Thinking Londonderry or Windham. Which is better? (Manchester, Nashua: for sale, real estate)

[TakeAChance411]

Well my job came through in Manchester instead of Nashua like I thought. I would have rather lived close to the beach but better to live close to the job since thats where I'll be going every day. The family member that I'm staying with in NH told me that Londonderry and Wyndham are two of the best places to live for good resale because of schools and recreation. I don't have kids now but possibly in a few years. Can anyone tell me real infomation on these 2 towns and others nearby if you know of some? No realtors trying to sell your listings please. TIA.

[GregW]

I live in Londonderry and consider it a fine town. Check with a realtor (ValC) and see if Rolling Meadows Condominium has any units for sale. We are 15 minutes south of Manchester airport.

[GotBackHome]

No realtors trying to sell your listings please. TIA.

I think both are very good towns, a touch on the expensive side though.

Don't worry about the realtors: they aren't allowed by C-D regs to push their listings, and Val (who lives in Londonderry) is very classy and would never do that anyway. She's very helpful with any information you need that she can find regardless of whether you choose her for your realtor (though you couldn't go wrong if you did!). Although Val does have the realtor logo on her ID, has always been great with anyone on C-D who needs info on any town she's familiar with - especially Londonderry and around. She is, however, a little biased about the Londonderry Lancers Marching Band

[GregW]

She might as well be in the Band.

[GotBackHome]

lol! they are a good bank, though. (I'm just teasing you, Val!)

[Valerie C]

Awwww thanks Wanna and Greg <blushing> And I'll take the band comments as a compliment! No secret that I love our HS band! And to think I hadn't even heard of them when I moved here! Anyway Chance, I have no current listings in either town to push... but I think that both towns are very nice. Londonderry's per capita income is slightly lower than Windham, and there are more million-dollar properties in Windham, if that tells you anything. Both school districts are well-recommended, and Windham just built a beautiful (and expensive) new high school (Welcome to the Windham, New Hampshire High School). Windham has shared a HS with Salem for quite some time (and I wonder how the awesome Salem Blue Devil Marching Band will be affected by the split!)

I would recomend checking out NH Community Profiles (http://www.nh.gov/nhes/elmi/communpro.htm - broken link) to compare different towns, and whether you're looking to buy or rent, I would suggest searching online at Northern New England Real Estate Network - Official Website of the Northern New England MLS (this is our statewide MLS database) for the most current information.

Originally Posted by WannaComeHome

I think both are very good towns, a touch on the expensive side though. <snip> She is, however, a little biased about the Londonderry Lancers Marching Band

Ya think??

[msgolightly]

I live in Londonderry and grew up in Windham. Both towns have their advantages, but I prefer Londonderry because it feels a little less like a 'bedroom community' than Windham. I think both towns will benefit greatly from the expansion of 93 (Windham is exit 3 and Londonderry is exit 4).

Londonderry seems to have more stores around (there are 3 grocery stores, a Home Depot, 3 convenience stores, and several restaurants off 102 at 93) and they are easier to get to than Windham (though Windham did get a major grocery store in recent years). Londonderry has several apple orchards, great hiking trails, and is closer to the Manchester airport and mall, which I now prefer over the Salem mall and stores (closer to Windham) because they are completely overrun with people from Massachusetts. I also like that Londonderry has a bus that takes you directly into Boston with stops in the city and at the airport. I don't know much about either place for schools because I went to Pinkerton before Windham was moved over to Salem. My parents said that the taxes in Windham are ridiculous with the new school (I think it opens this fall). Apparently they wanted every child to have a laptop and they wanted AstroTurf for their fields... I don't know if those things passed, but it sounds pretty nutty. Of course, Windham does have some very cool things about it...there's Searles Castle, Canobie Lake Amusement Park, a gorgeous trail around Foster's pond, a skate park and track east of 93, and they keep expanding around Route 111 (new police station, library, etc. over the past 10 years). Both towns are extremely safe and have golf courses, driving ranges, and super cute town commons.

Londonderry just feels more established and homey to me, but if you prefer a little more seclusion, then Windham might be for you.