Questions about Merrimack area/acreage/cost of living (Manchester, Nashua: sales, to rent)

[yls]

Hi,
Hubby has a phone interview lined up tomorrow for a company in Merrimack NH. He posted his resume online to see what would come up, instead of just limiting it to 1 state. We figured something interesting that we hadn't considered may pop up and we want to be open-minded. But honestly I know nothing about NH and this wasn't an area we researched. I've looked through some old posts to try to get a general feel but would like some quick answers to be better prepared:

1. Cost of living-according to Sperling, it is quite a bit higher than the national average. The main one was utilities was about 130% national average. I assume the expensive time is winter. Obviously it depends on age of home, type of insulation, size,etc. But for a family of 4 with a 2700 sq ft home with basement, can anything give a ballpark of total utility bill for the month? (Here in TX I spend about $350 total for electric, water, trash, and gas.....obviously a/c higher in summer and gas higher in winter)
Do you consider the COL high there? If so, what is high?

2. Traffic-conflicting reports on some threads I've read. Is it real easy traffic?
3. Acreage-ideally would like to have several acres. Would like to perhaps have a couple chickens,etc to garden. Spending about $300K for 2700 sq ft home with basement,newer,etc. Is there acreage in the area? Did a quick search on realtor.com and found a few. I was SHOCKED at one house that was selling in the upper 200s and the sale history in 2005 was over $500K! Wow!
4. Good schools-2 kids not school age yet but want to be good school district
Does anyone know if there are half-day kindergarten programs?
5. Low crime
6. Is fresh local produce easily obtained like at farmers markets,etc? Things like grass-fed chicken and meat,etc? Reasonable?

Thanks for any info!

[GotBackHome]

I've looked through some old posts to try to get a general feel but would like some quick answers to be better prepared:

doing homework is a great thing!

[quote}1. Cost of living-according to Sperling, it is quite a bit higher than the national average. The main one was utilities was about 130% national average. I assume the expensive time is winter. [/quote]
Can't help with the details - especially since they will vary depending on the general temperature of the winter. however... NH is actually one of the lower CoL states! heating may be higher than many, but with no state income tax, or general sales tax, it actually works out lower.

2. Traffic-conflicting reports on some threads I've read. Is it real easy traffic?

all depends on what you're used to! traffic is relative. What is rush hour to many in NH is easy sailing for people from NYC or CA or DC..... I'm used to Maryland & DC drivers (where road rage is a way of life) and driving around NH, while occasionally busy, is a lot more civil!

3. Acreage-ideally would like to have several acres. Would like to perhaps have a couple chickens,etc to garden. Spending about $300K for 2700 sq ft home with basement,newer,etc. Is there acreage in the area? Did a quick search on realtor.com and found a few. I was SHOCKED at one house that was selling in the upper 200s and the sale history in 2005 was over $500K! Wow!

keep in mind, when looking at those sale histories, that housing prices everywhere was sky high a few years ago. Then the market fell. many houses used to sell for a lot more. Gardening is easy, chickens - check your zoning. Many places don't care as long as you aren't going into huge numbers of chickens - your neighbors might not be thrilled with roosters though.

5. Low crime

well, that's all of NH! Even Manchester & Nashua (the 2 biggest cities in the state) have high crime by NH standards, but not much compared to national standards.

6. Is fresh local produce easily obtained like at farmers markets,etc? Things like grass-fed chicken and meat,etc? Reasonable?

often. In Hollis there are 2 farm stands close to each other that do a brisk trade: Lull's Orchard and Brookdale Fruit Farm (Hardy's). don't know much about the meat aspect, but seem to be lots of produce stuffs available.


Thanks for any info![/quote]

[Verseau]

Yeah, traffic is entirely relative. Southeastern NH is the most densely populated part of the state, so for those of us who live farther north, it may be considered 'heavy traffic' by NH standards. But compared to anything closer to Boston, it's pretty laughable. I suspect you probably won't find it to be a problem.

NH has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Farmer's markets are definitely around and it shouldn't be hard to find local produce in season. Most farms in NH are quite small and family-owned.

Higher acreage may be more available in towns west of the Merrimack area. In fact, Hollis might be a good choice based on your criteria.

[yls]

Thanks for your replies! We live in Austin and it's got bad traffic for a city of it's size during rush hour........basically because they didn't want growth and didn't build any roads for many years and that obviously didn't deter growth.....but that means there aren't enough roads for the population. We travel "off-peak' hours, like leave at 6:30 AM, work til 4 PM,etc. It helps a LOT, as it's pretty much always moving. So reading about the close proximity to Boston (and i guess people seem to commute it) made me wonder how congested it really is. Is it pretty much stop and go?
What about in winter conditions?

