoy living in a college town. Can anyone help with the pros/cons? Any other suggestions for good towns in NH? We really want to move to the state but need advice on good schools and quality of life. Thanks so much

[DareToDream]

Originally Posted by thebooman

We would like to leave NYC with our seven year old. Was thinking of Hanover because we have heard good things about it and would enjoy living in a college town. Can anyone help with the pros/cons? Any other suggestions for good towns in NH? We really want to move to the state but need advice on good schools and quality of life. Thanks so much

Welcome to the forum booman - What type of work will you and/or your wife be looking for - that will probably have a lot to do on where to look for a place for relocation. We moved from NYS (Mid-Hudson region, not NYC) to NH in 2006

[thebooman]

Hello-I work from home so I am very flexible and my spouse is in Public Relations. We care a great deal about the school system and would like a low student/teacher ratio or a decent selection of some different types of private schools if the public schools aren't strong. We like the idea of a college town-don't want to be isolated or too rural. We are used to apartment living and do not want too much land-we would be happy with a house in town or one with a small piece of land. A townhouse would work for us as well.

[DareToDream]

Originally Posted by thebooman

Hello-I work from home so I am very flexible and my spouse is in Public Relations. We care a great deal about the school system and would like a low student/teacher ratio or a decent selection of some different types of private schools if the public schools aren't strong. We like the idea of a college town-don't want to be isolated or too rural. We are used to apartment living and do not want too much land-we would be happy with a house in town or one with a small piece of land. A townhouse would work for us as well.

Hi again - We're north of you, so I can't answer your specific questions, I'm sure someone will be along eventually who can. I only asked about the work because jobs can be hard to find in many places, not sure if that's the case with the Hanover area.

In any case, as I said, I'm sure someone will be along who can answer your specific questions/concerns....just be patient

[seamusnh]

Hanover is dominated by Dartmouth college. You will be living in a college town which has its positives and negatives... If you can be truly anywhere, your decision then revolves around what you like and care about: the ocean or mountains, proximity to a smaller city (Portsmouth, Manchester, Nashua, Concord), distance from Boston....

[notdancingqueen]

Hanover has the feel of towns like Cold Spring Harbor NY or Westfield NJ (or a smaller Annapolis MD or Olde Town Alexandria VA) without the NY metro attitude (says the girls who is originally from Long Island...)

Portsmouth, for the weekend I was there, is much the same as Hanover but bigger. Same kind of college town feel.

Are you wed to NH? Lewisburg PA is another town you might like. Bucknell is there and it's a GREAT town. Or Lewiston ME if you like more cold and snow.

We looked at Hanover when we were moving here several months ago but we were looking for more land and something closer to Boston. Cost of living wise, it was quite similar to Annapolis (where we moved from) -- but that's very expensive for up here. Schools are considered quite good but they definitely have some snob-factor going because of Dartmouth.

Jackie

[browneil]

Hi, we moved up to NH a little over a year ago from northwest Jersey. Employment was not an issue for us; we are both retired - but with a 9 year old son, education was our top priority. We chose NH after both doing a fairly extensive quiz on **** - it's a website where you enter in what's important to you (museums? restaurants? change of seasons?) and it spits out suggested places to live. Littleton, NH, was one of only 2 places in the US that came up on both of our lists, so we checked it out. If you are coming from NYC, then the "White Mountains" or "Great North Woods" of NH will probably be too much of a shock for you. We had moved from a small town near the Poconos, so it wasn't that much of a change for us. We chose the town of Monroe, NH (pop 850!) because its kids go to St. Johnsbury Academy for free - and when you are retired, free is good. Another plug I'll put in for NH is that simply because it is further away from the NY-DC-Boston media megaplex (I used to work in marketing), it has a very different sensibility - kids up here do not compare brands of sneakers or clothing - it is not as status driven as the NYC metro area, which I think is so much better for kids. Hanover obviously has fantastic schools, but you'll find the prices there (real estate, taxes, etc.) are much closer to Northern NJ or CT than to the rest of the state (as is the culture - you'll see plenty of NYC license plates there). One other benefit of NH is obviously no income tax and no sales tax, so if financials are a concern, then you are better off looking in NH than just across the border in VT or ME. We live 5 minutes from VT so feel we can enjoy its culture (quite different from NH, which although it voted for Obama is still much more conservative from neighboring liberal VT) without paying the price. Hope this helps. You may also wish to check out the NH school testing results, you can find them on the nh department of education site - the tests are called "NECAP's". Good luck, enjoy your adventure.

[littlebitcountry]

Booman-- I am making the SAME migration as you. In the summer! I close on my Hanover home next month.

We chose Hanover too. It is a town unto itself-- not a suburb. It is the most diverse NH town, in terms of race and national origin. And the schools are competitive with the best NYC privates, if that's what you're after.

We have been visiting the area for years, and we decided to make the move permanent.

Cheers,

LBC