Possible move to Concord area (Manchester, Portsmouth: sales, real estate, how much)

[ELM17]

My husband is in the process of interviewing for a position with the state in Concord. We are currently about 3 hours away in CT. I grew up in Mass and have really only been to NH to vacation. It is such a beautiful state but there is so little I know about actually living there.
We have 2 little ones so quality education is pretty important to us. Because of the COL difference he would actually be looking at a pay cut, we would probably want to spend around 200K on a house, I understand the property taxes are pretty high which I am unfortunately used to
We live in a very small town here in CT and like the lifestyle and sense of community it affords, we love the outdoors and love to hike and backpack.
He has a second interview next week and I think the kids and I are going to go up with him and drive around checking things out while he is interviewing.
Any towns that anyone would recommend around Concord that would be a nice fit for a young active family? How about Concord itself? Is it definitely more of a "city" feel rather than feeling like you have a lot of space?
Thanks in advance!

[Valerie C]

Concord is our state capitol, and is a city, for sure. It's doesn't have what I would consider "scary urban" feel, but is a city all the same.

Two towns come to mind when reading your post: Hopkinton and Henniker. I think Henniker, in particular, offers a great community feeling. I would consider it to be a welcoming town for a young family, and being home to New England College, there is a diverse young population in town... Schoools in both towns are considered above average. Pat's Peak is in Henniker, and Concord is about 30 minutes from Henniker, about 15 minutes from Hopkinton. I highly recommend putting these 2 towns on your list

[pauloman]

concord is nice for city living. Malls/walmart on far east side of town. North to the mountains, East to the shore/beaches. South to Boston and airport. West is more undeveloped and seems to get more snow and ice. Hospital and most doctors on west side of town. North end of town is probably the 'poorer' section - older anyway and with state prison.

Easy to be semi rural and only a few miles from Concord.

[maxxoccupancy]

You might also look into Goffstown and Bedford. Because of the high value of other homes in Bedford, their actual tax rate isn't too high (can't remember exactly). Both towns offer good freeways access and are right above Manchester. It would be a short commute to Concord--that's for sure.

[ELM17]

Thanks for the input. We're driving up tomorrow and spending the day. One thing I have not figured out is how property taxes are determined. We were looking on realtor websites at Henniker and found that taxes were upwards of 6K on a 200K house!?! Yikes, I knew they could be high but that is much higher than here in CT, I know it depends on how much land etc. but why do taxes seem to flucuate so much from town to town? Is it schools?

[HarrisonTweed]

Originally Posted by ELM17

Thanks for the input. We're driving up tomorrow and spending the day. One thing I have not figured out is how property taxes are determined. We were looking on realtor websites at Henniker and found that taxes were upwards of 6K on a 200K house!?! Yikes, I knew they could be high but that is much higher than here in CT, I know it depends on how much land etc. but why do taxes seem to flucuate so much from town to town? Is it schools?

Hi Elm17,

From what I've read here education certainly plays a big role in determining property taxation in NH.

The consensus appears to be (please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this) that the schools in Durham (Oyster River) and Exeter (SAU16) and Bow (near Concord), for instance, are great and a quick look at the real estate available in those areas will reveal that the property taxes there are sky high relative to most of the state.

I'm sure there are other determining factors though.
Exeter has a great reputation as a picturesque, historic and thriving town near the coast within reasonable access to Manchester (airport, jobs), Boston and Portsmouth.

I suppose anything which makes a town or city desirable is bound to impact taxation. That stands to reason.

But it's also key to remember that you won't have the sales or income taxes in NH either, so comparing property taxes in that state with those in another isn't always apples and apples.

All that said (most of which was acquired by spending a long time going through the discussions here), I would say that education is probably a major factor in determining property tax rates. But other factors (access, culture, waterfront, etc...and of course the lack of other taxation) certainly play a role.