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Hello, I'm planning a move from CT to NH in a few months with my wife and 2 young children (both under 4). We are going to take a trip up there in a month to visit a few towns and really narrow it down before buying a home, but I thought I'd get some suggestions to see if I'm missing anything before we plan our visit.
In order of importance of what we'd like in a prospective town are:
1) Safety for our children (low crime rate)
2) Good schools
3) Proximity to seacoast
4) Ability to commute to Boston 3 days a week with a max commute time of 90 minutes each way. This is temporary, but unavoidable
5) Places to ride bicycles/strollers/walk and eventually hike when the kids are old enough
6) Places to shop/eat (nice downtown?)
We live at the beach now, but I don't think our budget of 500k (maybe 600k, but 500k is ideal) would allow us to get something with 4 BR's within walking distance of a beach in NH. I already pay 13k a year in property taxes in addition to income taxes that are taken out and given to the struggling inner city governments (modern day Robin Hood), so property taxes aren't a huge issue for me if I'm getting something from them in return.
Places I've put on a short list are Exeter, Hampton/North Hampton, Greenland, Portsmouth, Durham, Stratham, and Rye, but Rye seems pretty out of our price range. If anyone has some more suggestions or thinks these aren't good choices, please let me know. I'm going to spend a few days traveling to these towns and checking them out, and don't want to miss any good ones. Thank you!
Exeter. Great schools. Phillips Exeter Academy is there, and the public schools are highly rated, so lots of opportunities for academic enrichment. Picturesque, historic, and vibrant town. Train station. Close to seacoast. Slightly higher in price but not nearing Portsmouth's numbers. It's not walking distance to a beach but with so few miles of coastline, our beaches are pretty crowded anyway. I'd rather walk along the river in Exeter. I don't actually live in Exeter, so I just don't know, but there are probably some lakefronts or river edges that would meet your beach void. They have a great farmers market, too.
Looking over your criteria, I think Exeter and Durham would be your best bets, and if you really want the max 90 minute commute to Boston, you're better off in Exeter. Realtors will tell you all kinds of places are "just an hour from Boston", but they are selling you. I live just across the state line in Newburyport and commute every day into Kendall Square in Cambridge, for the past 20 years. On an average weekday, during rush hour, even Newburyport is 90 minutes to Boston, door to door. If you have flex time and can go in after the main rush hour crowd, yes you can get there in less than 90 minutes by car from Exeter.
There are also options to take the Amtrak train or (I think) a bus into Boston from Exeter. The train may be a little faster, at least station to station and especially during rush hour traffic... then you need to check out the local transport needed on each end. The bus won't be any faster than driving of course. Either one though will be more relaxing, allowing working and/or sleeping.
Both Portsmouth and Rye are very nice, but you can't get a family house for $600K in either one these days. Getting anything for $600K is a challenge in these towns.
Last edited by OutdoorLover; 07-27-2019 at 04:53 PM..
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