Moving to Southern NH need advice!! (Derry, Londonderry: rentals, condo, best schools)

[JuliaFarns]

My husband has officially accepted a job in Londonderry/Derry and we are hoping to move mid March to the area. We have a 6.5 year old and a 3 year old so our #1 priority is a great school system!! We are coming to the area this weekend and are trying to schedule some appts. to look at some rentals. We are looking for suggestions on areas that have great school systems, family friendly community, and decent rents (condo, duplex, or single family). I would appreciate any feedback. (oh, my husband cannot be more than a 20 minute drive to Derry/Londonderry due to on-call responsibilities).

[AngelaK]

If the school system is important, and you only have 20 minutes for driving, I would say being in Londonderry would be best. Other school systems considered to be "great" would be more than 20 minutes from Londonderry.

[JuliaFarns]

Thanks for the feedback Angela. I appreciate it. I am a nervous wreck about this whole move-but positive!!

[WannaComeHome]

there are a number of people on the forum who live in and around Londonderry - everyone has had great things to say about the town and the school system. I think you'll be fine. What sort of area are you moving from (town, city, metropolis..)?

[JuliaFarns]

We are moving from western MA-medium size town with good schools and town programs. We live just outside the "big" city of Spingfield and about an hour or so from Boston.

[buck naked]

You can't do better than the Derry/Londonderry school systems. Both are very highly rated. You'll be fine.

[WannaComeHome]

Originally Posted by JuliaFarns

We are moving from western MA-medium size town with good schools and town programs. We live just outside the "big" city of Spingfield and about an hour or so from Boston.

ok, then you should be fine with Londonderry.
Have you started perusing nneren.com? You can do a search on rentals.

[BF66389]

I need to throw this in because I always do: Hollis

Not sure if its a 20 minute drive...but I like the town and it has great schools

That said, Londonderry is a great area as well...and the commute is definately within range (of course).

[Alex Libman]

The best schools are always private, and that truism is particularly true in New Hampshire. As the Free State Project picks up steam, the socialist brainwashing institutions you call "public schools" should eventually go the way of the Dodo!

[BF66389]

Originally Posted by Alex Libman

The best schools are always private, and that truism is particularly true in New Hampshire. As the Free State Project picks up steam, the socialist brainwashing institutions you call "public schools" should eventually go the way of the Dodo!

...and as you can tell NH has a wide variety of viewpoints on various issues. The great thing about this state is that all are welcome and should you decide public schools are not for your children- there are some great private schools as well. That said, you also have a "choice" in the education your kids receive simply by deciding where you live. We chose to live in a town with excellent schools and subsequently pay for them via our taxes (although folks past the age of rearing school-age children do get signficant tax breaks in our town as well). Had we not cared so much about school quality we could have easily chose somewhere with lower quality schools and correspondingly lower tax rates.