Possibly Moving to New Hampshire; Looking for Suggestions (Manchester, Nashua: how much, hotel)

[CaptainD_69]

My wife and I are considering a move to New Hampshire within the next year or two. We've been living in Indiana (in a suburb of Indianapolis) for the last 10 years. Prior to moving here, we lived in New York State for over 8 years; before that, we had spent our entire lives in Northern New Jersey.
So we've never lived in New Hampshire (or anywhere in New England), although we have vacationed there many times and I spent several months working on a project in northern Massachussetts where I lived in a hotel in New Hampshire and spent most of my time there. I have always wanted to move to New Hampshire, and I had several job leads at different points in my life, it just never quite worked out.
We like it here in Indiana, but we would really like to be closer to family. Northern New Jersey would only be a four and a half to five hour drive from southern New Hampshire (we could easily do weekend trips); from central Indiana, it's a 12 hour drive (12 hours in a car with four kids).
I've been reading this forum for several weeks now, and I've seen several posts of people looking for suggestions on the right town or city to move to (so I have been doing my homework). I was hoping that I could get some additional suggestions based on my criteria.
My wife and I are both IT professionals; we would be keeping our current jobs and telecommuting. So we currently don't have a need to be close to any one place for work (although ideally we would be close enough to commute someplace if a job change ever became necasary).

I've been looking more in the south central and south western part of the state (rather than the Portsmouth/Sea Coast region) for a few reasons:
- One of our goals is to be closer to New Jersey, so why not be as close as possible
- I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong!!) that the eastern part of the state is more densely populated; does that mean more traffic? even more traffice in the summer (beach) season? higher prices? smaller properties (especially near the coast)?
- Proximity to Boston - really not a factor for us; we wouldn't go often, so a longer drive wouldn't bother us
That being said, if I would certainly consider the eastern part of the state if it makes sense based on what we're looking for.

Some of the criteria we're considering:
Schools - We have four children, so school system is important (*I've been doing quite a bit of research on this)
Community Activities - Which towns provide youth sports programs? Community pools/lakes? other community activities?
Doctors, Hospitals, etc. - Are there towns that have these things, or do most people go into the cities for these services?
Shopping - again...is this something that most people drive into a city for? or do certain towns have good options?
Restaurants - my wife and I grew up near New York City. We know and appreciate good food. We don't need tons of obscure ethnic restaurants, just the ability to get good quality food. Steak, seafood, good burgers/pub food, and a good Italian restaurant or two (we never did find a great Italian restaurant in 10 years in Indiana). Indiana tends to have TONS of chain restaurants, which is not really our thing.
Property - we would like a slightly bigger property. We're not looking at getting hundreds of acres, but 2-6 acres would be ideal; we would probably be willing to go as low as 1 acre (still much bigger than the quarter acres lots in some of these newer subdivisions)
Village or town center - which towns have this type of structure vs. being just a geographic area with houses (*this isn't a requirement either way; just trying to get a feel)
Also, should we focus our search closer to one city in particular (Manchester, Concord, Nashua or even Portsmouth) based on restaurants, shopping, hospitals, etc.?

I would appreciate any suggesstions or feedback; here are the towns that I've been focused on so far:
Bedford - Highly rated schools (I've read a few negative comments, but overwhelmingly positive). Close to Manchester (which I believe is good). It seems like there are some pricey housing areas in town.
Bow - Highly rated schools. I like the fact that it seems like a fairly short drive to Concord or Manchester.
Hollis/Brookline - Highly rated schools. I know they share a Middle School and High School; I'm not clear on advantages and disadvantages of each town
Amherst - I've read some conflicting things about the high school; I need to do more research.
Hopkinton - Seems like a nice small town; not sure about finding the size property we would like.
Merrimack - Not sure about the schools...

I appreciate any feedback.
Thank You!!

DJ

[Nonesuch]

Originally Posted by CaptainD_69

My wife and I are both IT professionals; we would be keeping our current jobs and telecommuting. So we currently don't have a need to be close to any one place for work (although ideally we would be close enough to commute someplace if a job change ever became necessary).

I telecommute about half the time. You will want to take into consideration the availability and reliability of Broadband; I lose about 3 work days each year because once the power has been out for more than 24 hours, both the 3G/LTE tower and the the cable headend drop out, and I lose all high-speed Internet options.

I agree, there are good reasons to prefer the central and western parts of S.NH if you have no need for proximity to Boston or to the coast. Anything within a commute-friendly distance of businesses inside the 495 loop (Boston and it's suburbs) is inherently more expensive and more urbanized.

Community Activities - Which towns provide youth sports programs? Community pools/lakes? other community activities?
Doctors, Hospitals, etc. - Are there towns that have these things, or do most people go into the cities for these services?
Shopping - again...is this something that most people drive into a city for? or do certain towns have good options?

Most towns over a few thousand people will have these resources, either in-town or close by.

Restaurants - my wife and I grew up near New York City. We know and appreciate good food. We don't need tons of obscure ethnic restaurants, just the ability to get good quality food. Steak, seafood, good burgers/pub food, and a good Italian restaurant or two (we never did find a great Italian restaurant in 10 years in Indiana). Indiana tends to have TONS of chain restaurants, which is not really our thing.

