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My young family is considering a move to NH this summer and I’d love some insight! There’s only so much online research can do! We’re currently in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I’d like to be closer to my family in southern New England, but be able to enjoy the farming environment we have here and a love and appreciation of the outdoors we found living in Montana. I feel like in childhood and recent adult visits, New Hampshire would be a great fit... but we just don’t know where to begin!
I’d love to find a safe and self sustaining little town with an active community and love of the outdoors. Our isolated town of 1000 in Montana was lovely- little school with small classes, grocery store, a few restaurants... I was happy to drive 45 minutes once a month to go to a bigger store. While we love our small farm here- the small towns seem to have all died- with mega regional elementary schools and a 30 minute commute just for milk... and it’s just further than I’d like to be from family.
I’m a social person and enjoy corny town activities... parades, concerts, runs. My husband is happiest surrounded by mountains and open farm land... with a nice low population density. We’ve got 2 young children getting ready to start school. We enjoy growing our food, being outside, and I always like a little culture. I just want to find a spot we can settle and feel settled- be a part of a community and enjoy and afford our farm. : ).
Milford does a lot of 'corny town activities'. West of there, the population gets less dense. You might love the Peterborough area (and surrounding small towns), where you can drive to Milford for townie-type events and big store shopping. Plus Keene isn't far in the other direction.
The farther north you go, the less dense the population gets as well. And more mountains. Check out the area north of Concord. Concord might also do some of those 'corny town activities', and has those bigger stores.
The population dense areas are southern (Concord and south) and southeastern NH (Nashua and east) and the seacoast (Portsmouth area). Rural areas are more western and northern NH. Although every now and then you might find a hidden gem somewhere in between. Maybe keep an eye out for the Hollis/Brookline or Hooksett/Pembroke area. Hudson or even Atkinson/Hampstead might be possible hidden gem areas as well....
I don't know much about the school systems, so can't really help you there.... (although Hollis/Brookline is supposed to be fantastic. Amherst as well.)
Thank you both- I’m a teacher with dreams of running rental cabins on our farm. My husband is a construction project manager with dreams of being a farmer as more than just a hobby!
We’ve sort of zoomed in on the Mount Kearsarge area and around Littleton and Franconia.
Northern New England doesn't have large areas of farmland like Virginia. ME-NH-VT are the most heavily forested states in the country. Add in a rocky landscape and the White Mtns, and a lot of area isn't suitable for much farming. Historically, dairy farms have been located along the larger waterways like the Merrimack and Connecticut Rivers, but much of southern NH land has been converted from farming to residential and commercial usages. If you really want a small town, I'd take a drive up Rte 10 +135 from Hanover to Littleton, and also consider Vermont.
What sort of farm do you want? The NH growing season is a lot shorter one than in VA. And your husband should want to be close to construction activities. And how are the two of you with winter driving conditions? And you will spend more in winter heating costs.
Like KCZ said, I think your biggest challenge is going to be find farmland that suits your needs. New Hampshire is rocky, hilly/mountainous, and heavily forested. Historically, there was a lot of farmland along the Connecticut river and there still are quite a few farms there, as well as scattered across the state - but nothing like you would see in other parts of the country. That doesn’t mean the right property for you isn’t up here, it might just take some more work to find it and work the land until it is farmable.
I was looking for very similar things in a place to live (minus the need for farmland). We rented in the Kearsarge area (Sutton, right between New London and Warner) for three years, while we found the best place for our family. We settled in Littleton and absolutely could not be happier, it had everything we were looking for and more.
It sounds like you might enjoy the Littleton area (I have a lot to say about Littleton, but I realized I was starting to go on too long, so I will post more about Littleton in a separate reply). With a population of about 6,000 and serving as a regional hub, I'm not sure if Littleton might actually be a little larger than what you are looking for.
Lancaster is a very adorable town 20 minutes north of Littleton. Lancaster is definitely smaller (about 3,000 people), but has a strong community feel with a lot of community events, plenty of outdoor recreation opportunities, and fantastic schools. They have a cute Main Street area with a good handful of stores and restaurants, but you would probably need to travel to Littleton occasionally. Lancaster is definitely more spread out than Littleton and has more of a "farmland feel" to it, that it sounds like you might be looking for.
Another cute town in the area with a community feel is Bethlehem. Bethlehem has a strong artsy/hippy vibe, and a handful of stores on a small Main Street, though you would need to travel 10 minutes to Littleton for most things. Bethlehem Elementary School feeds into the Profile School for middle and high school - both schools have a good reputation in this area.
It sounds like you are narrowing in on the areas you are interested in, the best thing you can do is visit and really try to get a feel for the different towns. Every town has a slightly different feel to it and I think if you visit, you feel more strongly pulled toward certain towns. Let me know if you have any questions - especially about the North Country or Kearsarge areas, since those are the areas of the state that I know the best.
As I said above, I have a lot to say about Littleton. It is a really amazing place, and I could go on and on, hopefully some of this information is helpful for you.
