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Hi! My boyfriend and I are looking to move to New Hampshire in the next couple of years, and I was wondering if someone could give advice as to where we should look? We visited this past summer, as my boyfriend's family still lives in Franklin, where he grew up. We will probably only get the chance to visit about once a year, as the drive from Iowa is about 24 hours, so I'd like to plan accordingly. He really wants to move back to the state, but we aren't very picky on where, exactly, though I would prefer the small-town New England feel as opposed to, say, Manchester. I know I'm being kind of vague...Good schools (perhaps even private) are an important factor, and we would love to live somewhere near a lake, edging more towards the countryside, but still be close enough to a town with a hospital, grocery store, etc.
There are MANY MANY others, but I'm familiar with Gilford, NH and that fits the bill of your description. It's right on the lake (Winnipesaukee), decent schools, close to hospitals and grocery, and it's more of a country setting. It's not far at all from Franklin, but far enough where your BF's parents probably won't drop in unannounced.
Not sure what career paths the two of you are pursuing but my wife and I relocated to the area when we were 26/27 (last year) and rented in Merrimack for almost a year prior to buying in Hollis. It's a bit more expensive further south- but there are good hospitals, lots of conveniences, and its not too far from Boston as well as more diversity when it comes to career options. One challenge I've found with smaller towns is that career options are generally limited to a company or a few...whereas if you are closer to more options and your place of employment closes- you aren't up a creek...so to speak.
V/r,
Brian
Not sure what career paths the two of you are pursuing but my wife and I relocated to the area when we were 26/27 (last year) and rented in Merrimack for almost a year prior to buying in Hollis. It's a bit more expensive further south- but there are good hospitals, lots of conveniences, and its not too far from Boston as well as more diversity when it comes to career options. One challenge I've found with smaller towns is that career options are generally limited to a company or a few...whereas if you are closer to more options and your place of employment closes- you aren't up a creek...so to speak.
V/r,
Brian
My boyfriend is currently pursuing an Associate's in computer networking (after having decided he doesn't want to use his culinary degree), and I am working on a Bachelor's in English with a writing emphasis. At this point, my career path is wide open. I can't decide whether I want to teach, work in publishing, or maybe even write.
My boyfriend is currently pursuing an Associate's in computer networking (after having decided he doesn't want to use his culinary degree), and I am working on a Bachelor's in English with a writing emphasis. At this point, my career path is wide open. I can't decide whether I want to teach, work in publishing, or maybe even write.
I looked at Gilford and it looks beautiful!
If you stay north of Concord you should find what you want. Your BF grew up here, so it should be easy to find something. Gilford or Meredith are 2 great towns.
Gilford or Meredith, both nice towns..Meredith is very pretty...lakes, skiing, movies, Drive-in theatre, Meadowbrook out door concert venue, good sports programs in both towns, not too far from North Conway with all of the outlets and attractions...not too far from Plymouth State University...Meredith has great shops and restaurants, cute village setting with a nice library and a state of the art community center..golf course and a great gym.."the fitness edge"...these are both small towns with a little something going on.
I live in Bristol (just north of Franklin), and it sounds to me like you don't have to look very far from Franklin - the entire Lakes Region area would be great for you.
Since you're looking for good schools, though, that helps narrow things down. Here are some towns that fit your requirements:
Meredith / Center Harbor - these towns are in the heart of the Lakes Region, nestled between Lake Winnipesaukee and Squam Lake. Meredith has a classic New England town center combined with a very vibrant lake-front, with numerous shops, restaurants, inns, a movie theatre, etc. It's definitely a tourist spot in the summer time, but as soon as you get off the main roads through town (Route 3, Route 25, Route 104), things are much quieter. Center Harbor is smaller and quieter overall, but a bit farther from the nearest hospital in Laconia (about 15 minutes from downtown Meredith versus 25 minutes from downtown Center Harbor). The houses overall tend to be pricier in Center Harbor as well.
Wolfeboro / Tuftonboro - these towns are situated on the opposite side of Lake Winnipesaukee, a more isolated and rural area. However, Wolfeboro has a hospital, and the school district is reputedly excellent. It's a beautiful, peaceful area, but the downside is that you're somewhat far any major town or city, so it's a long drive if you want to go to the movies or some kind of chain store / restaurant, like Wal-Mart. Wolfeboro also tends to be a pretty expensive place since it's a haven for wealthy summer vacationers, and I'm not sure how wide of a grocery store selection there is (they're probably all on the pricey side). At any rate, it's hard to overlook such a nice area with great schools... as long as you can find an affordable property.
Belmont - definitely your typical small New England town. Located in a nice rural area, but very close to all the amenities of Tilton and Laconia (and also very close to Franklin). Unlike the other towns, it's not actually situated on a lake, but Winnisquam and Winnipesaukee are a short drive away. One advantage is that it's probably easier to find more affordable houses here, although the property tax rate is overall higher than the previously mentioned towns, I believe... At any rate, the school district is supposed to be quite good, but as with all of these towns, it's mostly hearsay and online ratings since I don't actually have kids in these schools.
