Curious about life in Haverhill

[AtkinsonDan]

I live in one of the New Hampshire towns bordering Haverhill on the north. The portion of Haverhill north of I-495 was rural until just recently. Quite a bit of residential development is going on in that area and in my honest opinion the atmosphere of this section of Haverhill rivals any of the affluent eastern MA suburbs. Of course that is tempered by some of the overall characteristics of Haverhill such as the schools and the downtown. The downtown is not bad but it is on the grittier side of the spectrum. All in all I really like the Haverhill area much better than where I was living before and that was the Lowell area.

[cwaggy]

Amesbury is way nicer but no commuter rail - you need to get the train in Newburyport. I'd consider Bradford or N Haverhill rather than anywhere near downtown. Downtown has come back there are a few nice pups clubs and ethnic eats. Parts are sketchy like near the Lil Peach which is huge crack and smack hub. On the other hand, there will be a weed dispensary for *******ahem******* medical pot. Haverhill is better than Lawrence and trying harder to move it up.

[Space_League]

Haverhill is a great little city. It went through a rough patch in the 70s and 80s and unfortunately some of the city's negative elements have been sensationalized through books like "Townie" and other obsolete anecdotes. As someone who grew up in that area and is familiar with all neighborhoods I'll give you the run down:

The good: The pace of life is very relaxed. It's a small enough town that you get to know just about everybody but big enough that people can mind their own business. Housing is affordable. There are a lot of great parks. I have the fondest memories of sneaking into plug's pond as a kid for midnight swims, running through the trails at Winnikenni and parties in the woods at Brandy Brow (Technically right over the border in Amesbury / Plaistow NH but still a local spot by all means) I find people here are friendly and down to earth.

The bad: Employment opportunities in Haverhill are not great. They aren't even good. If you have a job lined up somewhere else then you're set. Drugs are also a serious problem in Haverhill. Pills like percocet and oxys are extremely popular as well as cocaine and heroin. There is relatively little violence in the city (1 or 2 murders in a year at the most) but the vast majority of the violence is related to drugs and occurs in the same neighborhoods. The school system also has some issues but to be honest haverhill high offers more than most of the surrounding public schools in terms of AP classes, extra curricular opportunities and teacher accountability (saying this as a motivated student who graduated from a nearby school within the past 5 years)

[timberline742]

I wondered about flooding too when I looked at places there. I believe there was a pretty big flood within the past decade or two, but I'm not sure how often it happens.

[bler144]

Haverhill has a decent amount of elevation variation. I could see the lowland area down near the Groveland bridge being somewhat susceptible to high river levels, but flooding seems pretty unlikely downtown or in other areas. Worth asking when looking at a specific property, but wouldn't be a high concern for me with the city as a whole.

Haverhill is still relatively affordable for the area, and that stretch of 495 tends to move pretty well, so you get decent access east/west along 495, and via 213 to 93.

I walked around a lot living there, and while there are some neighborhoods I wouldn't walk alone at night, I don't think I'd fear for my life anywhere. There are lots of neighborhoods where walking is going to be just fine. I can't speak to the school system, but on the whole it's a good residential town/city just without a ton of great amenities.

But it does have access to the commuter rail, and it's a short drive to areas that do have pretty to very good dining: Amesbury/N'port to the east, Methuen/Andover to the SW. I could see Haverhill developing into a 'hot' commodity with good dining somewhere down the road if the population in the metro were to grow. It's got pretty good bones, it's just a bit too far out to have high demand compared to other places nearby with more amenities and higher upside (Andover, N'port).