Chemung will be about 1.5 to 1.75 hours from Waltham on a good day. During normal commuting hours you're probably looking at 2.5 or so.

Excellent dog walking and mountain biking trails around the Chemung area though.

Cate.....definately look at Windsong Place off the Meredith Center road. It is a wonderful neighborhood with great neighbors and lots of nice dogs....goldens and such. I don't know if there is anything available there but if there is, you can't find a nicer spot. Almost secluded on a cul-de-sac but 10 minutes to Meredith, Laconia and rt 93.
We don't live there but walk there a lot and people are really nice....several invited us in to see their home or meet their dogs.
Google it up........I believe it is well within your price range.

Can anyone on the forum confirm whether Sandwich has high-speed internet access? I seem to recall that the only available option for many years was dial-up, but perhaps that problem has been solved. Anyone know?

Yeah. I'm planning on a least a 2-hour ride to Waltham, MA and 2 hours back. Will make for one l-o-n-g day (if I don't stay over at the company hotel suite). It's worth it since I'll be coming home to one of the most beautiful places in the northeast.

Oh no...they're not Jerseyites....they're BORG!!!! :eek:

Sorry...Trekker here...welcome to the forum and you will LOVE the Lakes Region.

We are using the NNREN listings , which pretty much lists everything for sale in the area. (except for sale by owner, which we probably won't get involved with). No listings for Windsong Place at this time. BUT I think more houses will come on the market this spring. Winter is a snoozy kind of time for real estate.

Resistance is Futile...
 

WELCOME to the Lakes Region. One suggestion, you may want to look at a larger pontoon.....22' to 24'. Makes the voyage smoother, just my opinion! Also, remember you will need a dock for your boat if you don't want to trailer it.
And, Meredith is a beautiful town. When you head up to house hunt, try out local spots(food/drink) to get e feel.....the bar at Lago, Lakehouse, Karen and Barry's Bristo, Camp, George's Diner, Dirty Gringo, Patrick's Pub, Canoe, The Mug.....

Sandwich, this year, got DSL downtown. There are no cable providers in town, because the town requires a cable applicant to cover the entire town, not economically feasable. The rest of the town is covered mainly by two wireless providers (WINK) :emb:

Okay-Sandwich is out then. My job depends on dependable high speed internet.
:(
I guess we'll just go to the fair then.

We are certainly going to have fine time dining out when we come up. I've been checking things out at the restaurant forum, but thanks for this great list.

As far as our boats go, this is the story. We have a 25ft sailboat that we've been using for the past five years in NJ. Between slip fees, storage and maintenance we've spent close to 40k. (shocker). When we move to the lakes region we're going to have a Sunfish (trailered) and a small pontoon boat that will also be trailered. No more slip fees or storage fees. (or valet) We plan on going to the smaller lakes in the region. I have great respect for Winnipesaukee and even Squam and Newfound. Those are big lakes with potentially big waves. Once we get up there we'll find out more about where we can go and the best pontoon size. (we won't have a lot of $$ for the pontoon so we're going used).

I want to do the same thing - maybe some day.

Welcome CateP, you're in for a treat. My wife and I moved here 1 and 1/2 years ago. We absolutely love it!! Look at Southdown Shores in Laconia. It's a gated community with many awesome deals right now. You'll also be very close to the Lakes Region's premier Tapas Restaurant.

Hi Baygo,
Thanks for the welcome and the recommendation. I'm thinking I should start a real estate thread. :)
We're not really interested in developments and gate communities. We live on the Jersey shore in a very dense area, beautiful, historical, but no space. We're hoping to find a house with acreage. (at least one acre or more with privacy) We're also looking for house that have some "character". It seems like everything that was built in 2000 and beyond (in our price range) has absolutely no character. Square, boring houses...oh but they have stainless steel appliance and granite counter tops--zzzzzzzzzz.

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the lakes region of NH. As many have already stated, don't worry about the acceptance of you and your partner. It is unfortunate that you have to think about something like that, but I do understand the concern. As a whole the lakes region in my opinion is fairly open and not overly conservative with such things. My best recommendation at this point is continue to join us here on the forum, get to know some of us, and once you know where you are going to settle down in the area, You will find one or more of us in the area. The hard part remember is making the first friend, after that they start to come easier. Once I finally started getting out and meeting people form the forum, the lakes region started becoming a busy place for me... I have many boating destinations, and friends to see all over the big lake.

Hi,catep
Welcome to the form, the newest lakes region icon created by our wonderful webmaster Don.

Ok so the cat is out of the bag,You know something about Sandwich

So up until very recently I would have read your op and said to my self to bad that person dose not know about our wonderful little town. And would have moved on not wanting to let the secret out. Well not any more.

Sandwich is in need of some new residents as it is a town in transition.
We have lost several of our older residents in the past couple of years that had a lot to do with making this a great place to live.

