We want to move to NH :) (Manchester, Nashua: rent, home, buy)

[scottishlassie]

Im hoping to get some advice from you guys...My husband and I (and the dog) are looking to move to NH from schenectady NY. We are done with NY my husband is a native and I am from Scotland. We would like to be closer to the the sea. We are really looking for some advice from the locals if you can help us.

My husband currently works for the state here in administraion hes a secretary. I make and sell jewelry and also work as a care worker but can really turn my hand to anything...cleaning, retail I dont mind so Im not really bothered about work for myself more my husband hes looking into fedral jobs but if you have any suggestions please let me know. We want to be within 1.5 hours from the sea closer if possible. We are looking at Rochester is that good area?? Would like to be close to shopping and amenities city or suburbs but not in the middle of nowhere. We have no kids. Would be looking or rent first pet friendly then buy at a later date.

If you can give us any advice about the best areas to live that are not too expensive. We will be moving blind since we dont know anyone or the places that well. We vacation there a lot and love Portsmouth reminds me of home cobble streets and outdoor shopping no malls Love it We also love the friendliness of the people a refereshing change from here

We are coming up in Sept again on vacation so we can serach out some more places before we decide where will go.

Any information would be gratefully recieved

[GregW]

I grew up near Schnectady, NY a fair time ago. I strongly suggest your husband get a job arranged before you move. If he wishes to stay in government work Massachusetts pays best, Maine and Rhode Island and Connecticut are not bad and New Hampshire pays about 1/2 to 2/3 of the rest of seacoast New England.

Get a DelOrme Highway Map of New England (Google Delorme maps) to learn the name of the New England seacoast towns. Rochester, NH is not really a seacoast town like Portsmouth or Rye. Prices are inversly proportional to distance from the sea.

Good luck with yiour job and housing searches.

[BF66389]

1.5 hours from the sea is actually a very large area. I can comfortably get to Hampton Beach in around an hour from Nashua, NH (just to give you an idea of "range"). This may also help you with finding jobs as there are a good number of businesses around Nashua and Manchester.

I would highly suggest visiting/finding work before moving if you can.

[seamusnh]

Govt salaries are public records so I'd check with the states before deciding on a move. Salary.com is also very helpful....

[mdamien]

In the 1980's, my impression of Rochester was ... well, not as nice as Dover, which in turn was not as nice as Portsmouth. Times may have changed, though, certainly.

[WannaComeHome]

There's quite a few maps of various things in this thread from a year ago (still such a great resource, Verseau!) http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-h...geography.html the first post has a bunch of different maps, and the 8th post has a map showing all the town borders & names. Good references, you might want to save off a few images to keep on hand.

[fishnfool]

In the 1980's, my impression of Rochester was ... well, not as nice as Dover, which in turn was not as nice as Portsmouth. Times may have changed, though, certainly.

Still about right....but Rochester is now no where near as nice as Dover as Dover has improved greatly. It's still no Portsmouth though.

[Jennymcb]

Rents are ridiculous in Dover b/c of UNH. Portsmouth would be even more expensive, due to it's proximity to the ocean. But Dover and Durham does have a train to Boston. Good luck.

[steveusaf]

Originally Posted by fishnfool

Still about right....but Rochester is now no where near as nice as Dover as Dover has improved greatly. It's still no Portsmouth though.

I agree with fishnfool. I think Rochester is what Dover was 20 years ago. Rochester will come around as Dover becomes too expensive. Same thing happened to Dover 20 years ago as Portsmouth became too expensive. People starting moving there and commuting to Portsmouth and it became quite nice eventually. If you don't have kids, you don't have to worry about schools for a while, if ever, so Rochester wouldn't be bad if price is an issue. Nothing beats downtown Portsmouth for "ambiance", but you can get there from Dover or Rochester in a half hour no problem.

[lychanthrope]

If you want to live near the coast why don't you look at areas where the water temperature gets above 40F more than one day a year? Like Virginia Beach or somewhere with an acceptable climate. You should avoid downtown Portsmouth. Everything is way over priced and some of the restaurants appear to have rodent and insect issues.