New London area anyone? (Manchester, Concord: rentals, home, buy)

[bryfry]

Originally Posted by New Hampshire

...Kearsearge School District is where you would want to send your children to public school...
...I know someone who lives in New London and manages an auto parts store in Newport. There are three auto parts stores as you pull into Newport from New London...
...My vote is for you to move to New London. New London has a high number of retired New Yorkers who summer in New London and winter in Florida so you will find summers congested and winters empty - just like the Cape - and New Yorkers like yourself...
Welcome to the Connecticut Valley.

Thanks, NH. Your information has been very helpful. I have done extensive research on the area with numerous visits and will agree with almost all that you said. The one thing that I did not notice was the "congestion". I was there recently in July on a Sunday and it was a bit busy but I still felt like I had the road to myself. The Cape has just gotten too small, even in the winters.
The Kearsarge School District looks like a decent mid-size school to send my kids to. The class sizes are not so overwhelming. Is there something else that makes you suggest it? Here on the Cape, my daughter has over 500 in her class. Combine that with drugs, crime and illegal aliens and you have a disaster waiting to happen.
I have visited all three auto parts stores in Newport and have decided on which one I'll be pursuing!
Thanks for taking the time to respond honestly and with candor. Your comments have helped me make a more targeted decision.

[New Hampshire]

Originally Posted by bryfry

Thanks, NH. Your information has been very helpful. I have done extensive research on the area with numerous visits and will agree with almost all that you said. The one thing that I did not notice was the "congestion". I was there recently in July on a Sunday and it was a bit busy but I still felt like I had the road to myself. The Cape has just gotten too small, even in the winters.
The Kearsarge School District looks like a decent mid-size school to send my kids to. The class sizes are not so overwhelming. Is there something else that makes you suggest it? Here on the Cape, my daughter has over 500 in her class. Combine that with drugs, crime and illegal aliens and you have a disaster waiting to happen.
I have visited all three auto parts stores in Newport and have decided on which one I'll be pursuing!
Thanks for taking the time to respond honestly and with candor. Your comments have helped me make a more targeted decision.

Ha,Ha,Ha, you're right, from your point of view there is no congestion. Congestion in this area is more than one car ahead of you! A friend of mine lives in a New London condo with 46 units, 4 of which are occupied in the winter. That gives you an idea of the difference between winter and summer.

Objectively, Kearsarge School District is the first choice measured by the percentage of graduates, graduates going on to college, standardized test scores, that sort of thing. Kearsarge School District includes several area towns. Kearsarge School District would be comparable to Lexington, MA schools.

A second choice would be Sunapee schools if you have chosen to live in Sunapee. That's it, not because there is crime (by the way, the minority population in this area is French Canadian), but because of the objective measurements mentioned above as well as parental involvement.

If you haven't as yet selected a realtor, John McKenna (MacKenna? I always forget) of New London Agency would be a good choice. He also owns McKenna's Restaurant in the shopping mall in New London. (I have no connection to John McKenna except to eat in his restaurant and casually chat with him.)

[bryfry]

Thanks again, NH. It's people like you on this forum that make it all worth while.
As far as your choice of realtor, thanks for the tip. NLA seems to be on the ball, from what I have seen.
Thank you for your thoughts on schools. It is vitally important to us that our children get a good education and be safe at the same time. Kearsarge is one of the reasons why I chose the area almost a year ago. Your comments just confirmed what I originally thought.
I would like to have a house built, but I need referals for good quality builders. If you have any, please PM me. I would be most grateful.
Thanks for all the help!
B

[Earthangel1776]

I've heard Lawrence is nice. You'll definitely find a LOT more trees in NH! It is 75% forest. Thanks, New Hampshire, for shedding insight on WHY it is so dark on NH roads at night! I always wondered about that, but didn't know why. But I guess I am glad though because there is very little light pollution. On a clear, cool night (especially in winter, on the coldest of nights) you can literally see the whole Milky Way! It is so awesome. I've also seen the Northern lights several times and they are fantastic to watch!

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by casey

New London is a beautiful area but is also known as a "high class " area. As in any town or city you are going to run into the snotty wealthy, definitely there, who came from family money.

Originally Posted by New Hampshire

New London does have the lowest property tax in the area - as I said, it is a well-managed town.

Wait a minute. So the wealthiest people in the area are paying the least taxes???

