Though I have never lived in Moultonborough full-time, I have spent all of my summers in town and I would be happy to raise a family there. As far as the remoteness, it really isn’t any different than much of northern New England, except that it comes with all of the variety and activities that the lake offers!
We have several friends who are locals and have raised their families in town. Through these friends we have seen a different side of life in Moultonborough and at times have been extremely envious that they get to enjoy the lake 7 days a week! The quiet winters seem to bother the people with kids less as the kids lives seem to naturally be busier. They all seem to agree that September and October are truly some of the best months to live at the lake with virtually no crowds.
If you’re looking for a neighborhood full of families and kids then you may struggle to find that, but I am guessing you already know that. In the vicinity of our house on the end of Moultonboro Neck, I would say maybe 10% are year round residents and of that, maybe half have kids. It certainly is the minority, but I can tell you the houses with kids that are on the water, always seem to have a group of friends around. Who wouldn’t want to hang out at the friend’s house with a beach, boat, etc.? Even if you have private waterfront, the public beach can be a great place to meet people. You can usually tell the locals because they are arriving when the vacationers are packing up for the day.
As for rentals, it’s hard to tell. I don’t think there are particular neighborhoods that have more rentals than others. Fireworks can get annoying, but, Moultonborough has adopted a fireworks ordinance that seems to help. Honestly, the neighbors I have found to be the rowdiest were not renters, they are the children or grandkids of the owners. Our next door neighbor has a family compound of 6 cottages and they rent out 3 of them. The same renters return year after year and are always kind and courteous. I think vacation renters tend to get a bad rap because of the few who are disrespectful. Who among us doesn’t rent a vacation house when we travel elsewhere from time to time? I am always respectful when I do, and I like to believe most others are as well.
A few times I have commuted to work from the lake for a week or so, the commute is long, but getting “home“ from work and going on a boat ride or kayaking seems like such a treat!!
If what you’re looking for in “community” is a town of good people enjoying life in a beautiful corner of the world, with quality schools, then I think you’d be very happy in Moultonboro.
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