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Title says it all. I've lived in Portland Maine for the past 13 years. Really love the area. My wife has been offered and accepted a position in Nashua. I've read lots of threads, and used the search feature... Still have a couple of questions for Forum-members.
We are a family of four, my daughter will be going into 4th grade, my son into 2nd. We took a quick impromptu trip to the area last weekend. We've cruised through the outlying bedroom communities (with the reputed great schools) and are leaning toward living in Nashua itself, South Nashua more specifically (Bicentennial, or Main Dunstable School areas). We like having amenities close by, don't want to drive 30 minutes to get to work, a supermarket, after school activities, etc., etc.
We picked up a Nashua Telegraph on Sunday, and were surprised at the lack of a real estate section (we were looking for open houses). We saw a few houses on Tanglewood Dr. that looked intriguing. In Portland, if you look at the Real Estate section on a Sunday morning, or you drive around, you get a feel for the prominent Real Estate agents with their names on the majority of the signs. These are sometimes quite different than their Online presence. For instance, our Realtor in Maine is a local power-house, but if you searched Online you may never even notice her.
Does anyone have a recommendation of a knowledgeable Realtor for the area? Someone that is the go-to person when you think of a Realtor in Nashua "Xxxx is who you think of"? We've had recommendations from people who have friends that are Realtor's, but wanted a more unbiased opinion.
I've lived in Greater Nashua/Greater Lowell my whole life. You are looking in the correct area of Nashua. Bicentennial is supposedly the best elementary in town. If we move again in Nashua, it'll hopefully be to S. Nashua. Mostly just to reduce our commuting distance to Mass.
That said, I have a daughter in 1st grade at Charlotte Ave and it has been great for her there too. North Nashua (exits 7 & 8) has all the conveniences we need within 5 minutes.
Pluses:
Two YMCAs are nearby
More Mom & pop ice cream stands and restraunts
less congestion than S. Nashua
closer to more rural Merrimack (we use their parks and playgrounds)
closer to Manchester
Manchester airport is 20 minutes away
Minuses:
Constant helicopter flight training coming from the airport. Only some neighborhoods are affected.
10+ minutes from MA border.
Pain to get downtown
I hear the middle school (Pennechuck) isn't as great as the elementary
You may be able to hear traffic on rt3 and 101A depending on your location
There are a LOT of real estate agents here. I only have experience with 4 or 5 so, I'm no expert. One is extended family, another is my neighbor. I have no idea how they rank in terms of "go-to" persons. If you're looking for a "power broker" I don't know any. I'm sure they exist though.
Thanks avlis13013. It's interesting, just like in the Portland area, if an outsider said "I'm looking at Portland, Falmouth, and Cape Elizabeth", people would reply "Falmouth and Cape Elizabeth are nice". Same thing seems to be holding true in Nashua, if we say we are looking at Nashua, Hollis, or Amherst, we hear "Hollis and Amherst are really nice".
We looked at a VERY NICE house in Amherst. It took us 20 minutes to go 4 miles on Route 101A on a 70° Sunny Sunday (40 minutes for 22 miles one way). I can't imagine what a commute home on a wintry February evening after work would be like? Day in, day out, that would wear.
I live in Nashua, near the airport actually. Airplane/helicopter noise is not an issue.
My neighbors are great. It's a real community where we have keys to each others homes, we can easily call someone up and get that extra egg we need to bake a cake, etc.
The schools very based on which district you are in, so watch out for that.
We have lots of nice parks. Mine Falls is great to walk/run.
Lots of youth sports, art classes, theater, whatever you are looking for.
My dad is in Amherst, and I visit few times a year, (and his house will be for sale if we can get him to start packing). 20min/4mile on 101A is not the Norm. Traffic can be heavy on 101A during rush hours, but its rarely bumper to bumper.
There are also 'back' road that you can use, you get use to them after being thru the area few time. Amherst near Merrimack, County Rd / Amherst Rd gives easy access to RT3/Everett.
The Schools in Amherst are said to be better then Nashua.
I live in Nashua, near the airport actually. Airplane/helicopter noise is not an issue.
My neighbors are great. It's a real community where we have keys to each others homes, we can easily call someone up and get that extra egg we need to bake a cake, etc.
The schools very based on which district you are in, so watch out for that.
We have lots of nice parks. Mine Falls is great to walk/run.
Lots of youth sports, art classes, theater, whatever you are looking for.
Great doctors.
Awesome, that's what we're looking for. My daughter has a Brown Belt in Karate. We haven't visited, but Eric Menard's CMA seems to have a very similar feel (with what you can gather on the Inter-webs).
One BIG part of our lives that is sad to leave behind is Camp Ketcha. Our kids have been going there for the summers since they were 4. It's more than a summer camp, my daughter has taken after-school classes such as their LOST program (outdoor survival skills). My wife is a board member for the camp. Any thoughts of a similar camp program in Nashua?
We have a camp thru the YMCA. Camp Sargent - YMCA of Greater Nashua I'm sure there are others in NH/Mass, but my boys are 3 and 4 so we haven't reached that stage yet.
My 4 year old is an orange belt thru Tokyo Joes...we enjoy going, but it's overcrowded and my guess is there are better options.
Thanks avlis13013. It's interesting, just like in the Portland area, if an outsider said "I'm looking at Portland, Falmouth, and Cape Elizabeth", people would reply "Falmouth and Cape Elizabeth are nice". Same thing seems to be holding true in Nashua, if we say we are looking at Nashua, Hollis, or Amherst, we hear "Hollis and Amherst are really nice".
We looked at a VERY NICE house in Amherst. It took us 20 minutes to go 4 miles on Route 101A on a 70° Sunny Sunday (40 minutes for 22 miles one way). I can't imagine what a commute home on a wintry February evening after work would be like? Day in, day out, that would wear.
People generally say the more rural or upscale communities are "nicer" than the cities. This forum is no different. Lot's of people come in this forum looking to move to rural NH. I always wonder if they *really* know what they are getting into. Nashua isn't rural but neither is Portland so you're not in for a shock. There are posts here bashing Nashua, but I think those posters would bash any city big or small.
Amherst, Bedford, and Hollis are nice, but there's a cost. There are downsides to everything.
I live off Rt101A. Luckily I only have to go a few sets of lights before turning off. My daughter was taking gymnastics in Amherst off 101A and would take 15-20 minutes to get through all those lights on a nice day. We fell in love with a house in Amherst and I'm glad we passed on it. If there's any chance you'll work in MA, stick to South Nashua.
One thing researching relocating has done, has made me appreciate all of the conveniences we now enjoy. Almost everything that my family does is located within a five mile radius of our house. The more I look, the more I am sure I want to live in Nashua proper. Just found Camp Lovewell which looks like it has a very similar program to our Camp Ketcha. It's 1.5 miles from the houses we looked at. I'm starting to get really excited about the move. The only thing I know I can't replicate is the fact that we won't be living on the coast. I've got a lobster boat that we keep docked 2 miles from the house. No more impromptu cruises around Casco Bay after dinner... Oh well, gotta go where the employment opportunities take us!
Thanks for reminding me about Camp Lovewell. Their private school is awesome. We looked into placing our kids there but it's $$$$$$.
For summer camp check out farm camp at Joppa Hill in Bedford. And the city of Nashua itself has camps along with surrounding towns. When my youngest is in 1st grade I'll look into Amherst and Pelham camps.
We're thinking of moving also. But one of the #1 things I don't want to give up is proximity to kids activities and general convenience. As you said, everything is less than 5 miles away. We're too busy to give that up.
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