We're Moving to The Lakes Region!!
 

Hi Everybody,
My partner and I are moving to the lakes region. We currently live in NJ and are about to put our Jersey Shore house up for sale. We have spent the last two years planning for this move and have just received word from my company that I will be allowed to work at a home office and visit the Waltham office "as needed." I can't tell you how excited we are about this move.

I went to school at New Hampton (class of 1976) and my family owned a vacation home in Melvin Village for 15 years. While I have never lived in the lakes region full-time I feel pretty familiar with the area.

My partner and I are avid outdoors people and plan to take full advantage of the 4-seasons activity in the area. I sail (have a sunfish and am selling my 25ft Catalina) and we are planning on buying a used 20ft. pontoon boat w/ trailer so we can take the doggies out and fish and BBQ on any number of area lakes. We love fishing, hiking, x-country skiing, photography, video, theatre, sailing, pontooning and environmental education.

We have a ton of questions, but I guess my first is about my partner and I. We have been together for 6 years and have a civil union. We hope the year-round people in lakes region are friendly towards us since we are gay. We hope people don't care and we can make friends based on our common interests. Do you think we can feel safe and welcome in the region? (we're targeting Meredith, Guilford, Moultonborough, Sanbornton).

Thanks in advance and I look forward to becoming an active member of this forum.

Congrats on your new job situation and your decision to move to the Lakes Region!

I hope that you and your partner find the perfect home for you both in a great community and feel welcomed.

As someone who moved here from another state when I married my husband, I learned that it can take a while to make friends. (I'm from Maine but have lived all over the USA... mainly in the South.)

If you're outgoing, network well with other people with similar interests, gets involved with local happenings and groups, it will be easier to make friends. I don't mean to sound like Dear Abby here, but remember... there's never been a phrase coined yet about "Yankee Hospitality".... people may keep to themselves until they know YOU... if they're standoffish it may have nothing to do with your being gay; just their own personalities.

I hope that makes sense. :coolsm:

Again, welcome!

wolfeboro is a greatly diverse community and very welcoming:) best of luck to you both:D

Thanks for the welcome. It means a lot. We actually have a few friends in New Hampton alumni in the region, but plan to get involved in our community as much as possible. For me, I think volunteering at the Natural Science center in Holderness and being a backstage crew for the Winni Playhouse will garner me some good contacts.

Welcome to the Forum and to the area.

Are you kidding. This place is so laid back I feel like sleeping at the wheel while driving to work....LOL!

"I think volunteering at the Natural Science center in Holderness...."

I like you already!

Oh and welcome to the forum....both of you. :D

A lawyer friend of mine in Guilford told me Wolfeboro politics are corrupt. :eek:
Also not thrilled with the summer traffic jams through town.

I am so jealous.

I hope it's a wonderful move for your family :)

Welcome CateP and partner. I escaped NJ in 1982 but only made it as far as Conn. Considering the amount of snow NJ has been having over the past several years the Lakes Region will feel like home, but with less snow. Sounds like you will be contributing to the area. Nice going.

Sounds like the lakes region is lousy with Jersey-ites...Hope to be joining you all in 3 years..<Sigh>

If you are used to larger scale politics, you may be shocked the first time you see who will be on your board of selectmen may scare you, especially if you are forward thinking/progressive/educated.

Welcome to small town New England and there are definitely warts. There are not many people who will voluntarily reach out to you. Say hello and wave, maybe. Social club? Nah.

welcome!
 

Welcome to the forum and the the Lakes Region. Meredith is awesome-check us out!

Welcome!
 

Welcome to the Lakes Region! This is an especially wonderful place to be. I moved here 19 years ago from Philadelphia. I knew not a single soul.

I must agree with Argie'sWife, that it may take a little while for folks to warm-up. That being said, once they get to know you you'll discover there are no more warm-hearted folks on the face of the earth than there are here! :)

I also must agree with LawnPsycho, that there are some culture-shocks to be had!:D

I have never regretted transplanting myself here, and have come to think of NH as "Home", and of Philadelphia as a place where I go visit some of my family. The quality of life here is far superior to any other place I have ever lived, and the people are truly wonderful.

