We live in Southern NH, where Sandy has a thriving Real
Estate business. I work in Boston and
have a hellacious commute on days where there is even the smallest of drizzle
in the air. My wife is born and raised
in Southern New Hampshire and I grew up on the North Shore in Massachusetts. We have two daughters; one engaged and the
other coming up on her last year (hopefully) of college. We’re basically empty-nesters. So I
broached the subject of moving to Massachusetts over dinner one night.
I would love nothing more than living in downtown
Boston. I would sell my large house in
NH and buy a small condo in Boston. I
love the energy of the city, the selection of restaurants, the arts, the harbor
views, the Charles River, the Celtics, Bruins and Sox. Going back and forth to work would be a
breeze.
Sandy, of course, was adamant about not moving. She loves NH.
It’s easier to navigate, has no income tax or sales tax, yada …
yada. Her Real Estate market and
business relationships are here in NH.
It would take a long time to rebuild elsewhere and she would essentially
be starting over.
So let the negotiating begin. I’m sensitive to Sandy’s business and clients
in NH, so I need to be somewhere in between.
Real Estate prices are surprisingly just a little bit higher in Massachusetts
than Southern NH once you are 15 miles outside the city. Maybe we could move to North Andover where we
first lived together after getting married.
But I realized even before Sandy has to say it that it was far enough
outside the city that it would still take me an hour plus at rush hour. You need to be within 12 miles of the city to
really make a difference and get under an hour commute at rush hour.
So Sandy gave me a half-hour infomercial on why we should
stay in Southern New Hampshire, more specifically the greater Manchester and
Nashua area. Here are some of the most
valid points she sold me on:
·
So. NH is only an hour from the city in off
hours for dining, arts, sports, etc.
·
It’s 50 minutes from the ocean
·
It’s an hour and a half from the White Mountains
for skiing and snowboarding
·
So. NH is basically a suburb of Massachusetts
with over 50% of the population originally from south of the border.
Many people I work with in Boston think that all NH is
cow-country or that I must live in the mountains. The truth is 53% of the population of NH
lives in Hillsborough or Rockingham counties that border Mass. I will admit that as you get north of Concord
it can be very rural but south of Manchester I find it very much like
Massachusetts. The NH economy is fairly
strong with big employers like Fidelity Investments, BAE Systems, Budweiser
Brewery, Eliot Hospital, Comcast, Verizon Communications, and Catholic Medical
Center. Five years running, CQ Press has
named NH the Most
Livable State .
While only being an hour away from major Boston Sports
teams, NH has minor league teams that are a much better value for anyone with a
young family. The Manchester Monarchs led the way into the market as an affiliate of
the Los Angeles Kings. A 10-year history
has had them advance to the Calder Cup playoffs nine times. The NH Fisher Cats , a Double-A
affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, have since built a stadium along the
Merrimack River and draw strong crowds.
The Verizon Wireless Arena
has a great concert schedule each year; past concerts have included Aerosmith,
Elton John and Justin Timberlake, just to name a few. The Currier
Art Museum in Manchester recently went through a large expansion and has works
from world famous artists such as Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet.
Although most chain stores do not send
their fashion forward lines to their NH locations, we do have high hopes for
the Simon Properties $100-million project that will bring 135 stores via the Merrimack Premium
Outlets to NH in June. This outlet will have no sales tax and join
The Pheasant Lane Mall, The Mall of NH and the Rockingham Mall in serving the
market. Many Massachusetts shoppers come
to NH to save on sales tax.
Fine dining has really grown in NH
also. Just a few years ago, if you
wanted an elegant dinner you would go to the Bedford Village Inn (still great
today) or head into Boston for a “foodie” experience. I think Chef Michael Buckley changed the
restaurant landscape first in Nashua with Michael Timothy’s Urban Bistro (now
renamed MT Local), followed by The Surf.
Our current favorite is Restaurant Tek.Nique in
Bedford, NH.
So, needless to say, we will not be moving. It’s not so much that one area is better or
worse than the other. It’s more the
husband and wife thing; the wife always wins.
The cost of living combined with the quality of life make NH a good match
for us …. For now.
So help me out. What are the best parts about living in Massachusetts?
*********
Sandy LeRette –
REALTOR® ABR – Better Homes & Garden Real Estate / The Masiello Group – 436
Amherst Street, Nashua, NH 03063 cell: (603) 661-7301 email: slerette@masiello.com
Bob LeRette – Div.
Sales Manager/ Real Estate – Boston.com & The Boston Globe, 617-929-2104 email: rlerette@boston.com
& REALTOR® - Better Homes & Garden Real Estate / The Masiello
Group – 436 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH 03063
