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Hi all!! I am a long time lurker here, love the NH board! Anyway, I am hoping for some recommendations for some towns to look at, as we have finally HAD IT with Massachusetts! We have two young children, ages 22 months and 9 months, and are selling the house and moving north! My question is, What towns would you look at if you were in our position , we are trying to find a town with good school systems, and a decent tax rate. We would like to keep our taxes under 5 thousand if possible. Also , some kind of downtown would be nice, even if it is just a few stores...
Sorry, I wasn't so clear in my original post. I am aware of all the well known school systems , i.e. exeter, mont vernon, etc. etc., we are more interested in finding the "hidden gems" . Thanks!
well, I think that leaves out Mont Vernon. It is a cute town, but I don't think it has much of a downtown. you have to go to Milford for any stores. How about Peterborough?
Exeter is probably also nice, never been there myself, but people here do seem to speak highly of it. Taxes might be higher though. Have you looked at Rindge?
Brookline doesn't have low taxes at all, but I think of it as a hidden gem because the real estate prices are much lower than in Hollis, but it shares the highly regarded Hollis school system. A friend who looked at houses in both towns said a house that would cost 500k in Hollis would be 350k in Brookline. There are a few shops/restaurants there, I think...definitely a tea shop.
New Castle, NH has low taxes but the real estate is super pricey and they don't have their own high school. The elementary/lower schools are supposed to be great.
The thing is, I think it's tough to have really low taxes AND have all the goodies we consider part and parcel of a really great school system, like a low student: teacher ratio, computers, art class, etc... the $$ has to come from somewhere.
I think Henniker is a great community. I miss living there. The schools are awesome. The town always has something going on on Main St in the summer. Pat's Peak Ski Area is right there as is New England College. There isn't much on the side of shops but Concord is close enough. There are also some pretty good resturants for a small town. It's just all around a beautiful community. We live in Goffstown now, which I am very happy with but there's just something about Henniker.
thank you for the responses! i will check out rindge and new castle. and yes, i do know trying to get low taxes and good schools is kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack LOL.
IMO, the best deals for schools are the towns that border Lake Winnipesaukee. Meredith and Center Harbor are part of Interlakes School District, one of the top schools in the region. Moultonboro, Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro also have great schools with very low tax rates. Last I looked Tuftonboro was something like $7/thousand? Meredith and Wolfeboro both have nice 'downtown' areas with plenty of options, year round. Gilford, which is on the southern part of the Lake, has decent schools and is the most accessible of these towns. (We live in Gilford now.) However, the schools are not as good and the taxes are higher ($16/thousand) but it is more convenient for traveling to the southern part of the State.
Kearsarge Regional School district could also be an option. This is in western Merrimack County. However, I think some of those towns have seen an increase in taxes recently. The towns around Lake Winnipesaukee are probably the best bet for lower taxes.
Seabrook, where I live, has the lowest taxes on the seacoast and a very good public school system. The test scores are only average, though, because we have a larger special ed program, taking in a lot of special kids from neighboring towns. The town is quiet, has very little crime, and is a wonderful place to live. We have very strong property rights protection, a good business climate, and lots of business activity here.
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Anyway, I am hoping for some recommendations for some towns to look at, as we have finally HAD IT 
with Massachusetts! We have two young children, ages 22 months and 9 months, and are selling the house and moving north! My question is, What towns would you look at if you were in our position , we are trying to find a town with good school systems, and a decent tax rate. We would like to keep our taxes under 5 thousand if possible. Also , some kind of downtown would be nice, even if it is just a few stores...
Henniker
