[MagnoliaBillyGoat]

Hello! My husband, son (2-years) and I will be moving to the Upper Valley this Spring and are unsure about where to rent (we want to rent for a year or so before we buy) and are looking for your insight and advice! We *think* we have narrowed it down to a few towns, but truth be told, we're flexible if you have other ideas.


What we do know is that we are looking for a town with the following traits:


- Neighborhood feel
- Good schools
- Young families
- NO big box stores (ie, not West Leb)
- Under 30min. to Hanover


As such, here is the list we have come up with, but our experience in the Upper Valley has been limited to Sharon/South Royalton (where my in-laws live) so we don't know as much about the following places although on paper, they seem like our best bets:


- Lyme, NH
- Norwich, VT
- Hanover, NH
- Woodstock, VT (or Quechee)
- Lebanon, NH (**this keeps being suggested by others, but we are not a fan of West Leb and are unsure how similar Lebanon is to W.L....)


Are there towns that we are missing? Any distinguishing features of the towns listed above? And most importantly, if any of you live in the towns listed above, I'd love your insight and wisdom re: how you like it!


Infinite thanks in advance!

[GeoffD]

Since cost never came up, Hanover is the obvious choice. That 30 minute commute isn't 30 minutes when it's snowing.

[MagnoliaBillyGoat]

Thanks so much for your response, Geoff, although I was under the impression that Hanover was more of a college town than a family town---is that incorrect? Since we have a 2-year old, I would like to ensure that there are other young families around and kids-centered activities close by.

Also, we love the rural feel (large open pastures to possibly raise animals as well)---does Hanover have more rural sections as well?

Thanks in advance!

[Sporin]

I'm glad you are renting first. This area is made up of a dozen+ small towns and they all have a different vibe (for lack of a better term).

All of these towns have plenty of young families. While the College and DHMC dominate that Hanover area, there are far more people working in and around these businesses and the college than students.

Rentals in Hanover are hard to get though, and houses start around $400k. Lyme and Norwich aren't much cheaper.

Towns in this area all have a different feel to them, but the ones you chose are similar in that they are mostly well-to-do folks and property and rentals in those towns are pricey.

Lyme and Norwich have their own Elementary schools but send their High Schoolers to Hanover. These are some of the best schools in the area due in no small part to their high taxes and low, low poverty rate.

Lebanon itself has changed a lot over the last 20 years. It is still more "blue collar" than Hanover/Lyme/Norwich but there are so many families there with well-educated parents who work at DHMC, the College, or any number of tech firms in the area that the general feel is a lot more upscale than it was when I went to school there (85-89). You'll certainly find a lot more house (and rental) for your money in Lebanon as opposed to the others you mentioned.

Norwich and Lyme both have a nice, family-friendly downtown.

Be careful with Quechee. The "Association" owns and runs almost all the property in the area and that comes with it's pluses and minuses. I've never seen the draw of that town, frankly.

Woodstock has always felt very manufactured to me. It's like the movie set of a "small Vermont town" as envisioned by rich transplants from afar. Good schools though.

If you are working in Hanover, and can afford to live there, than there's really no reason not to. The students really aren't a life-altering issue for residents and their presence means a very vibrant cultural scene. There are plenty of restaurants, stores, and a great movie theater all within walking distance of downtown.

[ansible90]

There are 2 sides to West Lebanon (West Leb) so don't discount it out of hand. There is one road with the big box stores which is about a mile long. Then there is the area just north of there up Rt 10 (along the Conn River) on the way to Hanover. Many nice neighborhoods there.

As to pastoral scenes and farmland, drive 2.5 minutes outside of any town and there you are. Most of the towns have large areas zoned rural (i.e., animals ok). But if you want a neighborhood in-town, you might not be able to have animals. There are zoning maps online (look at each town's website).

Add to your list: White River Junction/Hartford/Wilder VT

To meet young families (or see which towns cater to kids), look at the Valley News Calendar to find family and children's activities. Also, look at the Parks and Rec department web site for each town to see what they offer. You don't have to live in a town to go to that town's activities.

