Second Home (New Hampshire)

[motionxxusxx]

Looking to get some advice about getting a condo or small second home in New Hampshire. I have been snowboarding and skiing from my parent's condo at Mount Snow for most of my life. Love the place, but I just moved to the west of Boston (from New York) with my wife and would love to get a vacation home that is more of a four season resort. Mount Snow is dead in the summer. I would like to have a place within a 2 1/2 hour drive. Looking to hike, bike, fish and especially snowboard in the winter. Would like to be nearby a small town with some good restaurants. Would love to hear your suggestions, as I am fairly new to the area and do not know to much about what is available in New Hampshire.

Thanks

 

[BeanoNYC]

PM BobR...I know he's looking to sell his condo near loon.

 

[AdironRider]

I dont know what you look for other than it just being a "resort", but I personally wouldnt be interested in buying a place right in Lincoln. Id look more so at North Conway. Attitash is a really cool mtn (outside of the summit triple) and North Conway is an incredible town. Wildcat is right down the road, as well as the Presidentials. Food is better IMO, plus theres shopping for the ladies.

 

[motionxxusxx]

I dont know what you look for other than it just being a "resort", but I personally wouldnt be interested in buying a place right in Lincoln. Id look more so at North Conway. Attitash is a really cool mtn (outside of the summit triple) and North Conway is an incredible town. Wildcat is right down the road, as well as the Presidentials. Food is better IMO, plus theres shopping for the ladies.

Looking for hopefully a lake and mountain within close proximity of each other. Shopping is definitely needed for the wife.

 

[AdironRider]

North Conway is the perfect fit then. Echo lake is only a 5 minute drive from downtown, and has amazing views. In between Conway and North Conway are literally hundreds of outlet stores (tax free mind you). Food is incredible (I recomend Horsefeathers downtown). Attitash is only ten minutes away in Bartlett, and Wildcat is about 30, and Black Mtn in Jackson is even closer.

 

[andyzee]

Buy BobRs condo. Perfect location, nice waterfall right outside. Close to mountains, lakes, hiking trails, what more do you need.,. Bob is very reasonable too.

 

[Vortex]

Nice words. it does boarder the national forest and has a waterfall. not far to a lake 10 min. Tennis courts private beach on the river.

 

[andyzee]

Nice words. it does boarder the national forest and has a waterfall. not far to a lake 10 min. Tennis courts private beach on the river.

Hmmm..... Sounds like a perfect fit to me..;-)

 

[ccskier]

Also look around Meredith, easy access to the highway (skiing) and Winnepesauke. 1.5 hours from Boston.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Sunapee/New London has always been a fav for Bostonians for over 100 years. The mountain is decent, the summer/lake is great as it is the reason most folks buy their place for, shopping is down the road in West Leb but not exactly a new england holiday shopping experience.

 

[riverc0il]

Anything between Meredith and Lincoln would be good looks. Huge condo market in this part of NH. Meredith, Asland, Holderness, Plymouth, etc. area is closer to the lakes while Campton, Thornton, Woodstock, and Lincoln are closer to the mountains and better skiing. North Conway is 2.5 hours from Boston but is a total zoo and I-93 is quicker (65 limit almost all the way versus 25-55 variable once on 16) and cheaper (one toll booth instead of three). Better lake options on 93 too.

 

[ccskier]

Sunapee/New London has always been a fav for Bostonians for over 100 years. The mountain is decent, the summer/lake is great as it is the reason most folks buy their place for, shopping is down the road in West Leb but not exactly a new england holiday shopping experience.

Totally forgot about that area. It is a great area. Sunapee is a great mountain. You do have the options of the VT mountains from there. You are roughly a little less than 2 hours to MRV, Stowe. Even less to the southern VT areas. One of my co-workers has a place up there and raves about it.

 

[thebigo]

There are a number of options in New Hampshire but it really comes down to where you like to ski.

Think about your condo activities: skiing, hiking, shopping, the lake

The later three of those activities tend to take place when the roads are clean and its not a big deal to sleep in. Furthermore hiking, lake and shopping are fairly universal across NH.

If you havent skiied extensively in New Hampshire, I would spend this season checking out the dozen or so major areas and then make a decision in the spring.

