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Hi,
So I've lived in the Washington DC area for all of my 36 years and have decided to relocate. I was thinking Vermont or NH and have narrowed that down to NH, with Littleton being my current preferred new home. There's a lot of reasons, but mainly i want to experience small town living. I'm tired of all the traffic and the go-go-go speed of things here and wanted to find a more friendly, slower place to live.
I was planning on renting an apartment for a year to see if I liked it and then would consider buying a home. Seems to be other than a few random craigs list postings that Lahouts is the only apartments that allow dogs. However, there are some real nice houses for rent that are so cheap compared to DC prices, that I might consider that too. Much more space than I need but i'd love for my dog to have a yard.
Anyways, down to the point. So, I feel like I know a decent amount of the town--as best as i can know it by googling and such. I would be moving alone and would know absolutely nobody. Do most small towns take well to 'outsiders' moving into their town? Is there a decent amount of thirtysomething single people? Any advice from other people that have moved from a big city to a smaller town would be nice too. And what about Mud season? This sounds pretty scary. Is most of the town high speed internet capable (cable internet or fios--not DSL)? Any other suggestions for towns that i should check out?
If you listen to Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and Alex Jones you will like small town New Hampshire.
Otherwise choose Vermont.
No small town big or small compares to large city living.
If you like living alone with almost zero social life then you will fit right in to small town New England.
Yes, there many social organizations you can join such as the Lions, Eagles, and the local gun club if you do wish to get involved. And of course, the local church.
There is much that you will miss. Such as good pizza, bakery shop, a good coffee shop, public transportation, taxi cabs, trains, and on and on.
Make sure to have a good car with good tires for winter driving. Be aware that temperatures are usually 30 degrees below NYC and probably 40 degrees below DC in winter time. Most here carry jumper cables for winter time. AWD or 4WD are quite common and some add studds to vehicle for hill and dirt road country. Salt on roads and vehicle rust are big issues in small town areas.
Read up on Carl Drega.
High speed internet and cable can be spotty. Cell phones have more then a few dead spots.
I'm lucky in that I will still be working for my current company in the DC area. I work in IT so everything can be done remotely from anywhere with a stable high speed internet connection.
If you listen to Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and Alex Jones you will like small town New Hampshire.
Otherwise choose Vermont.
No small town big or small compares to large city living.
If you like living alone with almost zero social life then you will fit right in to small town New England.
Yes, there many social organizations you can join such as the Lions, Eagles, and the local gun club if you do wish to get involved. And of course, the local church.
There is much that you will miss. Such as good pizza, bakery shop, a good coffee shop, public transportation, taxi cabs, trains, and on and on.
Make sure to have a good car with good tires for winter driving. Be aware that temperatures are usually 30 degrees below NYC and probably 40 degrees below DC in winter time. Most here carry jumper cables for winter time. AWD or 4WD are quite common and some add studds to vehicle for hill and dirt road country. Salt on roads and vehicle rust are big issues in small town areas.
Read up on Carl Drega.
High speed internet and cable can be spotty. Cell phones have more then a few dead spots.
Availability to good hospital can be an issue.
I should preface this by saying that I've never lived in Littleton. I've visited a few times to go to Chutters (longest candy counter in the world ) and do a small hike up Kilburn Crags.
However...
Having lived in NH all my life, and in a VERY small town for most of it (less populated than Littleton), I feel I have to respond here and just say that much of the above post consists of overgeneralizations.
First of all, as far as hospitals, there is a hospital right in the town of Littleton: Littleton Regional Hospital.
It's true that small town life is very different from city life, obviously. But as far as social life, based on my experience living in NH, it's what you make of it. Littleton actually has a quaint little downtown area with shops and restaurants. It looks like there is a pub in town that actually serves microbrews, which is more than can be said for bars/restaurants in most small NH towns. It's also not far from Lincoln and Woodstock (Franconia Notch area), which offer some pubs and dining options.
And as far as clubs/groups, there are offerings beyond the Lions and church groups. Particularly in the northern NH area, there are lots of opportunities to join hikes, kayaking, and other outdoor activities with other people; some are offered through the Appalachian Mountain Club: Get Outdoors in New Hampshire - Appalachian Mountain Club
It looks like the Village Book Store in Littleton offers some classes in languages and writing. The Littleton Public Library has a book discussion group. I know there are men's leagues for various sports in the north country too.
So, if one is into a certain activity and wants to participate in it with others, it's likely that that activity can be found.
There are some small NH towns that are extremely quiet and have literally no shops, dining, etc. But Littleton doesn't quite fit that description.
