Michigan to New Hampshire - Suggestions? (Manchester, Concord: real estate, to rent, daycare)

[Torcastle]

Hello everyone,
My wife and I (33 & 37 respectively) are from Michigan and are looking for a new place to live in the next 18 months. So this is early research. We've moved out-of-state, and back, before. So we're pretty familiar with what we're getting ourselves into. My wife has relatives in Connecticut but we don't necessarily have to live really close to them in Hartford. So we're also exploring other parts of New England, and my wife's father has some familiarity with NH; particularly Dover/Portsmouth. She works in health care (dietitian) and I have a Master's degree and work in higher ed. We have a small side business we're hoping to grow into full time, eventually, but it's not location-dependent. We're both liberal (her more so than I; I'm a little more libertarian). We like to have walkable areas and a "real" downtown. We have a baby on the way, so ultimately it has to be a family friendly and have decent schools. We have no interest in working in Boston, but would like the access for entertainment if we so desired.

I know that New England can be a little pricey, and while we're currently living in a more expensive area of Michigan (thus used to the costs), we would like to keep things as reasonably priced as possible. What I mean is, we don't even like big houses or a ritzy lifestyle; but we do like pleasant, educated neighbours in a safe place with decent schools and it'd be nice to have a cafe' or two to hang out at. We'd rather put our money into our business and maintaining a lower-stress life. Dover looks appealing, but we're open to most of southern/eastern NH. There have to be some decent middle class areas that fit the bill. You think?

Any suggestions? Thoughts?
Thank you for any ideas or information.
- Brandon

[Courttpaige]

Wolfeboro is a bit pricey but there are places around it and in the town of Wolfeboro that aren't to extreme when it comes to prices. I'm from a Middle Class family and we're doing fine. It'll take about a hour to get to the mall or movies but the town has nice shops and is right near the lake and nice beaches. The town has two high schools Kingswood which is the towns public school and we have Brewster Academy which is a private school, which is a bit pricey. The Elementary school is right in town, and the middle school is right next to Kingswood. There is a daycare also if you're ever interested in that. Huggins hospital recently closed it's maternity ward though, I don't know to much about the Hospital except that they are building a lot onto it. Towns surrounding Wolfeboro, like Tuftenboro and New Durham all go to Kingswood High School and the Middle School. It can be a hike for kids traveling by bus or people commuting to work. It's a overall nice community you should come visit. It gets very very busy in the summer but there are nice people! Wherever you choose, congrats on the new baby and good luck on your search!

[Brave Stranger]

Sounds like Vermont would be more your speed. The area around Portland Maine also has more of what you are looking for.

[fishnfool]

If they want a real downtown I don't think Vermont is what they are looking for other than Burlington...which is pretty isolated and far away from their family in CT and NH.

Dover has a downtown that is getting better....Portsmouth is definitely the best, Manchesteri s the largest (though not really a charming new england downtown), and Concord.....a lot of the other smaller towns have a downtown that is walkable, quaint, and new england, but not necessarily large (i.e. bigger than a couple blocks).

....Portland ME definitely fits that bill though as said above.

I guess when you say expensive you'll need to qualify that. I too came from the midwest, and the expensive parts of Ohio and Michigan basically meant a house above $200,000. In NH 200,000 is very cheap....especially if you get near the coast.

[Torcastle]

We're currently in Ann Arbor and a median house is $240k which is about the same as Portland, ME. You can easily get close to, or over, $300k for something most people call "average" nowadays. The median family income here is $82.5k. At this point, that's roughly what my wife and I consider "normal". By comparison, Cambridge, MA has a median family income of $79.5k (though it certainly has more expensive real estate).

[Annabelle]

Look at Exeter. Good schools, family friendly, walkable downtown, with cafe's, shops, etc., Exeter Hospital, many "middle class" neighborhoods and just 8 miles to the beach. There is also the Amtrak train availble for trips south to Boston and north to Portland, ME.

[fishnfool]

I used to work in Ann Arbor....it's definitely the nicer part of Michigan. That said, even a $240,000 house in Ann Arbor will be much nicer than a $240k house near the coast....i.e. Exeter, Portsmouth, etc.

240k would buy an entry level house, probably a ranch of about 1000-1200 square feet with a 1 car garage in a town like Exeter or Portsmouth. Dover is a little cheaper with more house for the money. It gets much cheaper the more inland you go too.

search Northern New England Real Estate Network - Official Website of the Northern New England MLS for an idea on what your money will buy out here....it's not the same as in MI, even Ann Arbor. Most houses in that range here are 1950-1970's ranches or older fixer uppers. From what you've said though I don't think that will be a problem.

I will say the added cost of living is completely worth it to live out here. My wife and I make considerably more than the median family income for the area and could really own a palace back in the midwest, but we are more than content to rent out here so we can live at the beach, travel on the weekends, ski every week in the winter, etc. I'll gladly sacrifice square footage for an active, stress free, and adventurous lifestyle any day.

I strongly second looking at Exeter from everything you've said and for all the reasons Annabele posted. It's very close to Portsmouth too which will fill most entertainment needs, and if not Boston is very close.

[sgthoskins]

Originally Posted by Brave Stranger

Sounds like Vermont would be more your speed. The area around Portland Maine also has more of what you are looking for.

+1 I completely agree, more your lifestyle.

[lisa g]

Agree - VT has many towns which would be a better fit.

[Annabelle]

What did the original poster say that would make others think that VT or ME would be a better fit when there are NH towns in their target area that fit the bill?