Welcome!!!!

Welcome CateP
 

I don't know about some of the previous posts, but I've been coming to the Lakes Region since I was two months old (almost 38 years now), and I think people are extremely warm and friendly.

I will gladly reach out/wave/hug you and your partner anytime!!!

I'm in Meredith and have two pups myself, as well as being an avid outdoors person.

I don't care if you're black, white, purple, straight, gay, bi, short, fat, lazy, blind, or deaf...as long as your a decent person, I'll gladly say hello and welcome you!!!

Life is way too short to be hindered about what's on the outside of a person. It's what's on the inside that matters.

Glad to have you in the area!!!

Feel free to PM me anytime!!

Welcome to the lakes region prior to your arrival. Hope you and your family find it both welcoming and worth the move as I think you will. Best of luck,I don't envy the commute to Waltham on the days you need to but the arrival back home more than makes up for it. Again welcome home.

I live in Wolfeboro and welcome you to the area. I agree with Winnipugs that Wolfeboro is the best choice. It's a great town. Don't prejudge all the folks in Wolfeboro by what one of your friends has said. You would love living in our little town.

JK....Right on Brother!

We will absolutely welcome you (and anyone else who wants to get involved) with open arms! We are always looking for volunteers and have put together a nice little crew of locals who never thought they'd be involved in theatre, have no interest in getting onstage themselves, but have found that they enjoy swinging a hammer and using a paint roller. More than that, they have made new friends and found a fun little community to be involved with. Please stop by and introduce yourself when you're next in town!
If anyone else is interested but feel like you don't have the tool experience, we offer some free tech theatre workshops to get people interested and give them some experience. We have a number of retirees who now help build every set while openly acknowledging that they have always hired others for
odd jobs and painting around their own homes! We just launched a new website www.winniplayhouse.org which has all the dates and details for workshops.

My wife and I lived in San Francisco and Berkeley before relocating to Meredith. I've been pleasantly surprised with how open minded and welcoming people are here. We've got a number of gay friends in the area and have never heard anything negative except one incident in Plymouth a number of years ago. Volunteering is a great way to get to know everyone. We found it difficult to meet locals during the summer as everyone always has a house full of guests but by the time the snow shows up everyone is looking for something to do! Also, I think Wolfeboro is a wonderful community but I'm not quite sure its as year round as some of the other towns we mentioned.

Welcome and best of luck!! We love it here and hope that you will too!

Welcome to NH! :)

BTW, it is now commonly referrred to as "The Peoples Republic of Wolfeboro" by the local folk.

IMO, your friend is absolutely correct in their assesement regarding the politics of the town.

Forum reaction?
 

So CateP, what do you think of our collection of merry posters? Many of us see each other at Forum fests or at each other's local business establishments. I hope you become one of our friends on winnipesaukee.com. If you want to be "undercover", that's fine too. Welcome.:)

me too!!
 

i'm moving to NH as well, with my parents.....:)

We Made the Right Decision
 

I think this is a fine band of merry posters and I love the idea that folks actually meet and greet. I have spent the last two hours checking out all the great info in the house section. We seem to be drawn to older houses in the real estate listings (much more interesting architecture) but are wary of all the potential problems. (We live in a 100+ year old house now). There is a house on 96 Pease Rd. Meredith that looks very lovely, but it was built in 1900. Worried about septic, old oil furnace etc. We're also wondering whether Pease Rd. is busy because we have two dogs. The property has almost 4 acres, but the actual house is pretty close to the road.

We plan on taking a trip up in March to look at some of the houses on our list. We'll be staying at the Inn at Mill Falls. For now, we just like to check the web cams and marvel at the many moods of the big lake.

P.S. Our house in NJ is filled with loon stuff and we've taken some incredible pictures of our loon friends on Jenness Pond in Northwood. (friendliest loons we've met). The Loon Center is another place I may volunteer, but I really want to hang with the kids at NSC in Holderness. I am a former classroom teacher,worked at Maine Audubon, and started my own environmental education summer camp in Maine that was a huge success for the years that I had the energy to be teaching kids year-round :rolleye2:

Hey Cate, I just sent you a Private Message. Or maybe I should say I think I sent you a Private Message! I've never attempted to do that before, so let me know whether you get it or not.