How is that fair?

[Earthangel1776]

That's because the wealthier towns, like Moultonborough (on Lake Winnepesaukee), New London, Portsmouth, etc. have a much greater amount of value in their properties and recieve much more in taxes because of that, so the rate doesn't have to be as high for the whole town. A couple of years ago, there was a big hoopla about the disparity between school systems because Claremont's schools were really hurting financially and the quality of education was pretty bad, while other towns have great schools. The legislature wanted to adopt a statewide property tax so all the schools would be equal. The affluent towns all screamed because they were the only ones who would actually have higher taxes. Everyone else's would have been reduced. But because they have such low taxes, they would have had to pay more. That pretty much put a stop to that reform, so the current system remains the same for now.

[New Hampshire]

Originally Posted by Earthangel1776

That's because the wealthier towns, like Moultonborough (on Lake Winnepesaukee), New London, Portsmouth, etc. have a much greater amount of value in their properties and recieve much more in taxes because of that, so the rate doesn't have to be as high for the whole town. A couple of years ago, there was a big hoopla about the disparity between school systems because Claremont's schools were really hurting financially and the quality of education was pretty bad, while other towns have great schools. The legislature wanted to adopt a statewide property tax so all the schools would be equal. The affluent towns all screamed because they were the only ones who would actually have higher taxes. Everyone else's would have been reduced. But because they have such low taxes, they would have had to pay more. That pretty much put a stop to that reform, so the current system remains the same for now.

Claremont placed the extra money they received for education as a result of their lawsuit into the general fund - they didn't use it for education.

[New Hampshire]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

Wait a minute. So the wealthiest people in the area are paying the least taxes???

How is that fair?

New London decided not to have its own school system, but to share educational costs - by far the biggest part of the budget - with surrounding towns creating a regional school district - hence lower taxes.

[New Hampshire]

Originally Posted by Earthangel1776

I've heard Lawrence is nice. You'll definitely find a LOT more trees in NH! It is 75% forest. Thanks, New Hampshire, for shedding insight on WHY it is so dark on NH roads at night! I always wondered about that, but didn't know why. But I guess I am glad though because there is very little light pollution. On a clear, cool night (especially in winter, on the coldest of nights) you can literally see the whole Milky Way! It is so awesome. I've also seen the Northern lights several times and they are fantastic to watch!

I agree, the night sky in New Hampshire is awsome. I see Venus often. Once I saw the space station from my window for 45 minutes. (It seemed very slow moving.)

[New Hampshire]

Originally Posted by bryfry

Thanks again, NH. It's people like you on this forum that make it all worth while.
As far as your choice of realtor, thanks for the tip. NLA seems to be on the ball, from what I have seen.
Thank you for your thoughts on schools. It is vitally important to us that our children get a good education and be safe at the same time. Kearsarge is one of the reasons why I chose the area almost a year ago. Your comments just confirmed what I originally thought.
I would like to have a house built, but I need referals for good quality builders. If you have any, please PM me. I would be most grateful.
Thanks for all the help!
B

You're welcome. A word of caution on building your own home...New London, as well as many other towns in New Hampshire, does not have a building inspector! And, contractors are not licensed! This is the land of Live Free or Die - minimal laws/regulations, consumers are vulnerable here, without much recourse. Generally speaking this works because locals are good people, but builders come into the area, take advantage of the lack of governmental oversight and run. Even with honest builders, the building codes, if they do exist, are minimal. (I did hear that New London is considering a building inspector slot.)

I was speaking to a neighbor from Connecticut, and he noted, "Anyone with a truck and tools thinks he can do anything." That just about sums it up. I can't recommend anyone - I've heard too many horror stories. There's no one to check if the work is being done correctly. But, the realtor who helps you find a building site may be able to help.

Or, if you hire an architect, he might be able to oversee the work and make a recommendation.

The three architechts in the New London area telephone book are:

Sheer McCrystal Palson Archtecture Inc. AIA
177 Main Street, New London 603-526-2445 Fax 603-526-2745

Philips & Wendall Assoc.
175 County Road, New London 603-526-9636

Jacobs Architecture
188 Seaman's Road, New London 603-526-2202

Please note that only the first architect was American Institute of Architecture credentialed.

On another note, I just heard on the news that the I89 Sutton exit(s) will be diverted for a year while construction is being done on the highway.