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My family and I are looking to relocate to NH this summer and I wanted to see if anyone can suggest an Area. Right now we are looking at Amherst, Milford, Bedford, or Hollis. Primary considerations are 2 small children in 2,3 grades. Any thoughts?
Also, we are looking for a home to rent but it seems this is next to impossible to find online and picking up the local paper is impossible as we live in Copenhagen. Is there a good website I am missing? I dont really trust the stuff on CraigsList as there are too many scamms there.
I think you need to come out and take a look. And base your decision on where you found a house that you liked, could afford, and felt at home in the neighborhood. None of these town are different enough in anyway to pick based on scientific analysis.
People will probably pipe in with their personal favorites and why, but that's just it - a personal decision.
Now, if you thinking between a large city and a rural town or up north vs. south that would be a different story, but these towns don't have significant differences.
Normally, I would suggest porcmanor.com for folks looking for just one or two bedrooms. You might be able to rent an entire floor of a duplex in Manchester.
I really believe that the seacoast offers the best living conditions in the state. You get less humidity in the summer and slightly warmer lows in the winter. The ocean effect extends just a few miles inland, so be ready to look for something close to I-95 if climate is your main concern.
You may actually want to call some real estate offices in the area...Perhaps Val will chip in with some better suggestions! The areas you're looking in would mostly have homes for rent, not apartment complexes.
Also be aware that Milford (while nice) is not considered to have the same caliber school systems as Hollis/Amherst/Bedford do.
DKDAD, you are wise in being wary of craigslist postings. It's really too bad that the scammers have taken such a good thing and turned it into a risky way to find rentals, etc. It seems like every couple of weeks my real estate board is making public notices that yet another consumer has been scammed, and rentals seem to be the biggest target at this time. A property owner who asks for money to be sent (especially via PayPal!) up front, without being able to see the unit or house should serve as a huge red flag, but for many who become desperate, they ignore the warning signs.
I guess the first thing to ask is what draws you to the Bedford/Amherst area? For many, it's the schools and the area amenities. These are among the most affluent and desirable towns in southern New Hampshire. Part of their desirability is location--easy to get to Boston, and other major employment centers in Mass. and New Hampshire.
Maxx, are some of the porcmanor listings considered more "family friendly" than others? I think it's a great idea to make it easier for someone to come to NH to live, but I sort of got the idea that some of the accomodations were more similar to a boarding house, with some tenting arrangements, etc. (which may work for the short term, but families with elementary-school children need more stability IMO)
When are you scheduled to arrive, DKDAD, and what sort of living arrangements are you seeking? As BF mentioned, the towns you mentioned have few multi-family units. Most rentals will be either single family homes or condo units. I just did a quick search of rental availability:
10 in Bedford
11 in Milford
2 in Hollis
2 in Amherst
Also looking for good NH community to raise middle school son
HI - we are also looking into these same areas for a house rental in NH understanding that some of the best schools are in Amherst, Bedford, Bow, Hollis and Windam, Londonderry. We are coming out of private school in Maryland, and want to get into public school in NH.
We want a small community feel, not a suburban development. My son is also big into boy scouts.
Can you access the parks and rec facilities in one town, if you live in another one? For example it looks like Brookline and Hollis share the same schools, but Brookline is less expensive area?
Any insight into good communities/towns, would be greatly appreciated. We are also looking for a realtor who may be able to help us rent, with an option to buy in 18 months.
Brookline has a higher tax rate but lower home values...so taxes are almost a wash. As for the area- Hollis is within 5-15 minutes of Nashua whereas Brookline is further out from Nashua and the major highways; hence the lower cost of housing.
We've had the scouts at our house to collect food & sell popcorn many times; they've all been very nice.
I don't think there are many rentals in Hollis (though I've seen a few "for rent" signs on VERY nice homes lately)...but I highly recommend it if you can find one. One I saw is off either Nartoff or Pine Hill Road...not sure which- BIG nice house, may be a very expensive rental.
while coming out and checking things out personally or calling places is great advice... the guy's coming from Denmark!! It's a little difficult to just take a day off from work and buzz up there.
wow, Copenhagen! Great city (been there twice). NH will be very different from there. But the countryside has a lot of similarities - well, except that NH actually has mountains that aren't ancient burial hills.
One thing to beware of with Milford: my real estate agent told me that their schools have lost their accreditation! That means that basically they aren't good enough for the federal government to give them funding that other schools get. Which means they are likely to have many extras cut from their curriculum.
Brookline & Hollis are top notch schools, among the best in the state. Amherst is also good.
Welcome, darard Hopefully we all will be able to help you get familiar with our area. The towns that you mention do have very highly regarded schools, and each town offers various amenities that others may or may not have. Also, you might find some good information on this thread, from just a couple of days ago: http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-h...anchester.html
Since you asked about schools in particular, I'd like to repost my response to that thread:
Bedford recently build it's own high school (previously attended Manchester West HS) and you can get more info here: Bedford High School
Amherst's Souhegan High (shared with Mont Vernon students) is a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, and I would recommend that you read up on CES vs. traditional schools. The school is highly regarded, but may not be for everybody.
Hollis shares their HS with neighborhing Brookline, and like Amherst, has easy access to the shopping/dining conveniences of Nashua and also Route 3 into Massachusetts.
NH Community Profiles (http://www.nh.gov/nhes/elmi/communpro.htm - broken link)
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
In most cases, you should be able to access the recreation facilities from one town if you live in another. Each town will have their own policy that you should be aware of. Also, be aware that you may pay more as a non-resident, and that residents may have priority for any limited space activities.
You also mentioned that you are looking for a rental with purchase option. To be honest, that can be somewhat of a limited market, however, there are some very nice homes for rent in some of the towns that you are considering.
Quote:
Originally Posted by darard
HI - we are also looking into these same areas for a house rental in NH understanding that some of the best schools are in Amherst, Bedford, Bow, Hollis and Windam, Londonderry. We are coming out of private school in Maryland, and want to get into public school in NH.
We want a small community feel, not a suburban development. My son is also big into boy scouts.
Can you access the parks and rec facilities in one town, if you live in another one? For example it looks like Brookline and Hollis share the same schools, but Brookline is less expensive area?
Any insight into good communities/towns, would be greatly appreciated. We are also looking for a realtor who may be able to help us rent, with an option to buy in 18 months.
thank you!
Last edited by Yac; 09-29-2009 at 05:45 AM..
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Also looking for good NH community to raise middle school son
