Niece is moving to New Hampshire - Advice please

Have she and my daughter been in contact with one another?

I think the worst places to live are right in the downtown area. It reminds me of Lowell which is where I lived for a few years before moving up here. As me and my dh joke it is the ghetto of Nashua. There may be a few nice places mixed in but the main roads like Hollis St and West Hollis Street are probably places to avoid.

Please don't take this as Nashua is bad, there are plenty of beautiful neighborhoods (and very expensive) in Nashua.

This message was edited Feb 7, 2010 10:46 AM

I don't know, Candyce. I gave her the info. I'll see if I can find out. She almost came down here today to see my mom, but I suggested she rethink that with all this snow. :)

Good to know, Meredith.

I've always loved the look of Nashua, though. It has a comforting sort of feel to it. Sure, there's places that aren't the greatest, but then, doesn't every town, village, and hamlet have those places as well?

You are spot on, Candyce. Every town.

Hmm yes, but Nashua has one of those parts more so than most neighboring towns. Where it is a city, any City is going to have the more 'City Areas'. Jan let your daughter know this area of nh is becoming more of a flight zone than it has been in the past. It is due to Manchester airport becoming more of a major airport. I had to sign a paper from a real estate agent stating this when we bought our house. The reason I was thinking of this is because my bf lived in Nashua (in a nice neighborhood) and she had a little plane airport very close by. There were those little planes taking off and landing all day long and they would be very low right over her house. She said it didn't really bother her but I think it might bother some. I remember the first time I visite dher I was very nervous of the airplane flying over my head that looke dlike it was barely above the power lines! I do hope she will visit in person to select her new residence because that is really the only way of her knowing for sure if she will like the neighborhood she ends up in. If she is up to it she should look into Hudson, I love Hudson and I don't think she would be unsatisfied with any where she'd be here. : ) It is much more rural seeming than Nashua but with all the perks of Nashua where we are right next door! : )

I will tell her to check out Hudson. They are probably going to rent for a year to get acclimated, but if they find something suitable to buy, then they will.
She's looking for a high school that has AP classes and not real big AND mainly a school system that is inclusive for their youngest daughter who has Down's Syndrome. That's a lot of requirements. A house is secondary.
I do appreciate everybody's efforts. This is why I LOVE DG.

I have a friend in Hudson, too. She can contact him.

I am not sure about how great Alvirne (Hudson's High School) would be for a child with Down's, but they do have AP here is a nice link to some info on them http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvirne_High_School. They partner with Nashua for certain programs as well. We have school buses that bring the Nashua and Hudson High School students between the schools so the students have more programs available to them. I am not sure exactly which programs they are except that Alvirne has a big agricultural program which I know is part of it. I am going to assume that Nashua has more to offer for special needs programs, they have two High schools Nashua North and South. I was dating a guy that was an assistant project manager for the building of Nashua South. So I got to see the inside of it when it was close to opening. It is a very nice school that's for sure.
I'm sorry it was Nashua North that is the newer one - I always get them confused! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashua_High_School_North

This message was edited Feb 7, 2010 12:17 PM

That's okay. I'm confused all the time. :)
Her daughter with Down's syndrome is almost 9. Her son will be a freshman.

Okay, I am not very knowledgeable about the schools and down syndrome, I do know a little girl with down's that attends the elementary my dd goes to. She is on another bus driver's bus. I am a bus driver so that is why I know a bit about the buses taking the kids from Nashua to Hudson and vise versa. My dd is only in kindergarten this year which was just made mandatory in nh starting this year. My other one won't be in kindergarten for a few more years. I am going to ask around about how hudson and nashua are for this. I am sure someone will know as I work with people from all around the area, including Nashua. The other bus driver that has that little girl on her bus, herself has a son with autism and I know she loves the school's in Londonderry for him. I think I should talk to her, she has probably had to look into all the schools for special needs. I will let you know what I can find out. If your niece has any particular place she's thinking of trying l.m.k. I could always do a drive by and let you know how the neighborhood looks. My husband lived in Nashua before I met him. Right along the D.W. Highway there are tons of apartment buildings. They are all pretty nice. The only problem I would see there is it is a very busy area because that is the biggest retail district around here. She'd be in a very convenient location to the mall and all sorts of businesses though. : )

Thanks, Meredith. That's going above and beyond the call of duty. ^_^

Not being from NH or having school kids, I heard from a friend that the schools in Derry were good. but I'm sure that people on the spot would have much more knowlege.

Thanks, IrisMA.

I do appreciate all the input here.

Well, I'm late to this thread so I doubt my input's still needed :) I grew up in Nashua and there are many more nice parts than not. That being said, I moved out of Nashua when I got married (one whole town up to Merrimack) and like it better here :) The residential areas around the Nashua airport are nice though - around the Nashua/Hollis border. Where did they end up settling?

This message was edited May 8, 2010 11:46 AM

Thanks for asking, SOJ

Actually, only niece's hubby moved. He is renting a house with about 5 others. My niece decided to stay in her quaint, little house in the country. It was her hubby's grandmother's house. Very nice - with a pond down in the meadow. Her youngest daughter has Down's Syndrome and is in a very inclusive school system, so rather than uproot her and her brother who will be a freshman, she remained. Also, cuz when hubby is home he's not AT home much, so she couldn't see moving to a new place where he wouldn't be anyways. Sorry, long story, long.