Tell me about North Hampton (Portsmouth: to rent, crime, houses)

[camsgirl]

My husband is considering a position in North Hampton. We'd like to be able to rent a small house w/yard. (I love older houses with character.) We would be arriving without having been to the area before. What parts of town have a lower crime rate. Suggestions for surrounding areas for living in would be great too.

He is also a musician so would like to know about the music scene in the area.

We are both in our 40's and my grown daughter is in California, so schools are not a concern for us.

[fishnfool]

I don't think you'll have to worry about crime in north hampton. It's a small well to do town....the only real "areas" east of Rt. 1 (i.e within a mile of the beach) and west of Rt. 1. It's sandwiched in on the coast with other seacoast towns....just south of Portsmouth so you'll have plenty of music. It's almost completely residential with no real walkable downtown or shops...some restaurants on the ocean along 1A, and other stores on Rt. 1. It's so close to everything in the area though, including Portsmouth, that you won't really care that it doesn't have a downtown.