Move from UK to Plymouth NH? (Manchester, Concord: for sale, real estate, rentals)

[tamwinsle]

My husband and I are considering a move from the UK to NH. He works as a University professor so we'd be looking at PSU. But my question is: would it suit us?

We currently live in DEvon about 5 miles outside a university town (pop 150,000). We have a big garden and amazing views. Ironically, we only live about 30 miles from the original Plymouth!

Our standard of life here is very comfortable but we are wondering whether it is time for a change and for us as a family (we have two children aged 2 & 4) to have a bit of a life experience. And the skiing really appeals!

But can you give us an idea of what day-to-day living is like in Plymouth and the environs? What are the schools like, where's the best place to live. What is the community like and what is there for young families?

Many thanks.

[WannaComeHome]

I can't speak to the schools, but Plymouth is in a very beautiful area! It's my favorite stretch of I93 around there - all nestled in the mountains... just lovely.

[Verseau]

Hi tamwinsle!

Nice to hear you're considering a move to our lovely state. I moved in the opposite direction back in 2007, to study in Brighton for six months. I miss the UK, but *New* England is great, too.

I live two towns over from Plymouth, so I know the area well. First of all, keep in mind that Plymouth is bound to feel significantly smaller than what you're used to. The population is less than 4,000 -- although I don't think that includes the students. The town has a small but fairly active centre, with a nice little Main Street -- shops, a few restaurants, a small movie theatre, etc. There's also a hospital right in town.

West of the downtown area is a stretch of road with many more businesses, including a supermarket, Wal-Mart, etc. For its size, Plymouth has a surprisingly large range of amenities and you really don't have to travel far to find what you want.

That said, life in this part of New Hampshire is slow-paced. But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot to do! I wouldn't expect a plethora of cultural and entertainment activities in Plymouth, but there is a decent amount of things going on. In the summer, the university hosts the New Hampshire Music Festival, an excellent series of classical music concerts (much better, in my opinion, than the New Hampshire Philharmonic down in the big city of Manchester!)

The biggest attraction for Plymouth, however, is the natural surroundings. If you like being outdoors, then you couldn't have chosen a better place. Plymouth is located in the foothills of the White Mountains, just north of the Lakes. The town has a public boat launch on the Pemigewasset River (great for canoeing and kayaking) and a number of walking and hiking trails, including one in town that leads to Rainbow Falls (a nice little waterfall). In the winter, there are ski slopes in every direction as well as snowmobile trails.

From what I've heard, Plymouth seems to have a good elementary school (as does the neighboring town of Ashland, whose school recently won an award from the state). However, the high school has a fairly mediocre reputation. I would advise you to seek out opinions from people who are more familiar with the school system, though.

However, I would like to suggest another town that might interest you. If your husband doesn't mind a 20-minute commute to Plymouth, you might want to look into Meredith, a lovely town on Lake Winnipesaukee. I suggest it because its school system is highly regarded and because it feels a bit more "lively" than Plymouth (granted, part of that is its tourist appeal). It's also close to Weirs Beach, another tourist spot but one with a lot of attractions that might appeal to the kids.

At any rate, this area of New Hampshire is quite beautiful, but it's hard to say whether it would be perfect for you. It's always best to plan a couple of trips first, including one in winter to see if you can handle the cold and the snow. If you're interested, I could also share some photos of Plymouth that I've taken.

As for having a big garden with amazing views -- you can definitely find the same here! Our house sits on 1.2 acres and our view looks like this.

Originally Posted by tamwinsle

My husband and I are considering a move from the UK to NH. He works as a University professor so we'd be looking at PSU. But my question is: would it suit us?

We currently live in DEvon about 5 miles outside a university town (pop 150,000). We have a big garden and amazing views. Ironically, we only live about 30 miles from the original Plymouth!

Our standard of life here is very comfortable but we are wondering whether it is time for a change and for us as a family (we have two children aged 2 & 4) to have a bit of a life experience. And the skiing really appeals!

But can you give us an idea of what day-to-day living is like in Plymouth and the environs? What are the schools like, where's the best place to live. What is the community like and what is there for young families?

Many thanks.

[jthibodeau]

Nicely said Verseau, and I agree. Plymouth is the gateway to our White Mountains. The Plymouth area is only minutes to some of the best skiing in the state. The views can be spectacular if your setting is right. I say "right" only due to the area being highly forested.

Plymouth has a number of Big Box stores such as Home Depot etc. If additional shopping is required, the Concord/Manchester area is within an hours drive, as is the Manchester/Boston Regional Airport.

As far as gardens go, you may find the growing season a bit shorter than what you have experienced in England. That's not saying gardening is impossible. It may be just more limited in flower or vegetable selections.

I'm not experienced with the school systems in the Plymouth area. However, I would find it highly unusual that a town, where the largest employer is a State Collage and many employees are residents, would skimp on their local school systems. Hopefully, someone may have more concrete information for you later.

[tamwinsle]

Thanks so much guys, it's great to get some opinions straight from the horse's mouth.

I can certainly deal with a slower pace of life, as life is never too quiet with 2 young children and whilst we've never lived with serious snow conditions, we do love skiing and haven't yet been able to do any as a family.

It's the practicalities that concern me. We will be moving away from a strong support network of family and friends and I won't be working so I'm keen to know whether there is a strong, easily-accessible and supportive community with young families. I'm used to making the effort to get to know other mums, but I don't want to have to drive for miles to seek these people out!

And can anyone point me in the right direction to find out more about things such as:
- rental property (that's not either for college students or vacation rentals - unfortunately we don't have $000s to sepnd per week on somewhere to live!)
- taxes (car/property/income)
- pre-school activities
- grocery/utility bills
- what costs are associated with buying a house (fees/taxes etc)

Ta very muchly in advance

PS - Verseau that is a stunning view. The natural beauty of the place is such a draw.

[WannaComeHome]

for rentals (and sales) you can check Northern New England Real Estate Network - just click the button for rentals instead of 'residentials' (that gives you for sale). Some also have looked at craigslist, but there seems to be some issues at times with that - from reading comments here.

for taxes, you can get a listing of last years taxes for every town in the state at tax rates, just click on the '2008 property tax rates' - it's a doc file.

in case you don't have any saved off yet, this old thread has lots of really useful maps (climate, counties, regions, and down towards the bottom is a map showing all the towns with their borders and names) http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-h...geography.html

As I said: I think Plymouth is really quite picturesque. It's just a little too far north for my climate comfort. We stopped at a diner in Ashland one time: Village Pizza, that had incredible italian food, huge portions, too!!!

[WannaComeHome]

oh, if you google on the town name that you're interested in, most towns have their own websites, sometimes you can find out helpful things there as well. That's when the town map on that old thread can come in very handy - gives you town names to check out!

[tamwinsle]

Thanks so much for all that information everyone, very useful.The application is in, so we'll see...

[WannaComeHome]

Best of luck!!