Recommended Southern NH towns...
 

Although this is not directly lake-related, I know a lot of folks on this site live in southern NH, so I thought I would solicit your insight.

We are looking to relo our permanent residence to somewhere in southern NH over the next 6-12 months. We do have a realtor for "official" recommendations, but we thought it would also be helpful to get input from people who actually live in southern NH towns, since we don't know the vibe and subtleties of each town, (You're probably thinking, "oh great, here comes another Masshole to ruin our town...:eek::emb:)

We want to be in the 3/93 corridor...not too far east or west from either highway; no further north than Bedford-ish; our kids are now out of school, so quality of school systems is not an issue, (only to the extent that it might help for resale time when our kids put us in the "home" :eek:); at least 1 real grocery store in town; a New England vibe...stone walls and a Main Street/town center; friendly residents and a town that's not a mess financially.

Appreciate any insight either via a post or a PM.

Thanks!

Interesting thread that I will follow closely. My wife and I are having similar thoughts of downsizing but we are not sure if we are going to buy or just rent. Property in the suburban Boston area has gotten so pricey that I feel now is the time to cash out.
We have friends that did the very same thing about a year ago but decided to rent first instead of buying right away. After talking with them recently I think they are perfectly happy just renting.
I have a niece that lives in New Boston and they love the town. The recently sold thier old farmhouse that they have been in for about 10 years and bought a new home in the same town because they loved it so much.

Londonderry and Windham are nice towns. I grew up in Londonderry. I know their RE market is hot right now with properties going for over asking price.


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I agree on Londonderry. I would just look carefully at the current tax rates and which towns have schools that are busting at the seams! They will be looking to build new schools and in growing towns, the young parents get out and vote in droves to support them and the higher taxes that go along with them.

I also agree with Londonderry. I have a friend that lives there and he absolutely loves it.

Like much of southern NH, Londonderry is very crowded now, More like a northern Mass feel. Small town vibe and convenient are few, Hollis, Litchfield, Chester, Auburn. Depending how close you want to be to highways could get you a few more options. The towns right off the highways have become shopping centers with terrible traffic. Generally the towns that abut the "highway towns" are closer to small town atmosphere. Also the towns that have lower property taxes now are catching up, I wouldn't let that sway you if you find an area you really like.

There are only 7 towns that are south of Bedford and on the 3 or 93 Corridor

Hollis
Amherst
Merrimack
Derry
Londonderry
Windham
Salem

I'd say any of them could work, depending on the neighborhood you choose. The woodsy parts of Bedford/Amherst/Merrimack area west of 3 and southeast of 101 are really nice.

These two would seem to fit your criteria if you look at a map, but are not very convenient to get to and from, highway-wise.

Litchfield
Pelham

All over that area
 

I live in Nashua now but have rented or owned all over this area...pelham, derry, bedford. If you really want old school new england I suggest Amherst or nearby Milford.
Amherst is hard core old new england, barely a town center and roads were clearly laid out for horse travel originally. A portion of Bedford is similar. Milford has a real living & breathing town square with shops & restaurants and even a trout stream.
Some parts of downtown Nashua are a bit rough but less than a mile from that you can find the old mill owner mansions. Just drive around the area and see what you like.

I live in Londonderry and find it to be a fantastic place to raise kids and very commutable on Rt 3 and 93 to anything north of Burlington/Woburn.

However, if you don't have kids, you will be paying for other peoples kids in the school system via taxes as this town seems to be growing exponentiallly and the schools are trying to keep up. Note that a new 3000 unit development (don't hold me to that number) called Woodmont is going in to also include a HUB presribed portion of low income housing. To me that number means: 6000 more cars on the road on exits 4 and the new exit 4a, 6000 new kids in the schools, 3000 new families in the existing stores, need to increase fire and police protection.

