Thoughts on Rochester?

[FTL_Ian]

Low taxes it seems... good sized city...

Your thoughts?

[cathleeninnh]

After touring NH for 3 weeks last year, Rochester is one of the very few towns I wouldn't live in. Can't put my finger on it. It was just unappealing to me.

The town budget is enormous. If taxes are low then something else is a BIG contributor.

Just thoughts.

Cathleen

[Lloyd Danforth]

Some Neighborhoods a little slummy.
Lots of traffic!

[Kat Kanning]

Hard to navigate.  We always get lost there.   

[Lloyd Danforth]

You need a NH Atlas!  $15.00 postpaid. $5.00 goes to LSF.

[AlanM]

Rochester is going through the same process of development that Portsmouth went through. Portsmouth in the 1950's and 60's was a dive. They used gov grants, economic development funds, etc., started developing Strawberry Banke. Portsmouth is now highly gentrified, and costs for housing are out of sight. Rochester is using the same development ideas, and is just starting to become gentrified. Rochester 15 years ago was the pits. 15 years from now it will be like Portsmouth.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Not exactly.  It doesn't have the water views and the Old City Ambiance that Portsmouth has.
Say what you want about many of the people who live in it (sorry Candy) and the cost of living there Portsmouth is a beautiful city.

[Dreepa]

You need a NH Atlas!? $15.00 postpaid. $5.00 goes to LSF.

They are damn good Atlases too!
From a happy customer.

[Fluff and Stuff]

Low taxes it seems... good sized city...

Your thoughts?

I drove through Rochester and shopped there.  I liked it.  It reminds me of a southern town.  It had an old rundown section of town and newer sections.  The taxes and housing, overall, are very low by NH city standards.  It had a main drag with Wal-mart, Home Depot, and other big box stores.

If it becomes like Portsmouth, your house will go way up in value.  Rochester has some poverty and crime, but nothing like most non-suburban towns of similar size in the South.  If there is one thing that many towns in AR, TN, AL, and FL have in common, it is very high poverty and crime.  This is not true in any of the towns in NH (well, some towns like Berlin have high proverty but it doesn't have high crime.)

I think the city budget is large because its one of the most populated places in NH.  The job situation is not good (unless you like retail), and the near-by base will eventually close and that will hurt the local economy for several years.  However, you could live in Rochester and commute all over the place.

Ian,
I am looking at Rochester/Farmington/Milton, Raymond, Tilton/Frankin/North Field, Hillsboro, Hill, and Grafton.  Why?  Because these towns have the lowest combined housing prices/property taxes in their section of NH.  I'll get a job and then try to move to one of these towns if it is near my job.

If I end up buying a mobile home, I'll likely stay in a town with higher average housing costs.  Either way,  I'll be in NH several years after you.

[moosilauke]

Dude, take it from me, Rochester ain't bad. I'd live there if I weren't stuck on the other side of the state. Poor UNH students can't be wrong. It's close to the ocean, the lakes, and the mountains if you're into that. It's cheap and almost coastal. Plus if you're into the realestate market, BUY A PLACE IN ROCHESTER in the next few years because property values are increasing.

It's about 30 minutes from Portsmouth and Hampton, which are major social centers to the state. The Portsmouth-Rochester NECTA is about 290,000 people. It's a very economically diverse region, so you'll be able to find a job in Rochester, Portsmouth, Dover, or Durham for example.

It has all the typical shopping places, and Newington is the seacoast shopping mecca. It's only 20 minutes away.

[ken]

I've lived here my whole life for the most part, it isn't a bad town but there are definitely some neighborhoods that you don't want to move into, however there are some excellent ones as well. Housing is probably the biggest upside to living in Rochester, you can still get it relativity cheap compared to other places and you would still be close to Dover and Portsmouth.

[FTL_Ian]

What is Main St. like in Rochester?  Busy?  I see a claim that it gets 18,000 vehicles per day.  Is there a downtown life?

[Pat McCotter]

What I remember from staying there for a couple-3 months - 5:00PM was gridlock from North Main to South Main - not fun. Not sure how long it lasted.

[FTL_Ian]

Rochester was apparently at one time on the Free Town Project's short list.  The yahoo group appears to be defunct.  Is there still a Free Town contingent moving here?

What notable porcs are in Rochester?

[Lloyd Danforth]

Traffic was relentless on weekends too!