We chose Hampstead (Manchester, Derry, Salem: to rent, insurance, how much)

[moneil]

Found out my husband would be transferred to Boston last October. I spent months online trying to figure out where to live, knowing nothing about the area at all. We narrowed it down to commutable towns in S. Nh because of affordability, having some space and just reading around these forums in general. But even having narrowed it down, we still had so many towns to consider.
Enter, Valerie C in these forums. I contacted her by phone and she immediately put me at ease, taking time to understand our family and what we wanted.
I flew in from Houston in December and met her one morning at a bus depot in Salem. I had 5 days to find a home and I was incredibly grateful and relieved to find that she was just as determined as I. Not to SELL us a home, but SHOW us the areas, the possibilities, see where we fit, EXPLAIN the differences in the towns. She is SO knowledgeable about each town, what they offer, what they may one day offer, what they don't, even WHY they do and don't.
She said it would be a "marathon", which I laughed off, but let me tell you...this woman can cover some ground. Each day she had a stack of houses and she worked sun up to sun down those 5 days.
At the end of the 5 days, I was almost in tears...having looked at Hollis, Salem, Windham, Derry, Atkinson, PLaistow, Londonderry, Hampstead- they all mixed together. I figured my trip would result in nothing and we'd have to rent...which didn't exist. I was so caught up in the stress of moving and the pressure to find the right home for our family, I had little memory left.
This is when she suggested we get some coffee and dinner and she whipped out her stack of houses and said she would put them in piles based on my reaction and comments to each house. When I saw the pictures and her placements I was speechless. She nailed it. And she did not take notes while we looked! It all came back to me and with only a few changes I took my top stack and slept in peace.
We are middle class, we were not spending millions on a house. She did not bust her butt for money. In fact, she consistently reminded me of what my budget was and to consider upkeep and updates, heating, taxes, etc. whenever I found a home that was too close to our upper limit.
So, this was not meant to be just a plug for Valerie C, but had it not been for her expertise, we would not be in this beautiful home, in a town that fits us so perfectly.

So, we chose Hampstead. My husband had to drive his car to Boston, so the commute concerned us. But the verdict is in- it takes him 45 minutes on many mornings (leaving at 5:30a.m. of course) and no longer than 1 hour 15 minutes even during rush hour. If there is a wreck, which has happened twice, it may be 2-3 hours. The trade off, is space, peace and quiet, great people, a wonderful sense of community, and so much more for our money.
Our boys are 2 and 4 and I am constantly discovering new things for them to do here, meeting other moms my age, that are so down to earth...all of them...what a pleasant surprise. You could never know a thing like that, no matter how much research you did, until you plant yourself in a house and neighborhood. That was important to me..the people. The warmer it gets, the more people you meet, the more I know this truly is a great place.
The library here is so child-friendly. They have Thomas train, legos, musical instruments, blocks, LOTS of puzzles. Any mom of small kids in winter knows how valuable that is. It is a child-centered children's section at the libray...hm...what a concept. A play group meets every Friday at the Gym in town, there is a gynmastics place, a great park built by the Hampstead Mothers Club. I know there is lots more, I hear about it all the time, but our acreage gives us plenty to do at home, which is fantastic for our boys.
Hampstead is less well known that some of the other towns, I am not sure why. I saw them for myself and while some do have cute little main streets, how often do you really go there? That was my thinking I guess. I lived in a town with a cute downtown, and in 3 years I went there 4 times. It depends on your family life I am sure. The schools here are excellent. It takes me 10 minutes to get to Walmart, or 11 to a different Walmart, although I don't have to look at them, they're not in my backyard. In Hampsetad you feel like you must be miles away from places like that, but you are minutes.
Hampstead has a wonderful community feeling to it. For example, seems like no matter which building you enter around here, whether it be, grocery or library, hardware, there is a board full of those notes about things going on, what people have or need. I've always liked that. It makes a place feel...lived in and real.

Hampstead is not eye candy in the same way some of the other towns in this area are with the cute main streets, but it really is a treasure tucked away that you may want to consider.

I could write lots more, but I'd probably ramble.
I've only lived here 2 months, but I'd be more than happy to help any way I could.

Thank you so much to all on this forum who respond to questions. It truly does make a difference in a life. Thanks to this forum and the people who use it, especially Valerie Coultier (Valerie C), we found the home we've always dreamed of, in a great little town close to everything.
Maggie O'Neil

[GotBackHome]

Val is a gem, isn't she?! Glad to hear you had such a great result. Yep, it can be very daunting looking at a ton of places in an area you don't know. It does all blur together. Sounds like you & your husband are settling in.

[gf2020]

Congrats! Hampstead is a nice town, indeed. I have several friends who are involved in Boy Scouts in the town and I also know local insurance agent Dexter Hyland.

[JukieF]

We had the very same experience with Val. In our case, we needed to find a house, close and be moved in within a month (ideally), since my husband's company was paying for housing for us for only 30 days. We came pretty close, too. We only had to pay for our own housing for nine days. :-)

We had some pretty restrictive requests, but we found a house we love. My husband was concerned about having to commute very far to work, and he didn't want to live in a town that didn't have amenities. We ended up right in Manchester--halfway between the mall and Elliot Hospital and just a six-minute commute for the hubby. Val was great to work with, and we really relied on her expertise to guide us.

Congratulations on your purchase. We're very happy here, too.

[pjguihan]

Hi Maggie,
I'm glad you found a home in a town you love! I am in the same exact situation. Your children are young so they are not in school yet. Did you ask many questions about the school system? That's the one place I'm stuck on.
Thanks,
Paula

[Valerie C]

Wow... I am just blown away. Speechless even. What can I say except thank you, so very much for your kind words. I saw the Hampstead reference and clicked on the thread, never expecting to read this. I don't even know what to say, except that I'm so so happy that things have worked out so well. Now I have to print this out for reading on the days when I am doubting myself (we all have those, right?) Thank you again, so much...

[moneil]

Hi Paula,
I did not ask too much about schools. Valerie said they were very good and i took her word for it. Since then, everyone I run into raves about them, especially Pinkerton.
Having been a teacher myself, i have an opinion on schools which may or may not change when my kids get there. I believe that as long as the schools are good schools, it's up to us and our kids to make something out of them. By communicating to the teacher what needs your child may have and by communicating to your child what it is they should be getting out of class.
I certainly may be proven wrong. I have worked in "Excellent" schools and they still have poor teachers. I have worked in BAD schoolls with great teachers...HOWEVER...I would avoid a school people in the community say is not so good because they usually are not progressive and into new ideas and ways of doing things- and I believe that is what makes a school or a TEACHER great.
Now I'm rambling, but here's my 2 cents. I know so many people who went to the very best schools and are miserable adults. I know people who went to bad schools and are very successful in many ways. And vice versa. Seems like it is the parenting/guidance at home that made the difference.
All that said, if my children were going to school in the fall, I would make sure the school had a good rating and then allow other things, beside school rating, to dictate where we'd live.
I don't speak from experience as a prent with children in school though. I just believe that whatever kind of schools Hampstead has here, a lot of their education is still up to me, if I want it to be a great one.