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Old 09-23-2012, 07:29 AM
 
5 posts, read 11,920 times
Reputation: 10

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Hi Everyone,

I need your help! I am a young professional (28 y/o) and have lived in Jacksonville, Florida, for most of my life. While I enjoy the climate, this is not my scene at all and I need to get out while I still can.

Next Fall, I will be done with my graduate program and will have worked for almost four years at a good entry-mid level job as a communications manager for a local academic hospital. For the last courses for my graduate program, I will be participating in a graduate study abroad program in Thailand.

After I return from the program (around October 2013), I would like to relocate to another part of the country. My father had a job transfer to Hartford, and my extended family lives in NYC, so I thought New England might be a good choice as a region that would be closer to family for holidays and occassional get togethers.

I'd be interested in hearing your experiences with New England cities and how they compare and contrast with one another, as well as how easy to you think it would be for a young professional to integrate into the community. I may move alone or my long-term bf may move with me -- TBD -- we will sort those details out later.

This is a rough draft of kind of what I'm looking for: Progressive, culture, good local newspaper, music concerts, walkable, educated, natural beauty. Sense of community, camping, charm, health food stores, politics, bookstores, libraries, good air & water quality, low crime rate, good place to enjoy life as a young professional but also a spot to start a family somewhere down the line.

My work could be for any organization that needs communications/public affairs managers, though my most obvious employers would be hospitals and/or universities (i.e., I worked for a year in the public affairs office at the Cleveland Clinic -- loved it but got laid off with the rest of my department).

Places that have crossed my mind include: Burlington, Portland (ME), Providence, Worchester, Boston, anywhere in New Hampshire.

I am interested in mid-sized cities and large cities (i.e., I could do a Chicago-type city, if it were slightly greener and closer to the fam).

Sorry for inundating you with information -- just wanted to give a strong snapshot of the situation.

This is the beginning phase of my "relocation research" -- any advice or tips would be much appreciated!
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Old 09-23-2012, 07:51 AM
 
Location: New England
3,848 posts, read 7,935,583 times
Reputation: 6002
Quote:
Originally Posted by acousticplanet View Post
Hi Everyone,

I need your help! I am a young professional (28 y/o) and have lived in Jacksonville, Florida, for most of my life. While I enjoy the climate, this is not my scene at all and I need to get out while I still can.

Next Fall, I will be done with my graduate program and will have worked for almost four years at a good entry-mid level job as a communications manager for a local academic hospital. For the last courses for my graduate program, I will be participating in a graduate study abroad program in Thailand.

After I return from the program (around October 2013), I would like to relocate to another part of the country. My father had a job transfer to Hartford, and my extended family lives in NYC, so I thought New England might be a good choice as a region that would be closer to family for holidays and occassional get togethers.

I'd be interested in hearing your experiences with New England cities and how they compare and contrast with one another, as well as how easy to you think it would be for a young professional to integrate into the community. I may move alone or my long-term bf may move with me -- TBD -- we will sort those details out later.

This is a rough draft of kind of what I'm looking for: Progressive, culture, good local newspaper, music concerts, walkable, educated, natural beauty. Sense of community, camping, charm, health food stores, politics, bookstores, libraries, good air & water quality, low crime rate, good place to enjoy life as a young professional but also a spot to start a family somewhere down the line.

My work could be for any organization that needs communications/public affairs managers, though my most obvious employers would be hospitals and/or universities (i.e., I worked for a year in the public affairs office at the Cleveland Clinic -- loved it but got laid off with the rest of my department).

Places that have crossed my mind include: Burlington, Portland (ME), Providence, Worchester, Boston, anywhere in New Hampshire.

I am interested in mid-sized cities and large cities (i.e., I could do a Chicago-type city, if it were slightly greener and closer to the fam).

Sorry for inundating you with information -- just wanted to ge a strong snapshot of the situation.

This is the beginning phase of my "relocation research" -- any advice or tips would be much appreciated!
None of the cities in NH will be anywhere near Chicago-ish. Even Jacksonville in size is larger than the Capital Concord. If you need a bigger size town you're going to want to stick to Concord, Manchester, Nashua and Portsmouth but know compared to Jax they will feel like that, towns. Population wise those are large by NH standards. I believe Manchester is the largest with just over 100,000 people compared to Jacksonville which has closer to 800,000 If you get past (west) of Nashau/Manchester you're getting more rural and it will be a hike to get to things like larger malls, Boston and the seacoast where a lot of the entertainment takes place.

What is your budget? NH does not have a lot of jobs to go around right now, my husband and I are currently trying to move from Naples Fla with careers in Law Enforcement and Culinary Arts and seem to have a very difficult time finding much of anything right now (Been looking for 4 months and want to move by May!) There are several hospitals in NH and Boston that are well respected that some other people might veer you towards those. Mayo Clinic has a hospital up by Hanover that houses Dartmouth College if you want to be that far up in NH (by Vermont) Good luck I'm sure some other people here can veer you in the right direction
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Old 09-23-2012, 08:35 AM
 
Location: Monadnock region
3,712 posts, read 11,004,785 times
Reputation: 2470
to me, it doesn't sound like NH is what you want. not the most progressive - it's fairly conservative. even our largest city is likely too small for you, and health food stores isn't necessarily a big thing (not even any Trader Joe's andword has it mabye 2 Whole Foods are set to move in to the state).