Our place was built in 1892 and is solid as a rock but you are wise to check out the septic system. Too many of the early cottages had the septic system too close to the lake. We moved ours back 200 feet in the 70s. Did you see that we held a forum fest at the Loon center a few years ago? Check out the pictures in the forum fest topic section.

Cate, welcome to you and your partner!

Best of luck with your sale in NJ and your purchase here. Give Moultonborough some consideration- we have a great blend of low taxes and good services.

Welcome but I have to do this
 

What's the situation there in Jersey?Will Snooky and Pauly be moving here also?:laugh:

Good observation SIKSUKR.....:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

My 19 year old granddaughter has to watch "Jersey Shores" everytime she stays with us.

She loves Snookie and Pauly.

Pease Road is sort of a cut thru street and that house is fairly close to the road. That said, however, I think that property is a heck of a deal for under $300K.

Even if you needed to put in a new septic, roof and boiler for say $30K you would have a very nice place at a competitive price.

I second the Moultonborough recommendation! I am soooo jealous of you Cate. I wish I was making the move as well. If you have or are planning of raising children then Moultonborough should get some consideration for its awesome schools. Not that there aren't great schools elsewhere but I hear such great things about Moultonborough. Plus as VB said the taxes are low. Good Luck and I wish you well.

Good Luck with you house hunting and move up to God's country Cate.

I sincerely hope your house hunting endeavors pay off sooner than ours has.

Moutonborough...The most boring town in America...:D
Seriously if you need to commute to MA your going to be way better off on the Meredith side of the lake. Close to rt104 which gets you to exit 23 on RT93 fairly quickly. Moultonborough is a 1/2 hour ride just to get to the highway....or anywhere else.:laugh: Oh and that turns into at least an hour in the Summer. Going down the hills into Meredith can take 40 minutes on some days alone.:eek:

Moultonberry is a little slow at times, but we are located right between two of the best "downtown" areas on the lake- Wolfeboro and Meredith!

go away!



Just kidding :) :D

CateP
 

I don't know if you're familiar with Private Messages and would even notice if you have them (top right under your screen name) but I sent you one.
:D

All mesages received.
 

WOW. This is an amazing forum. You people are funny, informative and really welcoming. I have received all PMs and am grateful to those of you who have reached out.

I am sharing all the posts with my partner Tracy and she is now even more thrilled about our relocation choice. (She is the jersey girl, I am not--New Englander all my life except for a brief stint in NJ-going back home).

And as far as those embarrassing characters on that TV show (Jersey Shore), we hope they stay here. We're bringing none of that up north. The reason we are moving to the lakes region is because of what it IS, not because we want to change things. Our attitude is that we are going to be polite guests for awhile. We will listen and learn and RESPECT the people and culture of the area. Over time we will assimilate (sounds a little sci-fi doesn't it?). Or should I say adapt and blend?

I am so glad I found this forum. It's a god-send to our relocation plans.

Thanks for the info on 96 Pease Rd. 300k is the top of our price range so we can't get into additional major renovations. Our attitude about finding our home is that it will be the right place and the right time. We are putting our faith and trust in the house-hunter higher power. :coolsm:

Indeed. My access to 93 is fairly important. That is why the houses we are looking at in Meredith on Pease Rd. and Chemung St are looking good to us. There's also a house in Laconia on Pickerel Pond that is on the top of our list.
We're hoping to find something that has decent access to 93 and allows us to take back roads to shopping over on Rt.3 in Laconia/Guilford.

We know some of these properties may not be available when we are ready to buy, but at least we are trying to target a specific area.

(Although there are a few super properties in Sandwich too!)

Welcome!
 

Hi Cate - congrats on your decision to move to the lake! We moved up here from the Boston area 2 years ago. I am very happy with my new home and take full advantage of the seasons.

The lakes region is not as diverse as a city of course, but I think most people are very welcoming. I wish you and your partner the best of luck with your move!

Cristen