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Hi. It appears, as of right now, my husband will most likely be transferring to Newington, NH, so we have narrowed our search to this area. We love how nice and affordable homes appear to be in Somersworth and Rochester, but the school rankings are awful. Why is that? I grew up in a pretty terrible school system and came out alright, but I still wouldn't wish that on my kids. My husband says we can just send our kids out of district, but I'm not sure how that works, or if that is actually an option. I would like our max budget to be $275k to allow us some more financial freedom, but I have only been able to find nice homes within our budget in the Rochester and Somersworth areas. Please help me out folks. I would prefer to live in a house that is not as nice if the kids can have a better education, but my husband wants the nice house and just send the kids out of district.
While I don't live there, I was advised to stay clear of that area when we were looking. I don't have first hand knowledge about the reason for the schools rankings, but the houses are cheaper for that reason and it'll be an issue when you'd like to sell.
Better look for a better school district and reduce your house ideal. There are other towns around (Barrington, Farmington, Lee, Greenland, Rye, Durham, Madbury) with better schools.
AFAIK, there is not sending out of district, other than a few charter schools or paying for private schools.
Where are you moving from? The Oyster River school district (Durham, Madbury, Lee) is one of the best in the state and would still be very close to Newington. That would probably be my first choice if I were you. You may also want to consider Dover or Newmarket other nearby options.
Both Somersworth and Rochester do not have great reputations in terms of crime or public education. However, they're still relatively safe towns compared to the national average as NH is a very low-crime state. Rochester has definitely been hit hard with the opioid crisis and you read about a lot of drug overdoses and arrests there.
If I had to pick, I would choose Somersworth over Rochester. My aunt and uncle live there and like it, but their kids are all grown and out of college (they were raised in Plaistow) so no personal experience with the school system.
Last edited by JustTryIt; 09-27-2016 at 12:35 PM..
Somersworth is a mill town that never really recovered. Rochester is a city with a rough downtown with a large Section 8 presence and accompanying opoid problem. The outskirts of each city have very nice areas, but those outskirts funnel into the same high schools, neither of which have great reputations. Neither city has had a good reputation for as long as I remember.
Good kids come out of both cities with decent educations and go on to success elsewhere. That said, I knew neither place was in my future with a 10 year old. The odds just are not as good as they are elsewhere. You can chance it if you want, but I'd look harder in other areas if it were me. I don't see either city making a comeback anytime soon.
I am in Barrington, which is right next to Rochester. Decent schools and a choice of high school. I think you can find something decent for $275K, although that depends on your husband's definition of "nice". Your money will buy you more in Rochester and Somersworth for sure, although as someone else said taxes are higher in both of those cities than in Barrington. Sending kids out of district will certainly involve tuition to either public or private schools and would negate any savings in home prices while still having to pay high property taxes.
Oyster River school district is among the top in the state, but I doubt you'll get much for $275K. Someone mentioned Farmington. Don't consider it. They are the rural version of Rochester with lots of rural problems. Last I knew their high school wasn't even accredited. Dover's schools are getting better, IMO. Northwood goes to Coe Brown, which is great. Newmarket might be OK too. Hampton is convenient to Newington and is somewhere else to look.
The schools are not good in either Rochester or Somersworth, and there is no sending kids out of district unless you pay for it. If you will consider a condo, you could find one for that price in Dover.
Forget Rochester and Somersworth if you have kids. Some think the dover district is OK but personally I would not send my kids there. $275k will not get you a house in the oyster river, exeter or portsmouth districts. Count on a five figure annual tuition bill per child to educate out of district, it would be cheaper to move. Northwood, deerfield, nottingham, Strafford and Barrington are more affordable with much better schools than Rochester or somersworth. Your husband's commute will be longer but i find the trade off to be worth it.
Also take a look at a map, there are three roads into portsmouth and newington. 95 north, 95 south and 16. 16 filters down to a single two lane bridge in newington. The state is rebuilding the entire highway but it is currently a traffic nightmare during rush hour. 101 and 95 are almost never congested. Point being, longer distances on 95 or 101 may actually be faster when compared to shorter distances on 16.
Finally, make sure to account for property taxes when setting your budget. NH has no income or sales tax, schools are funded by local property tax. We pay $5k for 2000 Sq ft on two acres in Nottingham, this is considered cheap, five figure property tax bills are not uncommon in some towns.
So what makes Rochester and Somersworth schools "bad"? Poor facilities? Bad teachers? Lack of extra-curricular activities? Parents who don't care about their children's education? Socio-economics? I live in Somersworth but don't have children in the schools. My observation - The city tries hard to improve the schools. But what makes them "bad" in the first place???
So what makes Rochester and Somersworth schools "bad"? Poor facilities? Bad teachers? Lack of extra-curricular activities? Parents who don't care about their children's education? Socio-economics? I live in Somersworth but don't have children in the schools. My observation - The city tries hard to improve the schools. But what makes them "bad" in the first place???
All of the above, including lack of honors and AP classes, at least not to the extent other schools offer them. The Rollinsford kids pulling out of the district didn't help.
So what makes Rochester and Somersworth schools "bad"? Poor facilities? Bad teachers? Lack of extra-curricular activities? Parents who don't care about their children's education? Socio-economics? I live in Somersworth but don't have children in the schools. My observation - The city tries hard to improve the schools. But what makes them "bad" in the first place???
I think those cities have a higher than normal population of poor families with parents who are less invested in their children's education due to a multitude of reasons. I'm painting with kind of a broad brush and there are exceptions of course, but that's my opinion and I think a lot of people would agree with me.
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