Littleton is routinely rated one of the best small towns/ best Main Streets in America. The town has a really amazing community feel and there is always something going on for families in town. In terms of “corny town events” we have Pollyanna Day, an Art Festival, Christmas parades and Santa events, Gathering of the Jack o Lanterns (which is a full weekend of Halloween festivities), Easter egg hunts, a huge town block party at the park for Fourth of July with fireworks, games, etc. We also have parades for Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, Homecoming, and a smattering of other small parades like a Fire Truck parade just because. We also have 5k runs for charity, fatbike races, zombie runs, and a bunch of other races/runs. Littleton is the home of Pollyanna, and they are very proud of it - from the Pollyanna statue, to the paintings and banners urging you to Be Glad - this is a place that really embraces the Pollyanna spirit.
Littleton is a regional hub and a very vibrant little town. Between the big box stores on Meadow Street, the Co-op and locally owned shops and restaurants in the heart of town we have everything that we might need right in town. If you are really into shopping, we are an hour from the outlets in Conway and Tilton and an hour and twenty minutes from Concord - but those trips would be more for fun than necessity. With the cheapest electric rates in the state, Littleton is also able to draw in a disproportionate amount of industry for a town of its size, and the Littleton Industrial Park houses a lot of the employers in town. There is a serious labor shortage up here - and the trades are in especially high demand. I’m not sure what type of construction work your husband does, but there is plenty of need for more people in the field here.
We have a great hospital right in town (the largest in the North Country) which has repeatedly been recognized for excellence in patient care. They employ over 500 healthcare professionals with 50 specialty services and have a fantastic reputation in the area. The hospital is also opening up an Urgent Care Clinic, as well as a ConvenientMD location that is slated to open in Littleton.
For culture, the art scene is a big deal in Littleton. The Littleton Studio School and the League of NH Craftsmen gallery in town really seem to draw a lot of artists to the area. The Loading Dock is a popular live music venue for all ages. Northern Lights Music, the pianos up and down Main Street, and Harmony Park all add to the music vibes in Littleton. Many of the local restaurants also feature live music. The Littleton Opera House hosts plays put on by the Upstage Players and other local theater groups, ballets put on by Creative Edge Dance Studio, as well as different music, comedy, and magic acts. In the summer, we also have concerts in the park. The Littleton Public Library does a lot of great programming for kids/families, as does Littleton Parks and Rec, and there is always something going on. We also have White Mountain Science in town and the Littleton Studio School - both of which offer classes/camps/workshops for kids/families/adults in programming and robotics, as well as any kind of art form.
Littleton is also really big on outdoor recreation (as is the whole area). Remich Park is a fantastic park for families and in the winter it hosts a skating rink with free ice skate rentals, and an amazing sledding hills with free tubes you can borrow. Pine Hill and PRKR MTN trails are walkable from downtown but feature over 23 miles of trails for hiking/mountain biking/snowshoeing/etc. Mt Eustis is a town ski hill where you can ski all day for a $5 suggested donation (but no one is ever turned away) and they even run a ski rental program for local kids so that they can borrow all the ski gear they need for free for the season. For more serious skiing, Cannon Mountain and Bretton Woods are only 20 minutes away. Kilburn Crags is a short hike in town for gorgeous views. The Littleton Dells features nice walking trails and picnic areas. The Moore Reservoir is popular for kayaking/swimming/fishing and more hiking trails. Along the Riverwalk in town you will also frequently see people flyfishing, swimming, and whitewater kayaking in warmer weather. Snowmobiling is also popular, and there are snowmobile trails through town. That is just within town limits, we also have all of the White Mountains at our doorstep.
Schools were a major requirement for me, my oldest is in fourth grade at Lakeway Elementary in Littleton and I am very happy with the schools. Littleton does not have the best test scores, which I believe is mainly a result of demographics, but I feel like my son is getting a top notch education there (and his test scores are always in the highest percentiles, so he does not seem to be suffering because some of his classmates struggle more with state testing. It is also important to remember that with smaller class sizes, the test scores are more likely to vary from year to year depending on the individual students. Littleton is not a regional school system and is pretty small. My son’s grade has about 45 students - 15 per class, which seems to be the norm here. Every class has a teacher and a para, and the school is a very caring atmosphere and kids get a lot of really great learning opportunities that they wouldn’t get elsewhere (or at least that my son did not get in his last school). At the high school level, a lot of schools in the area actually send their students to Littleton for their course offerings (such as photography or any programs at Littleton’s Career and Technical Education Center). I have been thoroughly impressed with the teenagers that I have met and seen in Littleton. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about the school system in Littleton or in any of the neighboring areas.
As others have mentioned, Northern New England poses some challenges to farmers - the growing season is short, though the days are long in late spring to early summer!, rocky soils, thinner topsoil than in the midwest. I don't see too many farms growing corn or wheat - commodity crops, or huge produce farms growing for shipment to faroff places. I think they just can't compete too well in those areas due to local conditions. I do though see places growing crops that produce a high value per acre - fruits and vegetables, including organic fruits and veggies - for local consumption, making fancy cheeses, apple orchards and some refining to hard cider, of course maple syrup...
Here are some resources:
- UNH Agricultural Extension - they will have their finger on the pulse of farming in the state, including both practice as well as business aspects; their job is to help farmers too, so you definitely want to make friends here :-) https://extension.unh.edu/topics/agr...e-horticulture
- Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire https://www.nofanh.org/
- NH Cheesemaker's Guild NH MADE Member Directory » NH Made
Last edited by OutdoorLover; 03-04-2019 at 01:43 PM..
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