While we love the town as it is, we expect that after our kids are out of high school and college and on their own....we will probably seek something more quiet. Auburn, Candia, Deerfield, Chester...are all good options on the east side. Hollis, Bedford and pretty exclusive on the west side with Milford, Brookline and Goffstown being a bit more reasonable.

JMO.

Generally, my impressive is you get more house for the money west of the river because there is less commuting to Boston. If you can accept
"once removed " from the I-93/US-3 corridors you open up many more options.
We've lived in Merrimack for many years, in part because it was 1 hour to the seacoast, lakes region, Boston and mountains when we moved here. After decades, we go to Winni routinely and the other places occassionally so if it s one hour or 90 minutes, so what? Nashua and Manchester have concerts and theater. Manchester has hockey and baseball. Think hard about why you want to be on those corridors. As you get older, you may want to look at: Is the ambulance service full time or volunteer? What restaurants are in town? How far to a quick service medical outfit? How active is the Parks and Rec Department with senior activities? (Huge in Merrimack) Is there a senior center? Think about being 75+.

While Londonderry is a nice town now, be aware there are some big plans coming that could change that dramatically. For example looky here:

https://www.dpz.com/Projects/1006

and here

http://www.newhampshire.com/article/...WS02/151219767

I also heard that NH in the interest of trying to woo Amazon to build their east coast HQ here was eyeballing Londonderry.

Projects like this have a way of changing that small town feel permanently.

Also the proposed light rail running from Boston to Concord NH likely will put a lot of development pressure up and down the 93 corridor and probably if approved will create a boom of development in So NH.

Maxum these articles are old 2010 and 2015, have they constructed either project?


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Chester is a great quiet place to live..15 minutes to 93 An hour to an hour and a half to the lake and only 45 minutes to the ocean

I agree! Chester is a great little town! I lived there for 10 years before moving to the lakes region.

Other towns I would recommend are Auburn, Candia and Deerfield.

Dan

Yes, Wallace farms is done and woodmont commons has started. That is scheduled to be a 20 year project though so it will be awhile until they are done.


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Maybe a good time to buy some commercial property there. [emoji6]

Those plans for Londonderry are happening, They've started on the woodmont orchard area but it's a 10 year deal. I agree with ishoot, Those towns around Massabesic are nice areas to live.

None of those towns you guys are mentioning around massabesic have a grocery store, which was one of his only requests.


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Maybe not but is it that big a deal to travel one town over? Depending on where you are that could be just as far as being located in the same town anyways.

I live in Londonderry and agree mostly with what's been said. It's been great raising kids here, we really like it. Easy access to the lake, close enough to Boston. You don't have to go far for services unlike the rural towns which also has appeal for sure. Things are changing but the town does have a solid infrastructure, the Airport property which is what's being promoted is well away from town and has zero impact on quality of life here.

I do not live in Londonderry, but a friend does and will be effected by the Woodmont project. This project will greatly impact the area near 102 and 93.

I went to most of the planning board hearings before they passed the PUD Master plan. I don't know if it will be good for the town or not, but will change that part of town. What concerns me is that several homes have been built and sold on land that will overlook much of the project or will be direct abutters and the buyers were not told anything about the project. I know..... "buyer beware"! Two of these properties have already changed hands. I'm just suggesting if anyone is looking at Londonderry or Derry to do your research.

I believe another large project just north of Woodmont was rejected, but not sure if the project is dead yet.

Eh it's just a matter of time - a lot of these projects go through several iterations before getting approvals - shoot for the moon and if that doesn't work then lop off aspects of it or do some re-arranging of things till it gets the nod. It's what they call progress.

Anybody know what they are building right off exit 5 between Twins smoke shop and the hotel?


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Seacoast
 

I lived in Salem for 30 years and moved to the seacoast 12 years ago. My opinion is the only place in the state to live is by the seacoast!

