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My husband and I recently moved to Manchester from Colorado, but he's a Long Island native. When he got the job interview here, he wasn't too thrilled because he didn't want to come back to the northeast. But he's really thrilled with New Hampshire. It's *nothing* like LI. We live on a nice, tree-lined street that's close to all the amenities but is still peaceful and private. We really love it here. I have a feeling that, when my brother-in-law comes up to visit from LI, he's going to want to move here, too. :-)
Sounds like what I'm looking for. I can get more house, as well as not be island-locked. Proximity to major city like Boston, as well as much more access to nature everywhere is a big plus. It's amazing how on Long Island I can't even find a small piece of this ocean that I'm allowed to bring my dog to swim...
We're heading up this coming week, so pretty excited to get at least a brief tour of what I'm looking at.
One of the best things about leaving the Island for New Hampshire is getting away from that landlocked, dreadful drive through Nassau County, Queens and the Bronx to get anywhere...
I tell you once we get north on 95 and out of the grotty part of Connecticut we just breathe a sigh of relief.
You can take trips without that 'we still have to get through the Bronx/Queens/Nassau drag.
So a little update on our journey to New Hampshire. Wife and I toured Nashua area, Hollis, Brookline, Amherst, Bedford all the way up to Manchester. All very nice. We then took a drive across to Portsmouth and surrounding area of Exeter. My wife and I both like Exeter a lot, and thought that Portsmouth was just a great little city. Beautiful, clean and on the coast. Wife and I both loved the town of Exeter.
My next questions will focus on the area of Exeter for those who know it. How are the schools in Exeter. From the city-data facts, it lists only 35% of residents having bachelor's degree or higher in Exeter? Seems rather low. My main concern is the schools and environment that my children grow up in. I'm pretty sure I'll never have enough money to send my children to Philips Exeter AND College, so it will have to be public education. Hopefully somebody can let me know a little more about the school system there.
My suggestion is New london NH, very close to Dartmouth Hitchcock, New London Hospital or even a hospital in concord, definately upscale, fabulous schools and wonderful things to do, from apple picking and fall foliage in the fall, skiing and snowboarding in the winter, boating and beaches in the summer, also the Barn playhouse etc...
So a little update on our journey to New Hampshire. Wife and I toured Nashua area, Hollis, Brookline, Amherst, Bedford all the way up to Manchester. All very nice. We then took a drive across to Portsmouth and surrounding area of Exeter. My wife and I both like Exeter a lot, and thought that Portsmouth was just a great little city. Beautiful, clean and on the coast. Wife and I both loved the town of Exeter.
My next questions will focus on the area of Exeter for those who know it. How are the schools in Exeter. From the city-data facts, it lists only 35% of residents having bachelor's degree or higher in Exeter? Seems rather low. My main concern is the schools and environment that my children grow up in. I'm pretty sure I'll never have enough money to send my children to Philips Exeter AND College, so it will have to be public education. Hopefully somebody can let me know a little more about the school system there.
Exeter - nice town. Can be expensive on real estate. Taxes not low. Schools good. Don't read much into the degree stats - town has a high median age and you didn't used to need degree just to get an interview. The richest man in the world is a college drop-out.
Thanks for the advice. I think the Hanover area is a bit far up for my right now, as pay in my field should be a bit better if I can work in Boston. I appreciate the info about Exeter. Not sure where else we'll look at this point in time. Since we hit most of the burbs between Nashua and Manchester, we will probably cruise the places in between like Windham, Derry, Londonderry etc... Really loved Exeter.
rmcewan, the reason I asked about the education stats is no doubt because I wanted to make sure that my kids will be growing up around kids that go to parents, and parents that are serious about education as well. I will focus a question at you though. I would like to be pretty close to Portsmouth, and under an hour from Boston. Considering that I liked Exeter, any other towns you think would be worthwhile to check out along similar lines?
I've lived in NH all my life, and really love the area. Great place to grow up in, close enough to Boston and Portland, ME. It really is nice. That said, we are moving to FL-my husband needs to get out of the winter weather now, so we are selling our house here.
Anyway, good luck with your house search. Where we are, it's about 1 1/2 hrs to Boston and/or Portland, ME (and there is an Amtrak train that makes daily trips for an easy commute). Close to White Mountains (skiing/lakes region is phenomenal! I'll miss that the most!) Portsmouth for theater, great restaurants and nightlife. Museums, parks, it really is all here in driving distance. And you don't spend half the time on highways, which I hate!
I hope you find what you and your family is looking for.
For the ocean, you might want to check out Portsmouth, Rye (very upscale), Seabrook Beach, or almost anything along the 17 miles seacoast. I live in Seabrook (a lot of bang for the buck), and we're spared the worst of the New England winters out here.
Check out Hopkinton. It is a very family oriented town, has great schools, is close to the ever-expanding Concord Hospital and the city of Concord.
I also am a LI native and think this area is great for raising kids. However, not much diversity.
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living in Nh
