Parks with playgrounds in Rochester? (Portsmouth, Conway: section 8, apartment, city hall)
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My family will be moving to Portsmouth area in July of this year - my husband is USCG and is being transferred to Portsmouth Harbor. We have a toddler and two dogs, and having a toddler friendly park AND a dog park or a beach without a leashing law is important to my sanity because we wont have our own yard anymore like we do in TX.
Why won't we have a yard, you ask? Well, I couldn't find ANY single family houses in Portsmouth in our price range that weren't occupied, so my rental search led me to an available town home in Rochester and another town home complex in Seabrook, NH. Both without a private yard for the tot and dogs to run around safely in.
I was able to locate a couple parks with playgrounds in Seabrook, as well as a dog park in Seabrook and one in Portsmouth. But I haven't found ANY of EITHER by google search in or around Rochester. Is this correct? Are there really NO parks with a playground in Rochester?
Which also leads me to the question of if Rochester is a family friendly town to live in. I mean, I don't really mind commuting to other towns for some things, and my daughter won't be old enough for kindergarten till we move again, but it would be nice to know that there are family friendly things to do where we choose to live.
Not sure about kid-type parks in Rochester. Rochester overall is hit and miss. Stay out of downtown and you'll be OK. Your mileage may vary, and many may chime in and disagree with me.
Dont forget to look across the bridge in Maine. As active duty military and spouse, you might escape the income tax that Maine residents have to pay. Here's a little more info about the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act that may allow you to do that:
Another thing, avoid going to the parks at night.. It becomes a haven for unruly teenagers. I also wouldn't take my kids to the park by the high school (the one with the pool) because a lot of older kids hang out there during the summer. The commons is nice during the day time, just keep an eye on your kids as it's close to downtown.
We also have a YMCA that offers summer camps and activities for children. It also has a pool. I'd also recommend checking out the elementary schools for playgrounds. The rochester middle school has an elementary school near it with a large field and a playground. Gonic Elementary (a suburb of Rochester) also has a field, swing set, jungle gym, tennis courts, and a pool.
Thanks everybody. I didn't think to look across the bridge in Maine! I looked around Portsmouth (Kittery, York, etc) but we have two dogs and all the rental houses with yards are occupied already and a lot of the townhomes won't take our dogs (or they want to charge us an extra $200 a month). I found a place in Seabrook, NH that is smaller than we would like and it's in a complex (I'd rather be in a neighborhood where there's not a parking lot - I hated all the car noise that came with apartment living and I'd rather not have to deal with that for the next 4 years) but it's a nice place and the dogs can come. How is Seabrook?
Rochester has a Recreation Dept, Ice Arena, YMCA, Roger Allen field (with football, cheer leading, softball, baseball and soccer), 3 outdoor pools, dog park, country club, golf range, The Common (with a baseball field, walking loop, outdoor concert series in the summer, & playground), Pickering Ponds walking trails, Isinglass Walking Trails in Gonic, Seacoast Fencing (the sport), Hanson Pines playground/basketball nets, skate park, track for walking at the high school (Rochester Running Club also meets there), Karate dojos, Gymnastics and Cheers gyms, 3 court gymnasium in the Community Center, Senior Center, AND SO MUCH MORE.
Rochester Recreation has summer camp, preschool sports programs, swimming lessons, basketball league for youth and adults, hockey league for youth and adults, ice skating lessons, floor hockey, roller hockey, play class for children and parents, free events, arts n crafts, karate, Zumba...and so much more.
Rochester has lots to do for everyone! Check it out.
[url=http://www.rochesterrec.com]Rochester Recreation, Arena & Youth Services (RAYS): Online Activity Registration, Recreation Software[/url]
I have lived in Rochester for 5 years now, and might be moving to Seabrook. Talk about coincidence. Both towns have similars reps, and in some ways they are deserved. Both are somewhat gritty, blue collar towns. Rochester has some crappy areas, around downtown, for example. Lots of section 8 housing, scumbags shambling about downtown. But aside from going to city hall a few times a year, who goes downtown? (I know, another topic completely. Too bad, the downtown area could be nice). But it has some really nice areas,too, and then a lot in between. The dog park is great. It's not owned by the city, but dues are only around twenty bucks a year. Liu's Garden, a crappy looking chinese takeout joint, has some of the best General Tso chicken I have ever had! (I have lived in 5 states and one other country). Go figure.
I don't know if there is a way to private message, but I might be renting out my house in East Rochester. Small ranch, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, garage, big fenced in yard. Dogs would be welcome. Like I said, I might be moving to Rochester-on-the-border---Seabrook--- because of work. I would love to get a solid military family in my house.
My brother has lived in Rochester for dozens of years, and he'll be the first to admit that it has a well-deserved reputation for LOTS of section 8/absentee landlords, some truly crappy trailer parks (and some really nice ones too, to be fair), and a downtown that has SO much potential that it's just sad. The dog park is great, well maintained (didn't realize that it wasn't city-owned). Many people don't realize that Rochester schools actually have a decent music program for the students, and the Spaulding High School Red Raider Marching Band is just FANTASTIC. They are very well received at various band exhibition shows in the area,and what a great outlet for the kids--keeps them busy on Friday nights (football games), band camp in the summer, holiday parades, etc. Another good thing about Rochester (whether you live there or not) is the Stonewall Kitchen Outlet
Rochester is quite a commute to Portsmouth. About an hour. Heavy traffic in dover in the morning. In the winter it could take 2 hours.
Have you looked in Maine. You may find something in Kittery, Eliot, York that would be 10 minute commute to Portsmouth.
it's 25-30 minutes tops to Portsmouth.
In an hour, you can get from Portsmouth to North Conway.
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because we wont have our own yard anymore like we do in TX.
