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My family (Spouse and a 5 year old daughter) will be moving to the Portsmouth area, this coming Spring (2017). My husband will be working in downtown Portsmouth, and we hoped to live within a 20 minute commute of his work. We are hoping to rent for a year, to then be able to more determine in which community we should buy. It looks like our daughter will be in Kindergarten, this coming summer, and as such, schools are our biggest priority, seconded by really wanting a walkable community, with living near (walkable, we hope) to a nice downtown essential.
We are going to be buying in the $500,000.00 and less range, we hope, and renting for less than $2500.00 / month (again, we hope). If we can, we prefer public education, but will of course go private, if needs-be. Portsmouth itself seems a bit expensive, honestly, and so we are looking outside of the immediate area.
We were thinking of Durham, as we liked the school ranking (5th in the state?), and the size. The university may be a bit of a bother, at times, but it may also provide some cultural perks? We live in a university town, here in the UK, and are accustomed to the revelries of youth that abound in areas immediately surrounding the university.
Devon seems ok, but the schools don't look as good (?). Any insights into these or any other communities would be most welcome. It's a bit daunting, even to research, as neither of us know the area at all, and will only get one or two chances to go over for short visits, before the move. Thanks!!
In the UK, there is a system of ranking the schools, called the OFSTED system, which is done by the government. It doesn't seem that there is one national system for this, in the US? So again, it all seems a bit bewildering.
We are very much looking forward to our move to New Hampshire, and appreciate any tips!
You can check out greatschools.org to get an idea of the schools in an area. You just need the zip code. Alternatively, you can go to trulia.com, the listings for each home include information on the local schools. That will give you an idea of home prices, amenities, and crime in each area, too.
Check out Exeter. You can buy a really nice property for a lot less than $500,000 and it's less than 20 minutes to Portsmouth by car. You can also catch the train to downtown Boston. Great Schools rating of the Exeter School District is 9 out of 10. Also home to arguably the number 1 private school in the USA.
You will enjoy the area. I would start renting close to Portsmouth (Portsmouth, Greenland, even York, ME is right over the bridge) so you can get to know the area. Dover is a nice town close to Portsmouth and Durham.
I would agree with Exeter. The town itself has a large amount of things to do and a real charming downtown area. The housing market there as well is not too crazy and you will easily be able to find something to rent and then when ready a place to live.
Durham is a great town as well. The closer you are to the school the more of the community aspect you will get. One thing I would suggest is to make sure that you are not in an area that has a lot of off campus housing as partying can be a bit annoying.
Durham is a great town as well. The closer you are to the school the more of the community aspect you will get. One thing I would suggest is to make sure that you are not in an area that has a lot of off campus housing as partying can be a bit annoying.
Thanks Marcus, where are these areas, roughly?
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