Just to clear this up their are several different ways to get high speed Internet in Sandwich depending on where in town you are located.
My sister lives in sandwich and she works on the Internet daily moving lots of data.

The fact that some of our older residents are transitioning out of town for the typical reasons, This has created a large glut of fantastic Real Estate opportunities of some beautiful restored older homes.Their are also newer homes available I believe their are more homes on the market right now than in the past several decades.

As you probably know Sandwich is located on the northeastern Quadrant of Squam Lake it has it's own (resident only) boat lunch with parking its a newer ramp and is very easy to use.

Along with the Squam beech their are also many other swimming holes on ponds and rivers that are excellent.

Sandwich is a easy drive to either the Squam lakes science center or the loon center in Moultonboro.

I can think of just off hand at least a bakers dozen of couples living in same sex unions many of them being Vidal parts of the community.

Sandwich is loaded with craftsmen and woman and trades people that are in to green tech and building, In fact their are more renewable energy projects in Sandwich than the rest of the lakes region combined.

Their are many New Hampton alumni although I can't think of any '76ers off hand.

Exit 23 is 30 mins. The road to North Sandwich was pretty rough up in til the rebuild in 2009 we call it the North Sandwich connector now.

You should really check out Sandwich it is a great town that needs some new life because the people that made it great cant live forever.

I could go on but I will leave it at that for now.

FREE WARD BIRD

I am a wee late....
 

....but in the Ridgewood Ave neighborhood here in Gilford we have quite a few homes for sale for under $200K and some of them are in good shape and located right off the bypass but yet far enough away to remain cozy. Our police, fire and EMS services are top notch and the town crews do a great job with the roads during inclement weather. Good luck in the property search and welcome to the area!

Another welcome to CateP. Another suggestion is to check out Ashland. It is the geographical center of NH. It is right at exit 24 off rt 93. Plenty of property for sale at decent prices. You would be within walking distance of Little Squam lake. There is a public ( free ) ramp on Squam at the Science Center. Also,there are some of the more popular restaurants ( Walters Basin,The Comman Man in Ashland & near by Plymouth and the Itallian Farmhouse ).
If you take rt 3 it is only 12 miles to Meridith ( Mills Falls ). Go south on 93 and it is 20 miles to exit 20 and anything you would want to buy or eat. It's another 20 miles to ConCord. To travel north to visit Lincoln and the senic Kanc highway it is only 25 miles. Well,thats all I have to offer. Looking forward to being neighbors.......:)

Old bumper sticker
 

Back in the days when people started moving to NH, the natives will proudly wear a sticker on thier car. 'Welcome to NH, Now go home!'.

Still hold true among the natives as the 'yuppies' are retiring and bringing thier 'way of living' to NH and trying to tell us what to do.

NH natives and 'Jerseyites' can co-exist if they can leave their values at the NH border and live like the natives.

The reality show 'Jersey Shores' and others are not what we like to become to be.

Welcome to NH. Be careful what you wish for. :D

LOL. I moved up from Nashua. Which is basically like being from MA. People work in MA and live in Nashua. Then I moved up here. I thought, Boy it is weird up here. Too relaxed. Six years later, I may not be a Native from here, but I sure am now one of the relaxed ones! MY friends tell me I turned a 180 degrees from my old personality, of being a stressed out depressed Business Manger. So it doesn't matter where you are from. After enough time goes by you will be just like us, and you'll be saying, "OH great here come the Summer folk!" Or as in another thread from here....the "Flatlanders"! :laugh: :D

I Hear You
 

Broadhopper- I totally understand this point of view. Please see my post #37 where I address this very issue. BTW-I'm not a jersey girl I'm a New Englander. Grew up in northwestern CT, went to the New Hampton School, lived in Boston and Cape Elizabeth, Maine. My NJ stint has been about 12 years. I want to come home.

what Jeff said
 

A few years ago I started out looking for a piece of land in Meredith or Center Harbor and ended up buying in Sandwich. It is one sweet town. Everywhere you drive it's eye candy. I have met some absolutely lovely people there and for a town of such little population there are an amazing amount of things to do. I also think anyone with an interest in theather and the arts ( I'm an artist) would feel comfortable there. Check it out. But all the towns around there are nice. I am so happy for you. It will be so much fun just looking at properties. If / when I can make it happen I may make the move from Ct. to N.H. too. Congratulations and have fun !!!

Seems everywhere I've lived there are summer tourists. We get hammered here on the Jersey shore. It's quite unpleasant. (Reason #134 for why we are moving). When my family had a house in Melvin Village I liked the winter time best. Very mellow. Easy to get around the lake.

I am so jealous!
 

Congratulations on the move!

Still stuck in NJ but hope some day to move north...All I want is a small house and a big garage.

