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My husband and I are migrating to the USA next year from Australia as my husband is expanding his business (it doesn't matter to him where we live).
I will need to work and will probably be looking for a job in IT (although I'm looking for a sea change there also).
We've pretty much settled on NH, but not sure where. I see some gorgeous new condos in Nashua, but they seem a bit too good to be true.
Where would be a good place to settle so that I could get work and does anyone have anything to say about the new condo residences I see advertised in Nashua? I would hate to buy in what we call here a "slum of the future".
I would be happy to commute up to an hour and we want to try a more rural type of living in a nice new home.
Not sure where you're commuting to. Boston?
I'd be leery of Nashua. As you say, in 20 years the neighborhood could have declined and you might not be happy. Nashua would not be on my short list of towns, nor would Manchester.
Around 2003 I looked at some detached condos in Rindge, Jaffrey, Greenville, or somewhere in that area. They were the best space buy we found by a long shot, about 2000 sq. ft. for about $139,000. Most were 2BD 2 BA as I recall. They had about 1000 sq. ft. of living space and about 1000 sq. ft. of wide open space in the basement.
The down side of condos is you're not in control, no garage, limited mods to the back yard, etc. The upside is you do no maintenance.
We are wary of condos as we were in a neighborhood run by an association, whose rules can be oppressive. Otherwise, this was a no-brainer as far as bang for the buck. I think they were too far from route 13, which we needed to be able to link onto quickly.
Good luck, and welcome to the USA.
From the seacoast area of NH you can get into Boston two ways without driving. There is the C & J Trailways bus (very nice) that departs out of Portsmouth many times a day and the Amtrak train out of Exeter. Both would take you about an hour into Boston but at least you are not sitting in your car, in traffic, burning gasoline. Anywhere on the seacoast of NH is a very nice place to live. There are multiple places to see and things to do.
Acton, MA has commuter trains to Boston as well. Condos may be slightly expensive here.
Lowell, MA is also an option if public transport is your priority.
If you are coming from Australia, you'll find several differences. First, the houses here are much better built than in Australia. They are also on average larger and with more amenities. And if you're coming from any of the capital cities, you'll likely find that you can buy a much nicer house here for the same money you sold your house for there. As for work, if you're not so particular your best bet would be to find a nice town to live in first, and then look for nearby work, rather than buying around an expected commute to Boston, Manchester, or another larger city. A town near a state University might be ideal, as universities usually have IT positions.
I'm surprised New Hampshire is your first choice, given the drastic difference in climate, as well as the longer distance in terms of being close to family back home. You might consider Washington state or Oregon as a better solution, given that you have the freedom to move anywhere.
Hi. I don't have any family in Australia. My father, uncle, step mom, etc all migrated to NH about 20 years ago. I don't much go for cold weather, but life is an adventure and living in snow (I've seen it about 5 times in my life) and a cold weather climate will all be part of the adventure. It's winter here and 60.8F today and I'm FREEZING!!! I'm in for a shock I know.
You're right - the houses are much better, bigger and marvellous in the USA. Where I live you would get a 1 room (not bedroom - 1 ROOM) for $450000. We rent at the moment and pay much, much more than a mortgage of the same amount in the USA, but owning our own home here is too far out of reach.
I will look up the other places people suggested - thanks.
We're currently in Neutral Bay, Sydney - right on the edge of the bridge. I can walk across the bridge to work in the city in 20 minutes. I am really looking forward to a change of pace. A bird here, a tree there - it's very exciting. Our first snow is really going to be amazing.
I'm trying not to get nervous about work or housing. It's very difficult to make a decision about where to live based on the internet. At the moment we're going with Nashua or Hollis, but like here I'm guessing there are 'good' parts of both areas and 'bad' parts that we'll want to avoid. I may be wrong - I hope so when I pick our house to buy.
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