Car-free in Durham? (Dover, Londonderry, Keene: spring break, apartments, rentals)

[ogre]

This fall I will be applying to graduate school. I'm trying to shrink the long list of possibilities to a short list, and need to learn about everyday living in the areas where the schools I'm considering are located. One school on my list of possibilities is UNH. My student budget probably will be too tight for me to own a car, so I need to know whether it's possible to find, within walkable distance of the campus, decent housing at a price that is affordable on a typical student budget, and all the businesses needed for food, personal supplies, and basic entertainment.

I'm sure quite a few students do not have cars and manage just fine, but it's likely that a lot of them live either on campus or in rental property off campus in neighborhoods with many students. I'm older than even the typical graduate student, so I really need to live in a place that's free of a heavy student population and the nosiy parties that go with it. It would be very helpful to know whether there are quiet areas within walking distance of the campus. I'm pretty active physically, so for me, "walkable" can be more than a couple of blocks. The physical exertion of a long walk around town is not an issue (I hike in the Whites, if that gives you some idea of the physical activity I can handle). On the other hand, I don't want to have to walk such long distances everywhere I go that the time would add up and really cut into my day.

I'd appreciate hearing about anything people familiar with the area think it would be useful to know, but I'm especially interested in thoughts on the primary issue of having all the basic requirements within walking distance. Thanks.

[Valerie C]

Hey Ogre
Durham is a pretty town, walkable housing though, is nearly non-existant. I spent the more than a couple of months working with a student and her mom to get housing, the dorm situation is pretty awful (pay big $$ for a closet-size room, and have to put up with the party people...)

You might want to consider a move to one of the towns that is serviced by University Transportation Services - Wildcat Transit such as Dover, Portsmouth, Newmarket. Dover especially has a great and vibrant downtown area, and there are several stops throughout town. Rentals would be ALOT less $$ than Portsmouth. The solution for this particular student was to buy a mobile home for under 50K, get a roommate and live/work off campus...

School is starting up in a week or two, I'll send her an email in mid-September and see how the commute is going for her, and will let you know. Please PM me if I forget to get back to you!!

[xfountaingrl]

I actually also saw your post about this in the Providence thread.. I am from NH, but now live in RI.

If you need walkable... I would def. pick RI over NH.

[ogre]

Thank you both for the inside info! One option I have thought of, when I look at schools in areas with public transit, is to live somewhere along a transit line, not necessarily next to the campus, so, Valerie, your suggestions of other towns in the area are interesting. Dover sounds especially interesting, from what you tell me about its downtown. If I were to live away from campus, I would prefer that all the everyday businesses I would need to keep myself fed, scrubbed, and entertained in a basic kind of way would be within walking distance of where I lived, so I would need public transit mainly for the trip between home and campus. Riding the bus all over the area for every purpose would get as time-consuming as walking everywhere. Dover sounds like a good possibility of this sort. I'd appreciate any info anyone might have about areas in the vicinity of Durham where I could find decent housing that would be affordable on a student budget, near a transit line, with that basic collection of businesses close to where I'd be living.

Valerie, if I were to find my way to UNH, I would definitely have to consider your services, but to be fair, I want to make sure you realize that right now I am in the early exploratory stage, with lots of schools on my list of possibilities, so there is a good chance I might end up somewhere else.

Xfountaingirl, thanks for the comparison of Durham with Providence. As you've discovered, I have also posted a similar thread at the RI forum, and you've added your voice to those giving me confidence that Providence would suit my needs well. I should say that I'm looking at graduate schools, and the primary factor in my decision about where to go will be the graduate programs themselves. However, I can't go to school somewhere unless I can manage to live in the area as well, so I do need information about whether basic living for someone in my circumstances is possible in a given area where there is a grad school I'm considering. However, we're talking about two or three years. This is not a search for the place of my dreams where I'd want to live the rest of my life. I need to know not so much whether one place would be better than another (Providence better than Durham), but mainly whether a given place (like Durham) would be suitable for car-free living at all, in terms of meeting the basic needs. As long as I know that about various places, I'll make a final decision based on the schools themselves and what they offer academically. I appreciate any info, but would find it especially helpful just to know whether car-free living in the area is basically feasible.

Thank you both for taking time to provide this information. I'm definitely getting a picture of the area. Take care.

[Valerie C]

Ogre,
It's pretty simple-IF you were to decide on UNH, I'd be happy to help you to find a place to hang your hat. IF you decide on another area, it is because it works best for you, and you will do so with knowledge that you gained from this forum. I find this to be an incredible exchange of knowledge, and I learn as much as anyone else about places that I don't live in and/or work regularly, such as Keene, the northern areas of our state, etc.

If you go to Dover on a reconnaissance mission, be sure to check out Mojito's on the corner of Central Ave and Washington St. It gets LOUD in there after dark, but dinners are great, and their namesake beverage is simply the best. I look for excuses to get to Dover (I live in Londonderry, 50 miles away...)

Originally Posted by ogre

Valerie, if I were to find my way to UNH, I would definitely have to consider your services, but to be fair, I want to make sure you realize that right now I am in the early exploratory stage, with lots of schools on my list of possibilities, so there is a good chance I might end up somewhere else.

