Another comparison question: Brentwood vs. Exeter/Stratham

[Katlakat]

I lived in Brentwood when I first moved to NH back in the 80's. I took a trip out there just a few months ago, and it is even more beautiful than it was back then.

The neighborhoods are safe, I loved the elementary school there, Swazey, and I still see kids riding bikes through the hills and neighborhoods just like I did. It was a fantastic place to live, and I'd move back in a heartbeat!

The houses were and still are quite expensive, imo. The problem my parents had while owning a home there, was the property taxes. We had a barn on our property, that was newly refurbished. It had its own drive way and second floor. My sister and her husband moved in and lived there while they added electricity, dry wall, insulation, and did most of the work, turning it into an apartment with a kitchen. According to my dad, the city slapped taxes on him for having more than one dwelling on his property, and that made him, well, quite pissed off.

I don't think my dad likes to play by the rules sometimes, so he sold the house to a vetrenarian, who turned it into the clinic for large animals on Route 111A. I am not sure if its still there, the family who owns that house now was outside staring at us as we slowly drove by like crazy stalkers, I didn't want to stop and say, "I used to live here as a kid", that creeps people out sometimes.

But anyways, don't overlook Brentwood if you want to be out that way. Take a drive through Route 111A and the back roads all through the area near the elementary school, this is where I found inspiration and magic in NH, and it has been a huge part of my life.

It's gorgeous out there!