Thinking of making the move... (Nashua, Concord: for sale, real estate, houses)

[Shawn921]

Hi everyone! My wife and I are strongly starting to do our homework on making our move to NH. We currently live in Massachusetts(more specifically cape cod). It is very expensive to live here and the housing market is outrageous! We are a younger couple with 3 amazing children. With that said, a simple 3 bedroom ranch with a half acre( if lucky) is 250-$300,000 minimum with updates needed. We have been looking at a lot of places in Nh and we have been finding exactly what we want for far less. We want a much more simple life for us and our kids. We want to be able to have land with animals and a little more freedom then where we currently live. Most of our family live on cape but my wife has family in chichester which we are going to stay with the end of July to start looking around. We go to North Conway a lot on vacation but have never looked at Nh in the way of moving there, so that is what our July trip will be. We have been looking at chichester( because of family) pittsfield, tamworth, and recently farther north. Needless to say we Are all over the place haha and I figured I would start talking to this forum. My wife is a wonderful stay at home mom and iam a landscape foreman. I also run heavy equipment and have my cdl license. I'm hoping that being In the trades would help me get a job in NH? We are making sure we do all of our homework obviously before we make a move. Sorry for the long intro! I have many questions to ask and I hope to gain lots of information from everyone and keep you guys updated as we move on.

[Nonesuch]

Since you mention "more freedom", I'l lbring up the touchy topic of the Free Staters.

If your political leanings align, you can get a lot of information and help with planning and moving from the Free State Project participants and hangers-on. The porcupines have multiple websites, forums, and meetups, and politics range from jaded Dems/Repubs to those too outre for even anarchists to associate with.

Originally Posted by Shawn921

Hi everyone! My wife and I are strongly starting to do our homework on making our move to NH. We currently live in Massachusetts(more specifically cape cod). It is very expensive to live here and the housing market is outrageous! We are a younger couple with 3 amazing children. With that said, a simple 3 bedroom ranch with a half acre( if lucky) is 250-$300,000 minimum with updates needed. We have been looking at a lot of places in Nh and we have been finding exactly what we want for far less.

Remember to keep in mind the property tax, it varies by town and can be very high, and unlike a mortgage, you pay property tax forever. Also some costs of living will be higher, particularly heating in mid/northern NH (though if you have free labor to chop wood, cost is be reduced).

Once you get a bit north of Nashua, you'll notice that every other car on the road is a Subaru or Jeep, and the further north you go, the more AWD/4x4 vehicles you will see. Between snow season, mud season, and construction season, getting around can be difficult and time consuming.

We want a much more simple life for us and our kids. We want to be able to have land with animals and a little more freedom then where we currently live.

Given your interests, consider looking for a place with as much acreage as you can afford. Once you get above 11 acres, property tax might be reduced through 'Current Use', which gives a major tax break on nonproductive and farmland.

Raising animals is "interesting" in New Hampshire. It's often as much about keeping the local predators (fisher, coyote, fox, bobcat, etc) at bay than anything else.

My wife is a wonderful stay at home mom and iam a landscape foreman. I also run heavy equipment and have my cdl license. I'm hoping that being In the trades would help me get a job in NH? We are making sure we do all of our homework obviously before we make a move. Sorry for the long intro! I have many questions to ask and I hope to gain lots of information from everyone and keep you guys updated as we move on.

You might end up choosing your location based on availability of employment, but there are jobs to be had in your field(s).

[Shawn921]

Thank you for the great information, I have learned a lot already that I did not think about. Having 11 acres or more is exactly what we would want and we do both have 4wd vehicles so that is a plus. Are there any towns you could suggest? We do have children so schools of course are important to us.

[miu]

Originally Posted by Shawn921

Thank you for the great information, I have learned a lot already that I did not think about. Having 11 acres or more is exactly what we would want and we do both have 4wd vehicles so that is a plus. Are there any towns you could suggest? We do have children so schools of course are important to us.

Good public schools = higher property taxes...

[Shawn921]

I figured that. That's ok though. The schools do not need to be top of the list. Even a small town school is fine with us.

[Nonesuch]

For online searches, I usually recommend NNEREN.

Originally Posted by Shawn921

Thank you for the great information, I have learned a lot already that I did not think about. Having 11 acres or more is exactly what we would want and we do both have 4wd vehicles so that is a plus. Are there any towns you could suggest? We do have children so schools of course are important to us.

Schools vary greatly, as does property tax. In many cases, towns share a high school, so if your kids are approaching HS age, you might want to look specifically for a good HS district, and less-than-urban areas where raising animals is normal (this is most of NH).

If you're willing to deal with the idiosyncrasies of an older house, there are some great farmhouses for sale with land attached. Another option is to look for a smaller lot size, but adjacent to a forest or conservation land.

You mention a lot of towns to the north, but nothing to the west; are you looking to stay near the coast or within a day's drive to the cape?