You might do better in CT or VT.
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Old 09-23-2012, 09:40 AM
 
Location: New England
3,848 posts, read 7,935,583 times
Reputation: 6002
Quote:
Originally Posted by WannaComeHome View Post
to me, it doesn't sound like NH is what you want. not the most progressive - it's fairly conservative. even our largest city is likely too small for you, and health food stores isn't necessarily a big thing (not even any Trader Joe's andword has it mabye 2 Whole Foods are set to move in to the state).

You might do better in CT or VT.
It does tho have fantastic festivals such as the Apple Festival in Dover and the Pumpkin Fest in Keene.. and I will say it had lovely farmers markets that could possibly subsitute for say a Whole foods. Sweetbay here in Fla is the same as Hannafords up there so they will I'm sure carry similar products and have the green Market so thats a possibility however on a whole I agree. NH is a much more laid back slower lifestyle state, nothing like Mass CT etc and probably more of what they are looking for
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Old 09-23-2012, 10:15 AM
 
3,034 posts, read 9,117,157 times
Reputation: 1741
Quote:
Originally Posted by WannaComeHome View Post
to me, it doesn't sound like NH is what you want. not the most progressive - it's fairly conservative. even our largest city is likely too small for you, and health food stores isn't necessarily a big thing (not even any Trader Joe's andword has it mabye 2 Whole Foods are set to move in to the state).

You might do better in CT or VT.
There's a Trader Joe's in Nashua and in Portsmouth.
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Old 09-23-2012, 01:11 PM
 
Location: Monadnock region
3,712 posts, read 11,004,785 times
Reputation: 2470
yeah, but that's about it. Just, somehow... 'Progressive, culture, music concerts, health food stores, bookstores & libraries' and a Chicago-style city.. NH is not what comes to mind. sure, you can find examples here and there, but it just doesn't sound like what the OP is really looking for. sure: charm, natural beauty, camping, good evironment & low crime rate are pretty much anywhere in the state, but you can find those also in the other NE states, that are likely to fit the bill a little better. I mean: if they're considering Burlington VT... NH is about as opposite a flavor as you can get.

I'd check out Hartford or Boston before NH. they can always drive up to NH for camping JMO.
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Old 09-23-2012, 01:32 PM
 
Location: NH
73 posts, read 118,511 times
Reputation: 100
Quote:
Originally Posted by WannaComeHome View Post
I mean: if they're considering Burlington VT... NH is about as opposite a flavor as you can get.

I'd check out Hartford or Boston before NH. they can always drive up to NH for camping JMO.
I'd add Portland, ME to that list.

Acousticplanet: The "city" in NH that would be closest to what you're looking for in terms of arts/culture, walkability, and progressive feel, would be Portsmouth. It could be too small for you; but given that you seem to have a great interest in NH, I think it would be worth visiting to find out. It has a decent amount of nightlife too. "Natural beauty" is in the eye of the beholder, but I find Portsmouth has that in the old historical buildings, and the views of the Piscataqua, etc.

That's really it. The bigger "cities" in NH - Manchester, Concord, Nashua - really don't have much of walkable downtown or artsy feel compared to Portsmouth, in my opinion. As other posters have said, we really don't have anything here in NH that compares to Boston, Chicago, etc., size-wise. That's why I always put the word "city" in quotes when talking about cities in NH.

If you find Portsmouth to be too small, but you still want a New England city, then I'd suggest checking out Portland, ME, and Boston. Good luck!
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Old 09-23-2012, 01:43 PM
 
Location: Barrington
1,274 posts, read 2,375,487 times
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You want that "progressive feel"? Try Burlington, VT. Just about anything goes there. Also has lots of arts/culture and that crunchy granola kind of vibe. Not my scene but sounds like it might be just what you're looking for. Not a huge city, though....
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Old 09-24-2012, 05:16 AM
 
Location: Londonderry, NH
41,478 posts, read 59,645,668 times
Reputation: 24860
I suggest looking at Dartmouth College and Medical Center in Hanover, NH. Or the UMASS med center in Northampton, Mass or anywhere in the Boston metro area. The first are fairly small but the Boston Metro is a big city. If I were looking for a medical associated job and the reasonable salary attached, I would be looking at Portland, Maine.

In any case I suggest visiting the area before you decide where to relocate. Also get a firm job offer first.
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Old 09-24-2012, 05:28 AM
 
8,272 posts, read 10,925,578 times
Reputation: 8909
" I will be participating in a graduate study abroad program in Thailand."


If you spend some time in Thailand you may never come back.
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