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I would say that you can afford a decent home in Exeter if you can afford up to 350K.
...if you consider a decent home a tiny cape, with neighbors' houses clustered very close nearby.
But don't forget to add in over $8,000 a year in property taxes on that $350K house, and don't be surprised when those taxes continue to increase at over 10% a year, while your tax assessment value continues to increase from a level FAR above the market value of the house. If you try to argue the assessment you'll be told that the tax assessment value has nothing to do with market value, and the formulas for assessment are far too complicated to be either explained or disclosed (although if your house sells for more than the tax assessment value, that value will immediately jump to the market value).
And also, don't forget to add $2 for every single of bag of garbage you leave at the curb. To legally dispose of it items too large to fit in a garbage bag, you must store them all year until the annual "bulk pickup" day, plus pay for each item.
Southern NH is NOT an inexpensive place to live, and Exeter is probably the worst.
And Exeter has VERY few restaurants. You have to drive to Portsmouth or Manchester for a decent selection of restaurants, at least 30 minutes away.
As much as I dream of living in a "country" atmosphere, having lived in a city the last 10 years makes me think I'll need access to amenities. Honestly, with a little one, I'm used to running to Target, the grocery store, etc. for last minute items quite often. In my perfect world there would be a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods close by, but I know that's not happening :-) Are there affordable local markets besides the "super markets?"
My husband works from home, and I work in higher education, so access to local colleges would be nice. We'd also like city water/sewer/trash. We might consider no having it, but I just don't see my husband driving bags of trash to the the dump every week. Currently we live in a very walkable area. I don't expect to be able to walk down the street to local restaurants, but it would be nice to have some close by (and preferably not chains).
I am fearful of the property taxes...in San Diego they are a set % based on the price you purchased your home, so there is never a change. The "assessed" value would certainly be an adjustment.
As much as I dream of living in a "country" atmosphere, having lived in a city the last 10 years makes me think I'll need access to amenities. Honestly, with a little one, I'm used to running to Target, the grocery store, etc. for last minute items quite often. In my perfect world there would be a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods close by, but I know that's not happening :-) Are there affordable local markets besides the "super markets?"
My husband works from home, and I work in higher education, so access to local colleges would be nice. We'd also like city water/sewer/trash. We might consider no having it, but I just don't see my husband driving bags of trash to the the dump every week. Currently we live in a very walkable area. I don't expect to be able to walk down the street to local restaurants, but it would be nice to have some close by (and preferably not chains).
I am fearful of the property taxes...in San Diego they are a set % based on the price you purchased your home, so there is never a change. The "assessed" value would certainly be an adjustment.
I believe that in some towns where there is no town/city trach pickup there are actually private companies that will pick it up for you. I always get a chuckle out of city people who become disgusted at the suggestion that they may have to get rid of their own trash by taking it to the town dump. Is that the case with your husband, that he finds it dirty and beneath him, or is he just lazy?
I reread some of the posts regarding class staus, snobby people in NH and all that. You will find both the snobby and the down to earth in pretty much every town and city in every state if you spend enough time in each of those towns or cities. But if I were pressed to say which towns you'd most likely finds snobs in in NH I'd have to say Windham and Bedford.
I understand the OP's desire to avoid her children feeling poor or inferior to others who may have more money growing up. Every parent wants their child to have a happy and comfortable childhood. However, it's the parent's job to instill values in a child while growing up and in my eyes if all you care about is money, social status and material things then you are not only not a good parent but not a good person in general. That's my two cents on it.
A town that I lived which is a very nice town with good schools, affordable property and down to earth people that I highly recommend looking into for the OP is Kingston. It is a little on the more rural side but it's a great place to raise a family.
I believe that in some towns where there is no town/city trach pickup there are actually private companies that will pick it up for you. I always get a chuckle out of city people who become disgusted at the suggestion that they may have to get rid of their own trash by taking it to the town dump. Is that the case with your husband, that he finds it dirty and beneath him, or is he just lazy?
My town has no municipal trash pick up. Town has a nice recycling facility - paved and landscaped.
Yet I see Waste Management and other trash pick up company trucks regularly pass by. I live on a dead end so I see the trucks coming and going. All residential with zero commercial.
My neighbor - retired healthy couple with a car and a pickup truck - hire one of the smaller trash companies. Pay good money.
You'll do just fine in Exeter on that budget. Obviously prices vary greatly in the town, but it certainly isn't all that expensive (I grew up there and my father is a realtor there after being a builder for 35+ years). Looks at the towns generally close by to the two you mentioned. And another poster was right, outside of the "cities" the schools are a wash. Elementary is the same everywhere, middle school is about the same everywhere, only difference might be in high schools, that typically aren't that good (generalizing here with a few exceptions).
I reread some of the posts regarding class staus, snobby people in NH and all that. You will find both the snobby and the down to earth in pretty much every town and city in every state if you spend enough time in each of those towns or cities. But if I were pressed to say which towns you'd most likely finds snobs in in NH I'd have to say Windham and Bedford.
I endorse your opinion on Windham. That place must have a substantial number of MA transplants with no northern New England background by now.
As much as I dream of living in a "country" atmosphere, having lived in a city the last 10 years makes me think I'll need access to amenities. Honestly, with a little one, I'm used to running to Target, the grocery store, etc. for last minute items quite often. In my perfect world there would be a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods close by, but I know that's not happening :-) Are there affordable local markets besides the "super markets?"
My husband works from home, and I work in higher education, so access to local colleges would be nice. We'd also like city water/sewer/trash. We might consider no having it, but I just don't see my husband driving bags of trash to the the dump every week. Currently we live in a very walkable area. I don't expect to be able to walk down the street to local restaurants, but it would be nice to have some close by (and preferably not chains).
In my opinion your only options are Manchester and Nashua for access to stores, city water/sewer/trash pickup, walkability and post-secondary education jobs. For good schools plus all those things I would point to Massachusetts, as much as I detest recommending Massachusetts.
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