I couldn't agree more. We live over in the Seacoast area and every day it feels like we are on vacation. For us it's less than an hour to the lake up 16. I'm 50 minutes from Logan (fly often for work), 25 from Manchester and 45-1hour from Portland. You will also not find better places in NH for restaurants and going out to enjoy nice meals if you enjoy that. Not only that, you're minutes from the beach where we often go for run/walks, take the dog for walks relax on the beach in the summer after work for a bit.

Seacoast - bar none in my opinion.

Plot twist....
 

Had not given that any thought....have always heard that the traffic coming up 95 to the NH coast was a quagmire, (we will still have to do some commuting back and forth to MA). What are the decent towns over in that neck of the woods? Thanks! And for all that have provided info thus far on the towns in the 3/93 corridor, thank you very much! Very insightful!

To be honest, traffic is never a problem as there are so many back roads (if you even need it). 95 is stopped on Friday evening and Sunday nights during the summer, but I go to and from with ease without ever stopping, so don't let that concern you. Depending on where you are, you can also take 125 (Epping) to Route 16 and that rarely has any traffic on it at all (plus there's a Starbucks right off the exit to pump you up even more on your way to the take :D:laugh::laugh::D

Depending on what you are looking for, I'd suggest Rye, Greenland, Stratham, Exeter, Portsmouth, Hampton. If you need to be on the ocean and don't mind spending a few extra dollars, then New Castle is beautiful as well. :laugh::laugh::laugh:

Only thing I will tell you, is the Seacoast area is blowing up not only due to way of life and what's around, but because more and more people are moving up from Boston due to the fact that you can claim home office and save yourself a LOT of money in taxes, all while being less than an hour from Boston! For a comparison, if you work in NYC, but don't live in Manhattan, most people commute 40-90 minutes per day each way door to door. Makes the trek to Boston not seem that bad in the grand scheme of things :)

Well put, we also live in Londonderry and Formula summed it up nicely. It is missing the downtown “mainstreet” the OP was looking for, but has everything else. It is also a much better value than Bedford and Windham in my biased opinion.

Agree with all of this!


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Another vote for the seacoast here. I have lived in Bedford, Wolfeboro and now Rye. Personally I love the lake so Wolfeboro is tops for me but my wife loves it here. More stores and things to do for her. We compromised by living here for her and having the lake house for me. Can't beat Portsmouth for restaurant scene. Home prices have gone crazy though.

I love Portsmouth, wish I could afford a house at both, the seacoast and the lakes region. The property taxes alone would kill me in retirement.

I cant' disagree with you on that. One thing I will say though - percentage wise for from a tax rate perspective is much lower at the seacoast than other places in NH. This is because the cost of houses are more money. My brother has a nice house in Concord (3500 Square Ft or so) and his taxes are 1.5 what mine are living here in the seacoast. New Castle, Newington (because all the shopping is there) and Rye have a very favorable tax rate in my opinion. I figure If I'm paying the money, I'd rather pay it and get equity in return than in taxes with nothing to show for it. Add it up over the course of 20 or 30 years and you might be surprised as to what that figure reveals. :eek:

Same with my wife and I. We both love the seacoast for all those reasons, especially the restaurants (she's more of an Ocean girl and I'm more of a Lake guy) - so we have the house in the Seacoast and a boat up at the lake. I do see a house in the 'nearer' future up there, but will need the real estate market to speed that up :laugh::laugh::laugh:

Getting close...
 

….Ok, so this is starting to shape up to be the real deal. Our daughter now works in Concord and our employment will be in Bedford. Time to start the purging process of the house in MA to get it ready to unload and start the serious research of which NH town will be the right match.

Obviously Bedford then... If you want the more real NH feel you need to go another row west though. Mont Vernon, New Boston, Weare. Real estate taxes are bad everywhere. Mont Vernon is the highest in the area, but the houses are pretty cheap because of it. Just a general store here, but gas and groceries are just 10 minutes down the road. Amherst is nice too, but it has a little too much of that transplanted Mass vibe to it for me.