I disagree with Sporin about Woodstock. I find it quite charming. But in winter it might be a difficult drive to Hanover or the medical center (you didn't say where your workplace will be). Hanover is a college town but has a distinct New Englandy town feel in the downtown area, with stores, restaurants, Hanover Inn, and lots of shows at The Hop. Other than the students crossing the street without looking (my pet peeve) and a picture postcard ivy school, the town is just a town that happens to have a lot of young people.

Before your next visit to the in-laws, look up some houses on Find Real Estate, Homes for Sale, Apartments & Houses for Rent - realtor.com® and map out a little tour for yourself to explore the area. On a nice day, it's not that far from Royalton.

I moved up here from MD about a year and a half ago. This is the most beautiful place I have ever lived.

[MagnoliaBillyGoat]

Thanks so much, Sporin and Ansible! I am so grateful for your thoughtful responses!


To answer your question, Sporin, it does not look like we can afford to live in Hanover (or Norwich, for that matter) so hearing about the alternative towns that have a similar beauty and are not TOO far of a drive is so helpful.


I am also heartened to hear about Lebanon being distinct from West Leb (and that even WL itself seems to have more than just the strip malls that I associate with it)---regarding Lebanon, do either of you have any understanding of the schools there? I have heard that some of what makes Lebanon so appealing for young families (aside that it is affordable compared to Hanover) is that it has some genuine diversity (racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, etc.) AND that this means that the schools can be hit-or-miss with some excellent and some very borderline. Is this generalization accurate as far as you know?


Also, I have heard that certain VT towns have "high school choice" (ie, you can live south in Hartland, VT and still go to Hanover High School at the moment) BUT that this may be changing for those living on the VT side of the Upper Valley----any insight as to whether this is something you have heard as well? (It would be so unfortunate if we chose a town to move to in VT because it had everything we were looking for plus the schools of Hanover and then lost the school choice!)


Finally, I have absolutely taken your advice and plotted out all of the desirable places for family/kids activities on a MyMaps map which is excellent (and quite a lot of fun, truth be told). In doing so, however, I am back at square one since it looks like there are excellent opportunities from Claremont-to-Haverhill and from Bethel to Orange! I suppose that is good news, however, in that wherever we ultimately settle, as long as we can find a decent school system AND a sense of community/neighborhood, we'll have plenty to occupy us as we raise our little one.


Thanks again for your kindness in responding to this post--it is so very much appreciated!

[ansible90]

Magnolia,

If you Direct Message me with your email address, I can send you a spreadsheet I did last year on the various schools. I compiled school gradings from several sources and which districts feed into other districts. For example, Lyme where my son settled, has it's own K-8 school but sends high schoolers to Hanover. Norwich VT also sends kids to Hanover NH. There are some towns that send to Lebanon. I don't know if there is any talk about changes because I never watch the local news.

You mentioned a 30 minute commute. Are you used to winter driving? A normally half hour commute during a winter storm can get very long. Especially if you have some winding country roads to deal with after getting off the interstate.

The other thing to check into is taxes. There's some good posts on the VT and NH forums about that.

[ansible90]

Regarding diversity... Having come from the Wash DC area of MD, I was used to not only American diversity but also international diversity. Up here, not so much.

[Sporin]

My general understanding of Lebanon Public Schools is that they are quite good but it sounds like ansible90 will have more detail on that. I graduated LHS in '89 and had a very solid schooling there. I know they've grown a lot since then.

The big, state-mandated school changes are all happening on the VT side of the river. I'm intimately involved in our area's struggles to comply with VT ACT46. I guess I would suggest that you do NOT choose a town specifically for school choice as that is not a guarantee year to year... at least not until ACT46 is settled in some way.

That being said, Hartland is one of my favorite towns in the area and their K-8 is excellent (I sub there frequently). High School choice however, will be an unsettled issue in Hartland (as well as Weathersfield and West Windsor) for quite some time.

[Sierrajeff]

Originally Posted by ansible90

Regarding diversity... Having come from the Wash DC area of MD, I was used to not only American diversity but also international diversity. Up here, not so much.

There's some in Burlington, and in the Upper Valley (at least Hanover / Norwich / WRJ) thanks to the College. But - and this is no different than any other rural area in the U.S. - no you're not going to find the same kind of international diversity that you find in or near a major city (and particularly one such as D.C., which by definition draws in people from across the world).