Info on Milford and Surrounding Area (Manchester, Nashua: apartment complexes, for rent, crime)

[Coach KT]

Hi, I currently live in the UK but have been offered a soccer coaching contract based in Milford, NH.

Can anyone give me any info regarding:

Employment
Housing
Schools
Crime
Shopping
etc

Any info on Milford or the surrounding area would be much appreciated?

I am married with two daughters aged 16 and 8 (hence the schooling enquiry).

If Milford or the immediate surrounding area is not recommended as a good place to live, what other towns / areas should I consider.

Thanks

Coach Kevin

[chaz longue]

Milford's being discussed right this minute (4:41 PM Thursday 3/22/07) on National Public Radio.

[salvador.limones]

I've only been in Milford briefly. It's small former "mill town", of which there are many in south-west and central NH. Overall this is a blue-collar area. The central area of the town looks a bit run-down, there is a small "downtown" with shops and cafes, there are some nice Victorian houses across the river, there are suburb areas that look OK, and there is a lot of strip malls along the main street (for several miles). Milford seems to have quite a few apartment complexes for renting.

Milford sits just off the heavily populated Manchester-Nashua corridor, so it's close to major employment and shopping areas of NH (30 min to both cities, more in rush hour). On the other hand, it is already in the more rural area of the state, so that you can live in the forest or on the mountain just few miles from downtown.

Crime should not be a serious issue in Milford, at least less than in Manchester or Nashua (which are - still - relatively safe places, compared to most post-industrial cities of that size in US). I'm not quite sure about public schools though. You'd better contact someone in Milford who has school-age children.

Just to the north is Amherst, that has excellent school system and no crime at all - but it has very expensive RE and you cannot rent there - no apartments (is it just a coincidence?). To the east are Nashua and Merrimack, lots of apartments and OK elementary/middle schools. To the west is Wilton, which is like Milford, but smaller. To the south is Hollis, which is like Amherst, but even more expensive. If you go further to south-west or north-west, you'll find very small rural towns. In this overall area you should be able to pick the "right" place to live, according to your budget.

[WannaComeHome]

[quote=Coach KT;485236]Hi, I currently live in the UK but have been offered a soccer coaching contract based in Milford, NH.

Can anyone give me any info regarding:

Employment
Housing
Schools
Crime
Shopping


My brother lives in Milford (in an apt), he likes it. His 14 year old son lives in Brookline and goes to school in Hollis, so I can't speak to the Milford schools, but I never heard of it being particularly bad. Milford seems to me to be a moderate size: it's not Nashua or Manchester, but then it's bigger than the little towns around it. It has a lot of restaraunts and has the grocery stores for the area (I'll have to drive 30+ to go to Milford for groceries), Market Basket probably being the best one. The traffic flow downtown is really wierd, but I grew up learning it, so it doesn't bother me - hubby hates it though.

[southward bound]

check out this website for a nice community next to Bedford and Amherst (an hour from downtown Boston, 40 mins to the shore and mountains:
www.4seasonsnh.com