Seacoast to Manchester - Questions (Portsmouth, Exeter: rentals, buying a home, job market)

[ElphinKnight]

Hi everyone. My soon-to-be-wife and I are looking around the country as we plan to move out of Michigan next summer. We are early-30's, no kids, a couple of pets. I have business degrees (BBA and Master's), and she will soon be finished with a degree in dietetics/nutrition. We're both socially liberal and fiscally conservative (me moreso than she!), and we loooooooove the ocean. Oh yeah, and I've been a Red Sox fan in Tiger-land since I was a kid.

Right now our interest areas are all very pricey, so we're at a point where we don't even flinch at $250,000 starter-homes. It's just what we'll have to pay to live where we want.

We are interested in the area from Manchester to the coast; i.e. Rockingham County or right in Manchester. While we love Boston and would like to visit occaisonally, we have no interest in driving more than about 30 miles to work. So what is the job market like in Rockingham Cty and Manchester? Michigan's unemployment rate is 7%+, and looking worse, so any reasonably healthy job market would be an improvement. We'll rent for a year before buying a home, so where are good places to rent? We are into being outdoors, being by/on the ocean, visiting cafe's and coffeeshops, walkable downtowns, social pubs, and not interested in clubs or loud bars. What towns in the area would be good options for us?

Thank you for any suggestions you can provide.

[unknown stuntman]

ElphinKnight,
The answer to your question given your parameters is an easy one: Exeter in Rockingham Co. Fits your needs to the tee I believe. I left a post yesterday in the thread "NH Questions". Check it out. It isn't perfect for every taste, but I think your post was begging for an "Exeter" response. There are also plenty of rentals and you might just find an affordable home, if not Exeter, then just up the street in Stratham. Don't bother with Manchester. As for the job market, there are jobs to be found. Employment isn't a real issue: but industry and good paying jobs are, especially in the Portsmouth market. Then again, that is a pretty accurate assessment I think of most of the U.S. today.

[Annabelle]

I agree. I think the Exeter and Portsmouth areas would be what you are looking for. Good luck! I am a photographer with several photos of the seacoast area so if you are interested, pm me.