[map]

All these towns around the lake are really nice. We are newly retired and just bought a small new construction cottage in a development in The Weirs area, but our budget was much lower than yours, though the little house we bought is expensive for what it is compared to the house we lived in for 32 years that we sold back in Sept. (btw- I don't know if you have to sell your current house first, but living in a rental while the new home was being built has been really tough at our age (In our 60's. We are, in fact, still in it, awaiting our final move in February). The builder is building several homes at once and we signed on 6/1 and closed 12/31 (and the house still has some issues that the builder needs to make good on). And this is an 1110 square foot simple cottage.

This said, we looked for quite a while all around NH (Meredith was my first choice) and it was hard to find a resale that was small for downsizing, in our price range and didn't need work to update it. That is why we went with the choice we did. Rare find. Low maintenance. Love the community and a great choice for us. And not too far from 93 and other conveniences and lots to do in the area as well.

We used to live on 10 1/2 secluded wooded acres in rural NY in a salt box colonial- 2600 square feet-and though we loved that lifestyle when we were working, it is simply too isolating for when you are older. This is why we chose a place that is the complete opposite of how we lived before. The house is even on a postage stamp size lot and we could hold hands with our neighbors. Crazy, I know.

BUT - since you have a much larger budget- and knowing what we know now about lack of workers, the new construction process and so forth- if I were you I would look for a resale and tweak it to how you want it. At least you could move in right away and enjoy your retirement years NOW.In your price point, finding something decent should be fairly easy. Don't forget, when you build it ALWAYS ends up costing more money than you anticipated. Building from scratch is a headache and since you are older why waste time and energy on it? You could be out on the lake this summer!

Maybe lower your expectations for the house you want? Unless, of course, you have tons of money, time and energy, and a great place to live in the meantime, and don't need to finance it, and it won't matter- then go for it I guess.