Restaurant options are tough in most of New Hampshire. In the high-density areas near Nashua and Manchester you have a lot of chain restaurants and many good locals, but once you go rural, it can be difficult to find more than 2-3 choices in a reasonable driving distance.

Property - we would like a slightly bigger property. We're not looking at getting hundreds of acres, but 2-6 acres would be ideal; we would probably be willing to go as low as 1 acre (still much bigger than the quarter acres lots in some of these newer subdivisions)

Read up on current use. Sometimes 11-16 acres can have lower tax costs than 2-6 acres.

Bedford/Amherst/Milford/Hollis area are all good towns, as are the slightly more rural towns adjoining them to the west. Or you can go even further west and look at Rindge, Peterborough, etc.

[Wells5]

How much are you willing to spend for a property? Bedford is pricey.

Have you looked into Peterborough?

[YankeeMomNH]

Why not move to New Jersey? That's a hell of a commute.

[Nonesuch]

Originally Posted by YankeeMomNH

Why not move to New Jersey? That's a hell of a commute.

Because then you'd be living in New Jersey? (NTTAWWT)

Kidding aside, I can understand the desire to be close to family but not "unannounced drop in visit" close.

Originally Posted by Wells5

Have you looked into Peterborough?

Peterborough is under-appreciated. Or if you can handle the "issues", shave another half hour off the drive time to NJ, move to Keene.

OTOH, if access to hospitals, an airport, and non-chain restaurant dining and other nightlife options are important, that suggests locating closer to Manchester.

[CaptainD_69]

Thanks for the feedback; Peterborough definitely looks like a great little town (I haven't looked at Rindge too much yet). It seems like the schools are not as highly rated as some of the other towns I've looked at, but I also don't know if I should take the "ratings" at face value.

I have also looked a little at Sunapee and Meredith, which are a little further out (any thoughts on those towns?)

For the record...I am definitely NOT moving back to New Jersey!!

[lady fern]

Sunapee is a nice little town, but a bit too tourist ridden for my taste. The complaints I have heard about Sunapee are either about the number of people who live there part time or that it lacks a cohesive town center. On the plus side, the residents that I know that love it there say the taxes are low and that the school is so small that it rivals private schools in teacher/student ratios. It is also close to skiing and a really nice lake. The closest shopping would be in New London or Claremont. Claremont has all of the major box stores while New London has a grocery store, hardware store, pet store and some decent restaurants. I've only eaten at Pizza Chef in Sunapee which is a blasé local chain. I don't think there is much in the restaurant arena there but neighboring Newbury has Nonni's which is a decent Italian restaurant and well as Marzelli's, a nice Italian deli. I am told that Bubba's Grill in Newbury is very good and there is a smattering of nice restaurants in New London. Neighboring Newport has a Salt Hill pub, which is good (the pot roast is phenomenal), and there is a Mexican restaurant that many say is nice.
We looked at Sunapee when we moved here but it just never called to us. Not a bad town, just not our town. If you are looking in that area, I would suggest checking out New London.

[illtaketwoplease]

I used to live in Peterborough... great little town. Not a whole lot there though. On the "artsy" side. You can PM me if you want specific info.

[bler144]

There are nice parts of NJ - you don't have to set up shop in Newark to be close to home. And unless you're driving at night I think you're underestimating the drive time. Even from Keene it's 280 miles, and that's going through the slog of Western CT and the NYC environs. 5.5 hours is probably a safer bet, running longer if you hit a real jam.

I'm curious if you've considered parts of upstate NY- say Ithaca/Binghamton or the mid-river valley (say Poughkeepsie up to Hudson). Also nice areas, and you can approach NJ without going through the city or having to make a major detour.

I think you'll find winter in NH to be a bit longer than Indy, but personally I think it's easier to do outdoor stuff in NH.

Schools in most of those places are quite good. Could also look at Exeter if it's in your budget, which also is a good school district but has more of a downtown than Hollis or several of the others you've listed. You also get the slightly milder weather near the seacoast. Not much milder, but hey. Also better access to restaurants in town and near the coast (Portsmouth, not to mention a quick pop into southern Maine for lobster), particularly if you like seafood.

For someone moving somewhat sight-unseen who doesn't really know the area I'd be pretty leery of suggesting something 'farther out' like Sunapee/Meredith or even Peterborough. Having proximity to the coast (Dover/Portsmouth) or the cities of the valley (Concord/Manch/Nashua) is a somewhat safer move.

Being a Concord advocate, personally I'd probably opt for Hopkinton/Contoocook or Bow in a vacuum, but I also like Hollis quite a bit (Hollis NH Strawberry Fest!). Though I think nonesuch is right that you really want to look at internet service and reliability as a factor too.

[seamusnh]

On the schools, I would rate Bedford, Amherst and Hollis above the others mentioned. We sent three kids thru the Amherst school system (K - 12) and they did very well. The high school is very good and is a Coalition of Essential Schools.