Submitted by UnderratedLegends t3_ynj3xm in newhampshire
What’s the best place to move to in NH out of these categories?
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I’d check out Hopkinton. It seems to check most of your boxes. Schools are very good, crime is pretty much unheard of, and the people are fantastic. I’m not a fan of Concord really but if you’re looking for stuff to do and medical facilities it’s fine and right nearby. Hopkinton is also fairly centrally located and right on 89 so easy access to a lot that NH has to offer as well as Dartmouth-Hitchcock in several locations.
The nightlife constraint is going to put you in Boston.
Boston Massachusetts
Keene
NH sucks don’t come.
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Natick MA. It has world class everything!
This would explain why it's mostly old people here.
MA is garbage, only NH.
This a NH only thread
We talking NH only
Why’s it suck?
Alrighty then.
Where are you?
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Umm Hooksett, Concord area. Even north of that. As far as night life, don’t ask me, but the other 5 ya. Lots of land in Loudon
All the stores you need, malls within 1 hour Large branch of Dartmouth Hitchcock in town Good schools No clubs but nice bars Very few large lots in Keene but the burbs all have room to spread out Low crime
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I see.
I would like to change my answer to Andover Massachusetts.
Late night drinking/dancing and concerts/plays
Most cities will be closed to gym/medical facilities.
I'm not sure if anywhere has nightlife in NH. Concord doesn't really, most things are quiet by 6/7PM. Maybe Manchester, but not sure if I'd consider Manchester after dark safe. I doubt you will have much luck getting a house with 1 acre in the cities unless you have a good amount down on a house like 500k+.
GL
So best bet is a suburb outside of Manchester?
Ya looking for land, the mountains for snowboarding and the beach for surfing
I'd say so. Manchester has 2 decent-sized hospitals and decent places to eat and probably some night life. It also has "Mall of NH" and other shopping options.
Hooksett may be a decent place to start checking. I'm unsure what the housing market looks like atm since I stopped looking as often while the craze was going on. Seems to be calming down a little now. Outskirts of Manch may not be too bad either.
higher in cost but nice areas:
Goffstown
Bedford
Ya housing market is shot that’s why I’m still waiting and thinking long term. Everything overpriced and rates are out of control.
Probably a good plan to keep an eye out but definitely try to visit the areas as well, it should help your decision.
We got a condo in 2019 when it was just starting to pick up but condos imo suck and I don't want to live close to people anymore haha. We've been considering moving out of state closer to my SO's fam since NH prices are crazy and the job market is not great with the cost of living here at the moment. We're in Concord currently and I do really like Concord, if you're willing to be somewhere with little to no nightlife, it is a good place to be.
Sometimes we get comedians at the Capitol center of the arts, but it is often more small/medium-time attractions. Manch has the SNHU arena so it is quite a bit more lively. It is only a 30min drive so it isn't too bad though.
How much is the HOA?
Ya I work remote so I’m hoping to just live there and work remote and then work per diem as a firefighter up there when I can accomplish that.
It's expensive, but Exeter ticks every box.
NH isn't really great for nightlife, so Exeter may not have what you're seeking in that regard, but it's only 20 min to Portsmouth and Hampton. 30 to ManchVegas. Hour to Boston (and there's a commuter train that stops in Exeter and goes there). Just over an hour to Portland (train goes there, too).
Exeter has a vibrant downtown (plenty of retail stores and no real chains), is 15 minutes from the ocean and offers easy access to I-95 via RT 101. It's got good schools, very little crime, several gyms of all types (including a ninja warrior gym opening soon), and has a hospital. Plenty of properties are on at least one acre - per your specs - but houses are expensive. Still, it's a great place to raise children if you can pull it off.
Good luck!
iangunn t1_iv9cxre wrote
My thoughts. Hmm, best hospital by a fair amount is Dartmouth Hitchcock. The second and third best are probably Catholic Medical Center and Elliot, both in Manchester. There are smaller but decent hospitals in Nashua, Concord, Portsmouth, Derry... and a few others that get much smaller.
An acre of land and good schools rules out Manchester and Nashua themselves but one of the nearby suburbs would work and then go into the city for nightlife.
Best nightlife is probably... Portsmouth but Manchester has a fair amount as well. As do the other larger cities and towns like Concord and Nashua and Keene I've never lived near Lebanon/Dartmouth but it's a college town so I'm sure it has it's share.
For schools you can look at something like https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/new-hampshire/rankings . It has the usual suspects of higher wealth communities, unsurprising. I will comment that if you value more diversity in the student body you can get a good education in one of the larger cities like Manchester or Nashua you just might need to pay more attention as a parent to what is going on. I brought my kids up in Bow though so I should not really talk in that regard.
Stores and gyms are pretty much all over the place so not much of deciding factor.
Safe area? Well, compared to any major urban area everywhere in NH is pretty safe. But, clearly it is safer in less dense more rural areas than in cities, but those areas also don't have much night life so... balance to your taste.
You don't mention cost at all in your preference. If it really is not a factor for you I'd probably consider Portsmouth or the area. Durham maybe, great school system there and also a college town. Close enough to Portsmouth to get there for a bit more urban feel and it's great restaurants and a lot of cultural activities associated with UNH right in Durham. Exeter would be another option out that way for the school system.
The interior areas are less expensive to buy in. A suburb of Nashua, Manchester or Concord may appeal to you. I suggest Hollis, Bedford or Bow as possible good choices.
Then in the upper valley, Hanover or Lebanon look like good options.
There are a lot of towns right near these ones that would be great too... depends on how highly you want to factor the school system and what your budget is for housing and how that balances.
The rambling response brought to you by not going to sleep hours ago like I should.