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Try Wilton or Wilton Center east of Peterborough. Lovely towns.
+1
Sounds like you'd like any of the smaller towns between Keene and Wilton. There are a few grocery stores in Keene and a lot of restaurant choices in the area of Keene, Jaffrey, and Peterborough.
Yes. That is definitely one of our targeted areas. Can someone tell me about the Exeter area? A comparison? Thank you. I really appreciate all the help.
Maybe Littleton you can find that just maybe. Or maybe Lancaster. Typically around NH if you want ruralish it is a 25 mile trip one way town. We just don't have things like NYC. No trains no subway no taxi, no curb side trash pick up, no stores open after 9 PM except for wallmart now. No red carpets. The only southern parts of NH with Mt views will be in the west corner. Exeter doesn't even have a hill, and IMO is a congested tangle of crowded roads, but being from NYC you should be used to crowded roads.
And don't bring your notions on firearms with you. Just forget all that right now. In NH we shoot in gravel pits, and at ranges formal and not. We Hunt, we drive around in pick up trucks with long guns in racks in the window. I used to ride a horse with a Ruger 44 mag on my belt in plain sight, and carry long guns and ride with flintlock right up Rt 16 passing Mt Washington on horse back to Muster in the Mountains and you flat landers would always be calling the cops on me. Just Don't. You waste the cops time and they laugh at you. I can hear the local range and i can hear others near by shooting not at the local range too. it is not any issue.
I say this because just about every one i ever met so far from Cy and or NYC all freak out. Just don't.
I don't live in NYC. I've never seen a red carpet or ridden on the subway. I'm almost always in my pajamas at 9:00 and I bring my trash to the recycling center. Enjoy your guns. I have no intention of freaking out. Thanks!
Bethlehem is my #1 pick. It has a small but nice and walkable downtown with some general stores and an awesome old movie theater, property taxes are wayyyy lower than they are south of the White Mountains and it's 10-15 minutes to big box/chain shopping in Littleton. You're at the northern base of the White Mountains, with Franconia Notch to your south and Crawford Notch to your east.
Lincoln and North Woodstock are tied for my #2 pick. These adjacent towns are nestled right in the White Mountains and taxes are low by NH standards. There are grocery stores, restaurants, coffeeshops, a movieplex and some clothing stores, but it's about 30 minutes to Littleton for a reasonable variety of big box shopping. Still, there are more than enough shopping options for day-to-day living and the views are incredible. North Woodstock in particular has a nice, walkable downtown (Lincoln does too, although North Woodstock's is particularly quaint and historic). The presence of a ski resort within a short walk from downtown is another huge perk.
Gorham is my #3 pick. The area's economic base has taken a series of sharp hits over the past couple of decades, but it has all the convenience shopping, supermarkets, etc. that a person could need. It's still a beautiful, safe, proud, nice little town. Also, taxes are lower than they are south of the mountains.
Plymouth is my #4 pick. It's a funky college town and the place where people in neighboring communities go to shop. Property taxes are higher than they are in neighboring areas due to the state university (which doesn't pay taxes despite requiring a lot of services) but still on par with taxes in the southern half of NH.
I would recommend these communities over Peterborough. Peterborough is a wonderful place, but taxes are higher than the norm and the mountain views aren't comparable to the northern part of the state's. Also, while there are a number of boutique shops and restaurants, plus a few grocery/convenience stores in Peterborough, it's about 30 minutes to any wide variety of boutique and big box shopping (in Keene).
For the record, I like Keene, I just routinely warn people it's more isolated than they may think. Being retired that's generally going to be less of a concern for you in the short run (though at some point access to medical care becomes an issue if you need a specialist). It's a bigger concern for many of the spouses who post here about moving for wife/husband's job, since the isolation means the prospects of finding desirable employment for the 2nd spouse will tend to be challenging. From Keene it's not too far to Brattleboro, but it's a long way to just about anything else.
In your original post you said you preferred 'less remote' but Keene is fairly remote, not so much due to distance as the crow flies, but because the roads are slower and a bit winding. It's 50 miles to Manch as the crow flies, but 66 miles and about 75 minutes to drive it, if the weather is good. But it offers great access to the CT River, and the biking and other outdoor activities the river valley offers - visiting covered bridges, farming, etc.
Exeter is going to be more expensive than Keene, but the trade-off is that it's a lot more proximate to 'stuff.' A fair amount in towns (shopping/restaurants) plus the arts/activities the Academy offers, plus easy access to UNH (arts/hockey/etc.) or the coast, or Portsmouth, or Newburyport/Amesbury MA, all within 15-20 minutes, and not much farther to Kittery or the southeast coast of Maine. Portsmouth/Manchester not to far either.
Over in that area you may also want to look at Kingston or the cute little town that is Newmarket.
As for Bethlehem and other destinations farther north, that's pretty remote, particularly in the winter. If you're looking in the lakes region, Alton isn't a bad suggestion (though also very remote by NYC standards and I can't recall the actual downtown - is there one?) and Wolfeboro has a nice downtown right on the lake that's fairly busy in the summer. Meredith also nice.
Might also consider the Hopkinton/Contoocook/Henniker triangle west of Concord, or possibly even in Concord. You might find it to be the right balance of services without being crowded, and with a variety of lakes/ponds/rivers.
Thanks for your thoughtful response. We will be exploring this summer.
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