With that said I would still vote for Lincoln: easy access, variety of good skiing nearby, a number of lake and hiking options and your OL can get some great shopping by hopping on the kanc for 30 mins.

 

[AdironRider]

Anything between Meredith and Lincoln would be good looks. Huge condo market in this part of NH. Meredith, Asland, Holderness, Plymouth, etc. area is closer to the lakes while Campton, Thornton, Woodstock, and Lincoln are closer to the mountains and better skiing. North Conway is 2.5 hours from Boston but is a total zoo and I-93 is quicker (65 limit almost all the way versus 25-55 variable once on 16) and cheaper (one toll booth instead of three). Better lake options on 93 too.

The tolls are like 50cents which is next to nothing, and N. Conway is way less of a zoo than Lincoln. Dont know Sunapee that well. Lincoln to me is just a mass (and Im talking a mass as in thousands) of condos with little character. N. COnway actually has the cool old time ski town feel to it, and the shopping centers are separated maintaining this charm. Plenty of funky little shops in downtown N. Conway as well.

 

[Warp Daddy]

Been to both areas in every season imho North Conway is far better for VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES AND SERVICE AND THE TOWN IS A DELIGHT MUCH MORE TO OFFER THAN LINCOLN

 

[riverc0il]

The tolls are like 50cents which is next to nothing, and N. Conway is way less of a zoo than Lincoln. Dont know Sunapee that well. Lincoln to me is just a mass (and Im talking a mass as in thousands) of condos with little character. N. COnway actually has the cool old time ski town feel to it, and the shopping centers are separated maintaining this charm. Plenty of funky little shops in downtown N. Conway as well.

Completely 100% vehemently disagree that North Conway is less of a zoo than Lincoln. The toll difference is actually a buck each trip last time I checked but probably a small issue in the grand scheme of things, just a small part of my point that Lincoln is far easier to get to and you only stop once for tolls versus three times en route. I don't find much charm in either town but at least Lincoln feels small where as North Conway is a commercial strip. 93 has outlets at Tilton exit if shopping is important. While Lincoln does not have much character, one major difference is you can drive two miles either way and it is undeveloped wilderness whereas the Conway/North Conway strip just rolls on for miles from the Kanc turn off all the way through the 16/302 split. Just my take but I couldn't disagree more.

One thing I have found from being a former Boston suberb resident is that there are I93 people and R16 people. You just have to drive up both and figure out which one works better. North Conway is definitely the more built up area with more to do but not as many lake options. This really isn't about Lincoln versus North Conway as I suspect you may not be looking in the major towns of the reason but rather on the edges. Parts of Thornton and Campton feel like the middle of no where but are really just a few miles of the interstate.

 

[AdironRider]

The only strip mall area is the area I mentioned inbetween Conway and N. Conway like I had mentioned before. Downtown N. Conway also is more of a walking town IMO, where as in Lincoln youll just be driving between restaurants and condos. Ugh. I cant stand condos, which is why I prefer the conway area.

 

[ccskier]

R16 is aweful. Down here Cape Cod people are always ranting about going up to North Conway to ski. North Conway is more of a destination area than a ski town. Sure it is nice area, but to ski I don't know why people drive 4 hours from here (150 miles) to go there when I can drive 4 hours to Stowe/MRV, Jay is about 5 and all those are at least 250-275 miles, jay is 300. Personally I need to be on a highway, R16 on a Friday night or Sunday afternoon can be Excrutiating. Back to the original question, when it comes to the driving factor from Boston, stay closer to the major highways, 93 and 89.

 

[bigbog]

...

How do you know that the "in-resort boundaries" feeling is what you like the best? Where have you stayed before...in addition to your parents' place?

 

[bobbutts]

Also ran places would be near Gunstock NH or Shawnee Peak Maine.

I'd say the negative about Conway is that it's a zoo on the roads on weekends/holidays (but not so much at the ski resorts there) and the negatives about Lincoln are that it's tacky and Loon is alot of lines on the weekend.

If you are ok with a smaller hill it opens up your options a bit.. otherwise in NH you have just a handful of big areas centered around conway and 93