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I lived in Derry for 22 years - I moved up north 5 years ago. Derry is a wonderful community and you will enjoy it. The elementary school system is one of the best in the state.
Home values are high so property taxes are high too, but if you are renting it's a moot issue for you.
We experienced some problems with the gangs at Pinkerton Academy. It was a shame really. The problems are linked to rivalries with Derry against Lawrence and Haverhill. The shootings last week were done by gang members from that area.
I answered this persons question the way I did because i suspected that she was viewing Derry as a bucolic, typical New England village, which it is not. Derry is by no means a terrible place to live. It's not Lawrence Mass. But gang activity from northern Mass is a constant reality these days as buck naked mentioned. I don't feel unsafe there, ever, but the high school situation is troubling. Lol, and then there are those Derry taxes The traffic is heavy for a NH town. I got the sense from the OP that she looked upon Derry as if it was a more rural town. She might want to look into Londonderry, the next town over, which I think is a better fit for her.
Last edited by Brave Stranger; 05-15-2009 at 01:08 PM..
Brave Stranger wrote: I answered this persons question the way I did because i suspected that she was viewing Derry as a bucolic, typical New England village, which it is not.
Definitely not a quiet, country town. Derry is, after all, tied for the 3rd largest city in the State! well... 'city' by NH standards
Brave Stranger, that is one reason that I enjoy this board so much. We all have our opinions of various towns, restaurants, schools, etc. and can share them equally, agree to disagree, and wait for the next visitor.
And Wanna, yeah, Derry might be "city-sized" by NH standards, but officially the town is governed/managed as a town. There are 'towns' with WAY more activity and business district than Derry (Amherst's 101a stretch for example, Epping along 125 is quite busy, Hooksett, etc. etc. etc.)
And look, our original poster never came back to read all of the new info that we've shared
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brave Stranger
I'm just one opinion out here. Which is why it's important to listen to as many peope as possible if you are thinking of making a move.
I'm moving from Central California, which has two seasons, winter and summer. I'm a single mother and work from home so i can live anywhere in the US. I have an 8 year old and we want out of the California rat race and he has bad allergies due to the pollution and all the farming near where we live.
Is Derry a good town to live in for a little family such as mine?
Basically, we want good schools, an affordable apartment to rent (I have been negotiating with The Fairways complex on Forest Ridge Road near the Derry Village Elementary school), 4 seasons, things to do on the weekends that don't require us to sit in 4-8 hrs of traffic, cleaner air, nicer people, no gangs or drug problems in the schools or at least minor compared to rampant as they are in Calif. and a beautiful place to live, like the New England countryside; unlike California that is over built and have billboards everywhere; and public building and freeway sound barriers have gang markings spray painted on them. Not to mention the state is mismanaged and broke and carrying a huge deficit and was threatening to send out IOUs instead of tax refund checks.
We want a relatively safe and a less stressful life, but not so isolated it takes us 30 minutes or more to go to the movies or grocery store. We like people and civilization, but we don't want to live in NYC.
Oh and we love to visit Boston; there's so much history to appreciate so we want to stay on the lower end of the state of NH. And, is there public transportation, a train near Derry that would take one into downtown Boston during non-commuter hours?
All thoughts, comments and suggestions would be appreciated.
Personally; I like Dover and Kittery. Rochester is pretty good too.
I think there is no reason to be nervous about living in Derry It seems to me that every single night on the local news though somebody is shooting up somebody at the local Rochester Wal-Mart so maybe beware of that town
I think it's difficult for those of us who grew up in NH, I know it is for me......to see the changes that have happened. Crime was so LOW in NH even well into the 1970s that it's like night & day now. There were less than 100 people in the NH state prison in 1980 !!! NH is still very safe......there is almost no stranger on stranger violent crime from Concord north. Still......the changes over the last 20 or 30 years have been difficult to witness.
Ha ha I work in Littleton NH we had armed robbery Monday Attempted break in at our pharmacy on Sunday...it is going to get you even in the safe wild north
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The traffic is heavy for a NH town. I got the sense from the OP that she looked upon Derry as if it was a more rural town. She might want to look into Londonderry, the next town over, which I think is a better fit for her.
Attempted break in at our pharmacy on Sunday...it is going to get you even in the safe wild north