[Shawn921]

We are trying to stay within a days drive to the cape just so seeing family will be easier. The coast line does not matter to us. We are really open to anyplace that suits what we want. Iam willing to deal with a older farmhouse, actually sounds nice. Two of our children will be in preschool and the oldest in middle school

[miu]

The way we picked our NH place was by looking at all real estate listings for properties with at least ten acres. We also wanted some sort of large barn or garage. The places that were most reasonably priced were ones above the southern NH area, i.e. north of Rt. 101.

So keep on top of the NH real estate offerings, find a place you like, then come back and ask about that town. Otherwise, imo your questions are too broad. There are many good towns to consider, but it's really all about the timing of what is for sale.

A lot of luck is needed when real estate shopping. Had we not been able to buy our place, we'd probably still be in MA. It is a very unique and unusual property.

[Oldmanlookatmylife]

I'm not in construction, but my recommendation would be to begin looking for jobs now, find the region where you'll be working, and then refresh this thread. My understanding based on what friends tell me is that while construction is slowly making a comeback after taking a hit in '08, there are a lot of experienced and talented tradespeople in NH who are underemployed at the moment. Unfortunately, it's still an employer's market and the competition is stiff. So you'll want to cast a wide net.

Don't take the good schools = higher property taxes saying too seriously. Pittsfield has high property taxes, and its school district isn't considered one of the region's best ones by a long shot, although I understand that administrators are trying to improve things. If you're in a town with a decent industrial base and/or in living away from the water in a luxury resort town, your property taxes will be low and the public schools will likely have a good reputation. Also, there is no rhyme or reason to how properties are assessed up here. You have to read each listing and see what the taxes are; some of the numbers will be shocking.

Assuming you'll be relocating to the Chichester area, my understanding is that Pembroke Academy (where Chichester, Epsom, Pembroke and Allenstown students attend) has a decent reputation. Bow and Hopkinton's public schools probably have the best reputation in the area, but both of these towns are suburban in their nature, which means that much of the housing stock is in developments with strict land use rules. The towns themselves may have ordinances, and please forgive the stereotyping, but I would imagine that people who favor ordinances might choose Hopkinton or Bow (or, of course, Concord) over one of the more rural communities in the area. You might want to check out Dunbarton; Dunbarton's students go to Bow schools and the town is mostly rural in its nature.

Also, see whether Deerfield still sends students to Concord High. It did back when I was in high school. Deerfield is rural, live-and-let-live, close to Chichester, and I doubt the land use/other restrictions are very severe. Concord High is considered among the best in NH. The current principal seems to treat students like smaller children than they are and I'm shaking my head over whom they hired to be the new Vice Principal, but the faculty attracted a lot of intellectual/artist types through the '80s, Concord itself has a lot of academically-minded families, and the high school's ethos has always been a vibrant, creative, accepting one. It's a gigantic school with a long list of electives, AP courses and courses oriented to the trades (in the event that one of your children wants to follow in Dad's footsteps). And the school is so gigantic that students are constantly meeting new people and cliques/gossip/slander/other teenage menaces aren't as powerful. Students and parents tell me nothing but nice things about it. Concord's middle school is the pits, but Deerfield has its own K-8, which I hear is good.

Most of Gilmanton isn't a miserable drive to Chichester. Actually, it's a quick and insanely gorgeous ride if you take the Upper City Road from Pittsfield (depending on where in Gilmanton and Chichester you and your sister live). Gilmanton is a tiny rural town with a good K-8 school. Gilmanton's high school students go to Gilford High, which is another one of the state's very best schools.

Other than that, I've heard nothing but good things about Strafford and Northwood's public schools (including Coe-Brown High School, which is a half-public-half-charter-type-hybrid whose organization baffles me, but it's a lovely school, all the high schoolers from Northwood and Strafford can go there for free, and I hear it's good). Strafford and Northwood are mostly rural communities where one's land is one's kingdom, so to speak. They also have some of NH's prettiest small lakes, and residents get to access them for free.

Hope this helps. Again, figure out where you'll be working and report back. I can give you more tips once you find out what your general region will be. I hope you find what you're looking for in NH. I'd be lying if I said you're guaranteed a simple life immune from some of the more destructive influences of postmodernity in NH or anywhere else, especially if you have children. Hard drugs are everywhere nowadays, and the feeling of not being part of a distinctly privileged urban culture that the media touts as the only acceptable way for young people might make your kids feel like there's "nothing to do." The trick is to make sure they're engaged and able to create their own happiness/culture via academic and other interests and an appreciation for what's in front of them, but sometimes that's easier said than done. But NH gives you a lot of room and resources in/with which to do this. Good luck.

[Shawn921]

Oldmanlookatmylife, thank you for the great information! I will be taking that with me when I visit in the next two weeks. I will report back then with updates and I'm sure more questions