My wife and I moved from CT to NH too! We ended up near Killington but decided VT was not for us. We bought a house in Newbury (south end of Lake Sunapee). We love it here! The rich houses on the lakes offsets the taxes for our house nestled in the woods to be nice and low.

We got our home 2200 sq ft for under $300k and pay just around $3k annually for taxes. The schools near us are good. Not great or phenomenal, but above average. Although good schools are important, i think more importantly for having kids, is what's around for them to do outside of school. As kids and young adults. Good playgrounds, hiking, lakes, rivers, fishing, kayaking, swimming, skiing and snowboarding, sports... all that being 10 minutes away is worth more in the long run for development and staying away from drugs than a school system that's a few points higher but you have to drive an hour to any activity for your kids to do.

We commute an hour to work in West Lebanon/WRJ Vermont daily. It's not ideal but it's worth it if we're saving money on taxes and our kids have activities nearby. The highway is still close by and Boston is still very reachable.

I'd recommend doing some daily drives in areas of interest. You're gonna find what feels right when you see it.

Some areas I enjoy or would consider are: New Boston, Peterborough, Walpole, Washington, Wilmont, New London, Sunapee, Newbury.