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Hi,
My wife & I are looking to move to NH. We’ve visited the “Lake Region” many times. However, we are looking to explore other areas of NH.
We are not looking for the city life. Although, nothing too rural. A country like setting, with a 10-15 drive +/- to local stores.
Schools are not an issue. Work is not an issue either, as we will be retiring soon. Obviously a safe town.
A condo would be ideal or a small ranch. Budget between 400k-500k I know inventory is low & it’s a sellers market.
Around the seacoast region, I'd look at Stratham. It's fairly low density, safe, and they have a fair number of condos, and you can get stuff in your price range. It doesn't have ye olde walkable downtown area, but other towns nearby have that, and there is plenty of retail nearby. Real estate taxes, for southern NH, are pretty good.
Hi OP, to avoid just bombarding you with towns, can I recommend something instead.
Grab a NH Map(just one of those fold able tourist maps you get for free in hotels will do). Then identify what you consider a shopping area(to ME, that is a town or area where I can buy groceries and a 2x4-since you know the Lakes, think Gilford but smaller). All this is easy to figure out on google maps.
Now that you have the shopping areas figured out make a circle at what you think is a 10-15 minute drive. Check out the towns within that circle and do some research on them-overhead view on map program of choice, tax rates, assessed values, any other criteria you want. Most is available on the town's website. THEN pop up and ask questions on those towns. You'll probably get some informed views and alternates for similar towns within that area.
but...along the line of your request. Just tossing some towns out that I spent a lot of time looking before I bought land.
Some Lakes Region towns: Center Harbor, Moultonborough, or Holderness. Convenient to shopping in Plymouth, Tilton, and Gilford. Moultonborough is a stretch and goes thorough a couple of bad traffic intersections(3/25 & 25/Moultonborough Neck) to Gilford unless you went north of Wini. Also look at Gilford.
A bit north and connected to 93 you have Campton and Thornton-convenient to shopping in Plymouth, semi convenient to Littleton and Tilton.
Further north look at the towns convenient to Littleton such as Lancaster. Lancaster has a few things in it as well.
Keep access to health care, specialized health care, and other services in mind. Some areas don't have much.
Not sure if that made sense, but there is no replacement for actual boots on the ground. You sound like you may be close, so hop in the car and drive. I took a laminated NH map and some alcohol pens and marked areas that I would have no problem living in and areas that I would not want to live in. I did that two summers in a row about five days each flying up here, renting a car, and staying in a different area of the state each night.
Around the seacoast region, I'd look at Stratham. It's fairly low density, safe, and they have a fair number of condos, and you can get stuff in your price range. It doesn't have ye olde walkable downtown area, but other towns nearby have that, and there is plenty of retail nearby. Real estate taxes, for southern NH, are pretty good.
Hi OP, despite my earlier thoughts of not bombarding you with towns, I remembered one yesterday as I was driving through it.
Bristol is about 20 minutes from shopping in Tilton or Plymouth via either 3A or 93, but has all the basics in town with convenience/drug stores, a grocery store, lumber yard, etc. It has a neat little downtown area with several eating options, and is close by Newfound Lake which expands eating options and seasonal recreation. Being on the west side of 93, it isn't as crowded and busy like the Winni or Squam lake areas. It also has cell coverage where my above mentioned Holderness does not.
One of my good friends lived in Bristol and it's not a great place. There is NOTHING to do there. A Dunkin Donuts and a horrible restaurant. No shopping. There is a grocery store but it's not big enough to be called a supermarket and it's expensive. They roll up the sidewalks when the tourists leave on Labor Day. He drove to Concord for everything, which is fine if you want to do that, but you need to know that before you move there.
Eh, it's got more stuff than two of the towns I posted up thread. Probably twice as much. Not sure why anyone would go all the way to Concord when you have to pass through Tilton to get there. Lakes Region towns closing up in winter is a normal thing. I grew up with that on the Cape, so it doesn't even draw a raised eyebrow from me.
In the lens of things to do, I could be happy there/around there. Of course I'm having a house built in a town with no police department, no post office, and only one small local store, so I might be the one that is "off" here.
Eh, it's got more stuff than two of the towns I posted up thread. Probably twice as much. Not sure why anyone would go all the way to Concord when you have to pass through Tilton to get there. Lakes Region towns closing up in winter is a normal thing. I grew up with that on the Cape, so it doesn't even draw a raised eyebrow from me.
In the lens of things to do, I could be happy there/around there. Of course I'm having a house built in a town with no police department, no post office, and only one small local store, so I might be the one that is "off" here.
HA! I would love to buy my own land & have a house built. My last two homes I’ve gutted & spent a fortune for the way I wanted it. Again, I don’t need anything big. However, I know what I want. Good luck with the new home!
Rather than suggesting towns for you to consider, I'll put my Realtor hat on and mention a few of the subjects that I typically discuss with folks who are considering making New Hampshire their home - both here on the forum and people who reach out and/or referrals from relocation companies.
Some say that they don't want city life - so folks from New Hampshire might suggest rural towns when in reality, they're not looking for *big city* life, but still want the convenience of having a few choices for shopping, medical, dining, fitness centers, etc. less than 30 minutes away. The good news is that there are plenty of towns that fit that criteria. Knowing just how much 'country living' you are looking for will be helpful
I also would like you to consider if you are comfortable with having private well water and septic (waste) system or if you are accustomed to and prefer to have Public Water & Public Sewer. If you are open to either, that will make your search easier, as the majority of homes in NH are private/private. A big caveat is that a comprehensive water analysis is HIGHLY recommended, as remediation for common contaminants (naturally occurring or not) can be costly and many are odorless, colorless & tasteless - so you don't know unless you test. I also recommend a septic inspection - because unlike some other states, the BUYER is responsible to determine the condition of the system.
One other thing to consider is if you are ok with transporting your trash (and recyclables) to the transfer station (aka the town dump) or if you prefer municipal pick-up. Believe it or not - people are split about 50/50 on that - while municipal p/u is convenient, it's also restrictive. Very much not a '1 fits all' area..
Overall, the southeast portion of the state is by far the most densely populated, while points north of Concord and west of Nashua are significantly more rural. Not sure what your timeframe is on a possible relocation, but highly recommend at least a one week trip so you can spend some time in different areas of the state to see what feels most comfortable to you.
You mentioned a budget and also that you are aware that we are in a low inventory, seller's market situation. This is still very true, but in the last 2 weeks we are starting to see just a hint of softening. This could signal the start of a more balanced market or could just be that Buyers are fatigued with the intense competition AND we are just coming off of the biggest vacation week celebrated in the northeast. We will just have to wait and see what happens for the remainder of July...
I look forward to hearing more about what is important to you in your next "hometown"... (Sorry, didn't realize that I've practically written a novel here LOL)
Quote:
Originally Posted by drums25
Hi,
My wife & I are looking to move to NH. We’ve visited the “Lake Region” many times. However, we are looking to explore other areas of NH.
We are not looking for the city life. Although, nothing too rural. A country like setting, with a 10-15 drive +/- to local stores.
Schools are not an issue. Work is not an issue either, as we will be retiring soon. Obviously a safe town.
A condo would be ideal or a small ranch. Budget between 400k-500k I know inventory is low & it’s a sellers market.
Thanks! Open to all suggestions!
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