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I am from NH and have lived in many places there and worked for the Department of Education at one time. From a school perspective I would recommend Peterborough, Amherst, Bow, Concord, or Londonderry, not in any particular order. All towns are near shopping. Amherst is an old town and pretty upscale, near the MA border but has a small town feel. Peterborough is wonderful as a liberal small town in the Monadnock region but may be too small and remote. Bow and Londonderry really don't have a "town" feel but are great communities. Concord is the capital and has a reputation of being a great place to raise a family. Another place that you may consider is Plymouth. It might remind you of Asheville in that mountains are around and it is called the Gateway to the White Mountains. It is a college town and has a pretty good high school. It is very near I-93 so it is a quick shot to Concord and Manchester.
Housing can be expensive, depending on what you are used to. I currently live in CA where it is a joke. Actually, I am considering moving to Asheville because of the beauty, things to do, and less expensive housing than CA. My guess is that NH is more expensive than NC.
Schools in NH are paid for by the local property tax so the better the school district the more tax you will pay, generally. Property taxes are usually higher in the southern part of the state. There is no income or sales tax in NH as you probably know.
Although I can appreciate and respect the views stating NH has a fairly good school system, depends on the town I will have to strongly disagree. And for those who plan on moving here, education and how to fund it is a hot topic and always in debate. Where many states require higher education, advanced degrees, NH is behind the ball as teachers are just now starting that higher education achievement. Not to say they are not good teachers. But as someone stated earlier, you get what you pay for. My point is, if you would like to move to NH, know that your property tax will reflect the quality of your child's education and possibly, contributing to children in towns that have trouble funding through their own property tax. Personally if my child is getting a solid education, I dont mind paying higher property tax. Its just a hot issue here you should be aware of.
We have a 3yr old are in our later 20's and are actually looking to move to NC! If you dont mind me asking, is it only because of the population growth you are moving? What are the pros and cons of the area?
A 3bd 2bath house costs about 225k - and then theres the property tax
That is not always the case in NH. Towns in the Lakes region like Alton, Wakefield and Ossipee have the lowest property taxes in the state because of the huge amount of revenue that comes from their seasonal lakefront properties which don't feed into the school system. They are all in pretty good school systems, especially the Greater Wolfeboro School District which serves many towns surrounding Wolfeboro, including New Durham, Brookfield, Ossipee and Effingham. Houses are affordable there, and the school system is great. I just wish those towns were more commutable to the major cities.
My only complaint about NH is the long, cold winters! I think i could deal with North Carolina! I love it here in NH, but would love a longer growing season and less severe cold in winter.
Keene is a great place to raise your children. My kids are involved in sports and I know of a good dance school in the area. We are in Southwest NH and it is still small town New England. We have decent shopping but it is about 1 hour to the mall in 4 different directions. We think it is a great place to live.
My wife and I are also thinking about moving to Keene. Can you tell me why you love it so much? How is it different from the Concord area? I've heard that both Keene and Concord are great places to raise a family.
Thank you!
Asheville is beautiful! If you're looking for a small town feel, I think you're going to find that a lot of southern NH may be too congested for you. I always recommend Hollis to anyone looking for a small town feel AND an excellent school system in southern NH, as it is a small town with the top-rated school system in the state. It's about 15 minutes from Nashua which has several hospitals. However, it's not in the mountains. If you're willing to live farther from Boston, you could consider Moultonborough, which I believe has the best school system in the Lakes region and has lovely mountain scenery.
Hanover has top schools, a top hospital, all the benefits of Dartmouth, and mountains, but it is very expensive for NH.
The Peterborough region has beautiful mountain views and some of that funky/artsy vibe Asheville is famous for, but unfortunately we were unable to find a school system we were happy with when we researched it.
We have been life long NH residents are are looking for our next home in NH. Choosing a town with good schools is important to us as well. We found School digger (Schooldigger.com -- Search and compare elementary, middle, and high schools.) to be a helpful web site to rate the different school systems. You'll find a wide variety between higher tax towns, school statistics, both between the elementary and middle school levels. Others have mentioned the preferred schools like Bow, Peterborough, Oyster River. Some of the best values we have found are around Lake Winnipesaukee. Meredith, Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro represent great values but they may be more North then you are looking for. Happy to help with specific questions about the area and other factors you may be considering.
Avoid Maine... Please! Bangor is not all that great - you would change your mind after a visit I'm sure. Maine is more expensive than NH overall. Maine is beautiful to visit - I've been living here since 1997 - in all parts of the state. I'm also a nurse - you'll make more and keep more in NH and will be generally happier with the type of patient clientele there. Many Rn's are leaving to take travel jobs in NH because they cannot afford not to!!
Hubby and I are out of here as soon as feasible!!
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