Help us find a great place to live

[cmb123]

I currently live in Connecticut in an area that the cost of living is way beyond our means. I was born and raised in this area, but have no current ties, and as time goes on, we go deeper and deeper into debt.
We've been considering VT or NH because of how beautiful they are, and not too far from here ( need to stay within a couple of hours because of my ex husband and visitation).
We're looking for a family friendly community with decent schools where we can have a home with some property.
Anyone love where they live and want to tell us about it?

[cmb123]

Oh no....doesn't anyone like where they live?

[babynatasha]

: I love where I live! :

I live in Kingston NH. It is a small town of about 7,000 people. We are close to the ocean (Hampton Beach is 25min drive), Boston (1hr drive), the mountians for snowboarding & skiing (1 1/2hrs) and Portsmouth, NH (45 min, a great town to eat, drink and be merry in!)

I don't know how it fairs compared to other areas, but I don't think it is too expensive. Our 3 bedroom house was 250K and many of the house in the same area/same size for sale are comparable.

The police are wonderful! They are helpful is so many ways, from questions regarding the law, to lending out their skunk traps to residents who have a problem. The fire department is the same way, the people are great and always quick to respond if you need them. Or if you just want a fire permit on a Saturday night

In the center of Kingston in the "Kingston Plains". This is a big open area that is in the middle of two roads. Here the town often has events, such as the "Kingston Days on the plains" celebration, kids soccer & football practices, a (very small) farmers market on Tuesdays in the summer from 2-5:30pm, roll playing games one night a week and various other events throughout the year.

There is also Kingston Sate park, which is a great place to go for a walk and has a public beach. There is a better beach in town which is for residents only, so I can't tell you where it is

There are 4 pizza places, 1 chinese, 1 breakfast joint and two other higher end resturants. 1 of the pizza places and two of the other places are places you can have a alcholic beverage and the pizza place has live music on a Wednesday night by Doug Mitchell (he has a guitar and sings cover songs very well!)

I don't know what the job market is like here. I do know that it is impossible to live without a car, as we have NO public transport and the nearest food store at least 5 miles away in another town. We have two gas stations and night life is almost none existent past 11pm. However there are several bars in other towns close by that stay open later. Our High school is 3yrs old, so by the time my kids get to HS we should be able to afford better teachers, or pay them more so they stay longer. The town hall staff are a little on the slow side and they are not computer savvy. The nearest hospital is about 7 miles away in the neighboring town of Exeter.

There are plenty of trails to mountian bike on in town. Places to ride ATVs nearby. A nice children's play ground. A cute library with story hour for kids.

Again, I love my town! I am a transplant to Kingston and have lived here for 7yrs. In that time I have made many friends, townies and transplant alike! If you are interested in Kingston PM me and I can tell you more!

[svmaine]

I used to live in Kingston too and loved it, especially the Tuesday night gnocchi special at Ricks:!!

We now live in Southwest Maine and love it for many reasons but it can be difficult and lonely at times. We've got an old falling apart farmhouse on 8 acres that we bought for a steal and the house prices and cost of living are still very reasonable. We've got local farms to get raw milk, veggies, "organic" meat, CSA's...close by, and a quaint little town where neighbors will give you the shirt off your back, just don't talk politics:. And unless you're working from home you might be looking at an hour commute for a decent job. Which also means we don't get the tourist traffic, the full moon leaves shadows it's so clear, most of our neighbors are in bed by 8pm, and we've got a mountain for a back yard...aaahhhhhhhhh.

We're also just getting into the online local unschooling/homeschooling/MDC groups so that's helping greatly with the isolation factor.

Good luck in your search!

[nhplantlady]

Central NH

I was raised in Conway (White Mtns) but now live in Franklin, NH and previously right near Concord. There is so much to do, lots of progressive people, technology in Concord, Manchester, Nashua & Lebanon. Franklin is not the greatest unless you plan to homeschool or have plenty of $$ for the many prep schools nearby.

If you need any other info just PM me. BEST of LUCK with the decision. Kingston is nice too and close to Portsmouth and probably a much shorter commute to Boston.

[slgt]

We live outside of Burlington, VT and LOVE it, but the cost of living here is high, especially compared to typical salaries...