If I remember correctly, it is Moultonborough that is home to the Ward Byrd incident. Your input in that thread could be helpful in selecting or deselecting Moultonborough as a destination choice. Ward Byrd has wide support in Moultonborough.

Zillow says that it last sold JUly 8, 2009 so maybe there is a listing from then that would give you more details. What was the price then? Did they paint it up to sell it or??? Since it has been on the market for 281 or something days, I would want to know if it is overpriced or if it is just a poor economy or if there are structural problems etc. Meredith tends to have higher taxes than some other towns like Moultonborough which has a lot of lake front properties that helps the tax raise income. Good luck in whatever you find. Sounds like you have some good ideas.

The people on this Forum always seem warm and welcoming and I love the lakes region. One in a while someone can be harsh occasionally, but even one or two who might be harsh will seem to come along and be warm and friendly given some time. I assume that, like the rest of the world, the lakes region has some wonderful people and some not so wonderful people as well as everything in between. I have no idea on the gay issue but maybe ask if there is a group in the area or someone who is gay and knows how the atmosphere is and what their experience has been. You sound like you are well organized and know what you are doing. I wish you luck.

The property was subdivided in 2009 so that is why it shows as a sale. The listing has been on Zillow for 238 days. With a property this old I would be sure to have a thorough house inspection done.

I think we are overwhelming CateP with our emails, at least that's my impression. I think she knows we welcome them to the LR. I also see that she responds to nearly every post, which has got to be some work. JMHO. Whoa, just crossed the 2' foot mark for snow here. Might be another day at home tomorrow. awww, I'm so dissapointed. :rolleye2:

I am very happy with all these responses. It's amazing and very informative.
If people are taking the time to write I am happy to reply.
Enjoy the snow Pineedles. We had 31 inches here back in December and just got another 6 inches today. More snow than I've seen in years.

Piscataway? We're your neighbors over here in Clark!

CateP,

As I read through this thread again, I was suddenly hit with a question. You mentioned wanting to have good access to the highway, for commuting reasons. When you have to commute, where exactly will you be having to commute too... And how often do you expect to have to make that commute

My family's summer place is in Moultonborough, and I commute to Norwood on Monday Mornings, normally once a month or so from May - August. Usually because Sunday is just so beautiful that I can't tare myself from the lake. While it takes some time it isn't awful, as long as I am not doing it daily... once a week isn't really bad... Yes I have left the lake driven to work, and returned to the lake. It does make for a good 12 to 13 hour day....but the perks!!!

My point is this, if the true commuting need is going to be rare, living in area's like Moultoborough aren't all that bad. Additionally depending on where you need to commute to, there might be some towns like Freedom, that are North of Winnipesaukee, but maintain a good commuting path down to Northern Mass.

Hey ,Cate......think you have your answer as to being welcome in the lakes region of NH :-)

Hey CE, how about Mountainside/Westfield, NJ? Nice towns, but can't hold a candle to Moultonborough or Center Harbor.

Cate, Samiam and his wife are the ultimate of all restaurant owners in the area. I would vote for you to locate your new home on the Center Harbor Moultonborough line.

She mentions Waltham in the very first paragraph.

Heck, Norwood is even further than that!

We are trying to find something in Gilford or Meredith first. Then we are looking at surrounding towns. Our final destination is really going to come down to a variety of factors. (house, taxes, services nearby, commute time etc.) I am not letting my occasional commute dominate all other factors, but if we can find something that meets all our needs that would be great.

Any thoughts on Northfield and Belmont?

Don't know much about Northfield... The only downside I have ever heard regarding Belmont is taxes....

I'd sell the unfish and keep the catalina. Lot of great sailing days for a 25'...not so much sunfish..boring!

I would love to have my Catalina 25 up at the lake, but the cost of transporting it up there from the Jersey shore and paying for summer and winter storage is prohibitive. My plan is to find some sailors with big boats who would like a knowledgeable crew member every now and then. (I know there were times when I wish I had some experienced crew on board.)

Don't discount Alton
 

Easy connection to 93 by going down rte28, cut across through Chichester to 9-202-4 to I393. Travel time about 40 minutes from Alton circle.

If you did bring your Catalina up to the lake, Faye's in Gilford or Roberts Cove Marina could probably help out with mooring, if you didn't get lakefront with a mooring or dock.

And a belated welcome to the lakes region.

And Alton is very progressive...we got one set of traffic lights just a few years ago when Hannaford's came to town :D.

Hi Cate
 

Hi,

Alton is a good area to live. Still low taxes in comparison. Belmont is WAAY high (and no big lake access). I hope you will find the area welcoming. Of course it is like everywhere else. No matter what you will always find someone who will be critical but I think, for the most part, we are a liberal thinking group. Please feel free to contact me as I can put you in touch with some friends that could probably answer more indepth questions on this. I am a transplant as well. Maybe that is why we are such a good group - we New Hampshirites (New Hampshorians??) come from all over!