New London / Sunapee - while technically not in the Lakes Region, these towns are both located near Lake Sunapee and are relatively close to Franklin. They have different school systems (Kearsarge and Sunapee), but both are fairly good from what I've heard. New London is more of a quintessential New England town (also a college town, home to Colby-Sawyer College), whereas Sunapee is more lake houses and so forth. New London has a hospital, but like Wolfeboro / Tuftonboro, this area is somewhat isolated in terms of finding shopping, movie theatres, chain stores, etc. Although being close to I-89 makes for an easy drive to Concord or Lebanon. Unfortunately I don't really know these towns as well as the others, though, so I'd wait for some locals to chime in.
Ashland / Holderness - I'm putting these towns last because I'm not terribly sure about the school system, mostly because the towns are served by Plymouth high school, which is relatively mediocre from what I know. On the other hand, the elementary schools seem to be pretty good (and Holderness also has a private high school). These towns definitely fit your requirements, though. Small, quiet New England towns with easy access to the Squam lakes and the amenities of Plymouth (including a hospital). Ashland has pretty affordable houses but very high property taxes; Holderness is the opposite. Both are beautiful.
Anyway, I hope that will help you get a start. Let me know if you have any questions.
Gilford or Meredith, both nice towns..Meredith is very pretty...lakes, skiing, movies, Drive-in theatre, Meadowbrook out door concert venue, good sports programs in both towns, not too far from North Conway with all of the outlets and attractions...not too far from Plymouth State University...Meredith has great shops and restaurants, cute village setting with a nice library and a state of the art community center..golf course and a great gym.."the fitness edge"...these are both small towns with a little something going on.
Meredith looks very nice! It would be great to be close to a university and community center as well.
Hi RdytoGo, Meredith / Center Harbor - these towns are in the heart of the Lakes Region, nestled between Lake Winnipesaukee and Squam Lake. Meredith has a classic New England town center combined with a very vibrant lake-front, with numerous shops, restaurants, inns, a movie theatre, etc. It's definitely a tourist spot in the summer time, but as soon as you get off the main roads through town (Route 3, Route 25, Route 104), things are much quieter. Center Harbor is smaller and quieter overall, but a bit farther from the nearest hospital in Laconia (about 15 minutes from downtown Meredith versus 25 minutes from downtown Center Harbor). The houses overall tend to be pricier in Center Harbor as well.
Your info is great! Meredith is really beginning to sound like our kind of place! How bad are the tourists, exactly?
Also - does anyone here have kids in the Inter-Lakes school district? I was wondering if it really is as nice as it sounds. From what I've read, it's ranked #38 in the state and is one of the best schools in the Lakes region. Is this spot-on? Thanks in advance .
Sorry to jump in, but I wanted to make sure you knew that once you get settled in Meredith IF that's where you end up moving to? You're going to learn all about the "short cuts" (very quick!) that every one uses! Don't worry about the traffic, it's one thing that for the most part, a lot of us get used to due to our quick short cut routes that we manage to maneuver, and believe me, they come in handy, once you discover the various back roads! You're really going to enjoy living in the town of Meredith for a fact. There's really one big huge event that every one that lives all over in the Lakes region is quite aware of & they prepare for it by either joining them or running for the hills, LOL!!!! It's called "Bike Week" and in 2009 it's being held
June 13th to the 21st. It gets PACKED with thousands of people, bikers & riders and I mean packed with people like you wouldn't believe. I had to go to a wake in Center Harbor 2 years ago up thru there and I didn't think we'd ever get there! I always heard about Bike Week with how crowded it gets? I NEVER saw it before and could NOT believe all the thousands of bikers, it's WILD, organized but extremely crowded like you wouldn't believe! So just be aware of that event and then once it's over? It really really dies down quite a bit according to my good friends & family members that live near the big Lake. Weekends in the summer months get pretty congested, but the tie ups at least move along. Summer rentals are from Saturday to Saturday so those days are when you're going to see traffic due to the change overs with the rentals of course.
Meredith is a beautiful area of the Lake too with SO many neat shops and restaurants within driving distance of the town center. When you go for a visit, you're going to love it there, I'm sure others will tell you all about the schools! Brewster Academy is in Wolfboro a private school with a great reputation, I know some one (related to me!) that went there and it paid off quite well because he's now going for his doctorate degree as I write this. I can't speak for the public schools around the Lake, I just can tell you that they definitely have a great reputation and always did, so that should tell you something! ...
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He really wants to move back to the state, but we aren't very picky on where, exactly, though I would prefer the small-town New England feel as opposed to, say, Manchester. I know I'm being kind of vague...Good schools (perhaps even private) are an important factor, and we would love to live somewhere near a lake, edging more towards the countryside, but still be close enough to a town with a hospital, grocery store, etc.
