Hampton...North...Falls...South - 1 town or 4? (Exeter, Berlin: house prices, best school)

[UCONN]

Hi - Looking on a map I noticed that there is Hampton, NH and sourrounding it are other Hampton areas. Do they all have different school systems, etc?

Is one better than another?

Thanks.

[Valerie C]

Hi UCONN
The Hamptons of New Hampshire (sounds like a subdivision name or something...) are 4 distinct towns. Each town has its own school system, and then 3 of the 4 towns feed into the Winnacunnet Coop. district. South Hampton tuitions their high school students to Amesbury High in Massachusetts.

Visit NH Community Profiles (http://www.nh.gov/nhes/elmi/communpro.htm - broken link) to read about each of them.

You ask if one is better... IMO, they each have different things to offer residents; some have lower tax rates, differing electric companies, etc. It would really depend on what somebody considers "better".

[UCONN]

Thanks...I guess I would define "better" as school system, community/family recreation opporortunites...I like what Exeter has to offer the community but would prefer to be near the water.

Are the house prices different in each area?


Thanks in advance for any advice.

[NH2008]

Yes. We have looked there also and Hampton Falls has the best school system of any of the Hamptons. It's considered the "nice" Hampton (fairly or unfairly.) However, I haven't heard good things about Winnacunnet. This is probably just a question of demographics, as schools with a lot of kids from less-affluent backgrounds tend not to score as well, and the rankings may say more about the demographics of the students than about the school itself. One of the realtors who showed us around said that he had chosen to keep his kids at Winnacunnet but that many others choose private hs. Another realtor told me not to even consider it. So you should check it out yourself and see what you think.

You should definitely visit in person to see whether you like it. A lot of the area is beautiful and surrounded by conservation land, a lot of it is too built up for my taste. There is a downtown, but it was pretty commercialized and a lot of people cross the MA line to shop there for furniture, etc. Totally depends what you are looking for. But I have heard good things about the community.

[maxxoccupancy]

I am a Seabrook resident, and I can tell you that it's a really nice town with a lot of amenities, especially for the liberty lover (low taxes, relaxed zoning). However, the schools do suffer a bit, as this is a blue collar town. Although the folks around here are very practical, I've seen my share of trouble makers (similar to the area of Kent, Wash., where I grew up) in the mix. They are not criminals, but they are not astute scholars, either. Many are intelligent kids, but seem to eschew schooling. Seabrook also takes in a lot of special ed kids from surrounding areas, and these two factors seem to result in low test scores for the public schools. I don't think that private schools suffer, though...

[fishnfool]

Exeter isn't exactly far from the water....you can be at the beach in 10-15 minutes depending on where you live in the town.

[maxxoccupancy]

True, but in the winter, the closer you are to the ocean, the milder the climate. You really have to be within 2-3 miles of the ocean to benefit from those warmer temperatures, though we do see less snowfall further in. My house, for example, is only about five minutes from Seabrook Beach.

[GregW]

When you are 2 1/2 days into a 3 day February Nor'easter with sleet, snow and flying salt mist at 34 deg anf 40 mph, you might reconsider the "milder climate" thought.

[Max Abramson]

Well, "the Hamptons" offer a "milder climate" than say, Grafton or Berlin. In general, the farther you get from the water, the tougher the winters.

On the other hand, there are folks tougher than me who like that climate.