One more question on the acreage. are these pretty much stand alone homes on acreage? Or are there any that are more in "subdivisions"? Like some parts of the country have subdivisions where each house has a couple of acres and they have some general deed restrictions to preserve property values (like no mobile home,etc). It kind of appeals to me but realize this is quite hard to find as some places don't have this at all.

[mdamien]

Generally, New England doesn't have the ubiquitous subdivisions and Homeowners' Associations you find in other parts of the country.

Merrimack is a very, very nice place to live.

[GotBackHome]

there's both. subdivisions are creeping in... many old farms are being bought by developers. Some towns restrict how many dwellings can be built on a tract of land in a year, so the development is slower growing, some don't.

Ah, you're from Austin. My nephew just moved to Nashua from around there (but he was born in NH).He's been complaining about housing costs in comparison. He and his wife (of about 1year) have been looking for something to rent in Nashua for around $1200 month - couldn't find it and had to go up a little. many things are a little more expensive than Austin, but as I said: no general sales tax (except on prepared food) and no general income tax. that eventually balances things out.


I don't know how Austin is for winter... can you handle a long NH winter? sometimes it starts in Nov/Dec and you can still get snow in April and May. it's a long grey period with cold.

The best thing would be for you to visit each of the states you're considering and drive around a bit, get to actually see what the traffic and density is like.

[seamusnh]

You can check out home prices on www.nneren.com. One major question is education as if you have kids, the school system will be an important factor in choosing a town. Check out Hollis, Amherst and Bedford which have good schools and are near Merrimack. All have half day public kindergarten. For acreage, Mont Vernon might be a good choice....
For a family of 4 with a 2700 sq ft house (estimates):
Heat: $200 per month average for 12 months. (Usually just October through May).
Electric: $150/month. NH has high electric rates due to the Seabrook nuclear plant.
Trash: haul it to the transfer station for free or pay $30/month or so to have it picked up
Water: depends. Some people have wells. I have town water and a sprinkler system. $50/month average.
Some things you did not mention: no income tax, no capital gains tax, no sales tax. Car insurance is relatively low (much less than MA).
NH is a great place to raise a family.

Traffic is not a problem in NH. I go to Boston a lot and it is brutal there....

[gf2020]

I work in Merrimack so I'll chime in. Austin, TX is very nice, however, so I would carefully consider a move to New England.

Originally Posted by yls

1. But for a family of 4 with a 2700 sq ft home with basement, can anything give a ballpark of total utility bill for the month?

$400 per month for elec, cable, phone/internet, water, heat (gas, oil or propane) is probably a good estimate.

Originally Posted by yls

2. Traffic-conflicting reports on some threads I've read. Is it real easy traffic?

Traffic is pretty much a non-factor in the area. There is traffic commuting south on Route 3 in the AM and back north in the evening, but if you live and work locally you will not be impacted by that.

Originally Posted by yls

3. Spending about $300K for 2700 sq ft home with basement,newer,etc. Is there acreage in the area?

Property values have declined in the past 3 years but I don't think you can find a newer 2700 square foot 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath colonial on a few acres in an established neighborhood for $300K. You probably need to increase that budget to at least $400K in Amherst, for example. Merrimack itself is less expensive.

Originally Posted by yls

4. Good schools-2 kids not school age yet but want to be good school district

In that case, you want to focus on Hollis, Bedford and Amherst.

Originally Posted by yls

5. Low crime

Not really a factor in the area.

Originally Posted by yls

6. Is fresh local produce easily obtained like at farmers markets,etc?

I don't know, but I imagine yes.

[yls]

Thank you all. Yes Austin is nice in it's own way but it can be really HOT....like 100's for months on end. We were very lucky this summer to have a mild summer and didn't hit the 100s til August......so much later than normal. I've been here over 10 years and it can be nice in many ways but I think a break from this heat would be nice. This year we also had rain but many years it can be brown grass for 1/2 the year-in the winter when it goes dormant obviously but the summer months too. We lived in FL before and were used to lush and green. So in a way we're excited about a change of scenery and some snow!! Of course maybe after months not as much but i imagine you adapt and get used to it. The thing I don't think I'll like that much is if it is really overcast with no sun for months on end. We can have cool weather (some ice, rare snow) but it can be cold/wet for a couple of weeks on end with gloomy skies....I don't like that. I like to be outside in the fresh air and prefer to see sun a couple times during the week.

We too don't have state income tax but pretty high property taxes. It seems similar to NH property taxes. It appears housing is going to be quite a bit more in NH I guess we'll see what happens. We aren't moving anywhere unless it is a step up

[Verseau]

If you don't mind a longer commute (35-45 min.), home prices tend to get cheaper north of Concord; with good schools in mind you might consider looking into Hopkinton, Henniker, Chichester, or Epsom.