[windchime]

Don't bother owning a car in Durham (and if possible attending UNH). Parking on campus (which by the way is the whole town) is very difficult and UNH will not hesitate to tow on a first offense...first you get charged $90 by the tow company and then $100 for the UNH fine. The best part was that the tow company destroyed the brakes on my vehicle and of course we had to cover this cost as well. It was spring break so the college wasn't even in session; I was just there for a one day workshop. I attended Keene State College which I think is a much better walking town (and cooler college town). Durham is not very walkable (campus buildings are very far apart) and the town doesn't have the typical quaint New England appearance. Can you tell I am not fond of UNH or Durham? It is just my opinion, I'm sure other people may love it.

[ogre]

Thanks for the info, everyone. Valerie, I agree that this forum really is helpful, for helping to learn which places both will and will not work. Thanks for your help.

Windchime, I'm guessing that "if possible attending UNH" means you're saying I'd be better off not going there. You mention only one bad experience you had there during one visit, but you do raise a good point. If the school is poorly run, it's probably best to avoid it, even if the academic department you're interested in looks good.

I started out returning to school as an undergrad at UMass Amherst, which I found to have serious, serious fundamental problems in the way the school was run and the way it treated its students (and the Princeton Review rankings of worst colleges for red tape will back me up on that). I had an unbelievably stressful experience at UMass, and would never recommend that school to anyone. However, again, this is because of fundamental problems in the whole way the school is run, its basic treatment of its students, and widespread morale problems among employees at all levels. What makes me loathe UMass has nothing to do with a few isolated bad moments of the sort you might encounter anywhere.

While I'd be interested in receiving any warnings people might want to give, based on single bad encounters at UNH, again, these occasional bumps in the road can happen anywhere. I've never heard anything to give me any idea that UNH has fundamental problems in the experience it offers its students, but if anyone believes this is the case, I would very much appreciate receiving fair warning of this (along with the reasons for believing this to be the case), as I would very much prefer to avoid having the same horrific experience I had at UMass a second time.

Thanks again, everyone, for all the info.

[Robinson527]

I am replying to the two seperate issues of this thread. I am also posting this as a MA resident, UNH undergrad graduate and a Rhode Island law student grad.

The first issue is whether Durham is doable without a car, and if you are willing to walk the answer is definetly yes. The immediate off-campus apartments are closer to the main campus than the "on-campus apartments". The UNH campus for the most part is much more centralized than UMASS - by leaps and bounds. It is one of the many reasons I chose to ditch my state university for UNH. However if you are willing to put in a little effort you can definetly find a quieter neighborhood and/or apartment building.
UNH and the seacoast have a combined fantastic bus service that will take you to at least five different towns starting in Durham, at pretty regular intervals. I didn't have my car at UNH until my senior year and did just fine as do most of the students there. The campus is ON main street. Therefore you can walk to the stores (what there are of them) and the town plaza which includes a grocery store (a little pricey) but known for its organic and fresh foods as well as a Brooks store, and I'm not sure if is still there, but a super cheap store for your random odds and ends called Zylas. There is also campus convenience on main street and a Store 24 around the corner.

If you DO want to live outside of Durham but still need the convenience to campus then I agree Dover is a great choice...it is basically where the graduating students of UNH migrate to once they leave Durham. Not a huge difference in price, but enough to make the trip to UNH worth it. Dover's downtown is also filled with lots of the conveniences you need. And you can always bus it to Portsmouth and Newington by UNH/Seacoast bus if need be. Newington has every imaginable chain store and restaurant if you need it.

Further, if you are going to base the schools parking services as a symbol for the entire campus then you will end up hating most major colleges...especially older ones where parking lots were not as well planned. So I think the person from Keene State University or College or whatever it is called now is a little jaded from her one day experience. Keene is nice....but you will be stuck there with little else to do. UNH also has the Downeaster Train which you can take along the Maine, NH and MA seacoast straight into Boston....it comes right to campus.
Finally, as to the Rhode Island comparison...after three years there I couldn't wait to get out and my ultimate goal is to head back to the NH seacoast after I detour back at home in MA for a little while. Rhode Island is pricey, pricier than many portions of MA. If you are worried about cost, Providence is NOT the place to go. Many of my friends tried to live there but it was just too much for them, especially if you go towards the East side where many of the college/grad students live and have the convenience of walking to stores. I will say Providence/RI has a good public transit system and the commuter rail into Boston though.

Good luck!

[ogre]

This is some good, detailed info, from someone who's obviously in a position to know the area, and how it compares to others. Since you've been a UNH student, and didn't mention problems with nightmare bureaucracy, I'm guessing that, based on your experience, you would say that situation gets a positive review. Thanks again for the info. I'm getting a better and better picture of the area. Take care.

[399083453]

UNH has its own (free) bus you can catch back to UNH if you dont want to live on campus. It includes Dover, Portsmouth, Newmarket

University Transportation Services - Wildcat Transit

It even has a stop at the Newington Walmart if you need to go to a big dept store. There is plenty of walkable stores in Durham, but it depends on what you need.

You can do UNH without a car easy enough.