So in terms of things to do, if want a place that has many, many choices for dining and drinking (which I suspect is not your desire, or else you probably wouldn't be looking into moving to a town in northern NH in the first place), then Littleton wouldn't be a great choice. But if you're looking for a place that offers a small town experience, with a little bit of historical-downtown charm and a few local establishments for dining and meeting up with people when you'd like to, proximity to hiking and other outdoor activities, then it sounds like Littleton would be worth considering.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the Littleton area is farther from bigger cities like Boston and Portland compared to some other NH towns (about 3 hours from each). That may or may not be important to you. Some people like to be a little closer in the event that they want to attend a major or minor league game, a concert, go to a museum, etc., and there are small towns in NH that are less of a drive to each city.
As for the political comments re: Bill O'Reilly and Limbaugh - definitely an overgeneralization. I actually don't know anyone personally in NH who likes Limbaugh or O'Reilly (in fact, I'm not sure I've ever met anyone anywhere who enjoys listening to those guys). Obama won NH in the last presidential election. We've had a Democratic NH governor for the past 8 years. As a person who is moderate politically (I lean different ways depending on the particular issue), I don't find it difficult to live here at all on a political level (maybe it would be if you surround yourself with people who talk about politics constantly...I've never gravitated toward such people, no matter which side of the aisle they identify with). NH is also one of the few states where gay marriage is currently legal. So I'm just kind of baffled by some of unit731's comments.
There are many people in NH who hunt, and others who own guns for purposes of self-protection; most of these people feel strongly about their right to own guns, if asked directly about their thoughts on the issue or given a forum in which to discuss that. But I don't know anyone who talks about guns constantly or belongs to gun clubs, personally; I'm sure they exist - I'm just trying to make the point that since I haven't come across such folks in my 33 years of living here, it can't be as prevalent as was suggested.
Regarding your question about mud season: I've never found that to be an issue except when driving on a dirt road. So that would depend on whether you'd be living or traveling on a dirt road. I've never experienced vehicle rust or having to use studs/chains on my tires; AWD/4WD, or at least a vehicle with electronic stability control, are certainly things to consider having for a New England winter, though many drive in the winter without them.
If you listen to Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and Alex Jones you will like small town New Hampshire.
Otherwise choose Vermont.
No small town big or small compares to large city living.
If you like living alone with almost zero social life then you will fit right in to small town New England.
Yes, there many social organizations you can join such as the Lions, Eagles, and the local gun club if you do wish to get involved. And of course, the local church.
There is much that you will miss. Such as good pizza, bakery shop, a good coffee shop, public transportation, taxi cabs, trains, and on and on.
Make sure to have a good car with good tires for winter driving. Be aware that temperatures are usually 30 degrees below NYC and probably 40 degrees below DC in winter time. Most here carry jumper cables for winter time. AWD or 4WD are quite common and some add studds to vehicle for hill and dirt road country. Salt on roads and vehicle rust are big issues in small town areas.
Read up on Carl Drega.
High speed internet and cable can be spotty. Cell phones have more then a few dead spots.
Availability to good hospital can be an issue.
There is a great hospital called Littleton Regional Hospital that I happen to volunteer at. Wonderul coffee shop in Franconia called Mojos and many others, but, Mojos is my very favorite! Some really great fine dining places so there is no shortage of nice places to eat in the Littleton area. I have not had much of an issue finding places to shop and adding in online shopping as well. I don't carry jumper cables, studs or chains in my car although I do wish I had 4WD and I do have good winter tires. I tromp around in high heels whenever possible I DO NOT listen to any of the above mentioned radio personalities You might have a chance, but, no guarantees for sure.
Thanks all for the great responses! I actually chose Littleton because it seemed to have much of what I didn't think I could live without in a small town. It seems to have a nice variety of restaurants from diner to fine dining, a decent amount of ethnic food (certainly not like DC which has everything under the sun but i saw thai, chinese, mexican, italian, etc.), good shopping, good coffee, good health care, and hopefully a sky full of actually visible stars at night, but was still a small town. I'm a little concerned about no pro teams being in the area, but honestly while I like going to sporting events here in DC, I always end up enjoying watching it on TV more anyways!
From a social life standpoint, I tend to be pretty shy and even here in DC don't have much of one, so I'm not too concerned. I think living here in DC where people are generally not friendly at all (everybody keeps their head down when walking past other people, lots of hand gestures when driving, etc), that I have trained myself to be the same, so i'm hopeful people tend to be a bit more friendly, like saying hi when walking the dog, stuff like that so I can open up and meet and appreciate new people again.
Regarding politics, well, I live in the most politically charged town in the world and my family has people with strong interests on both sides of the coin, so I'm kind of used to ignoring them. I'd just like to be in an environment where people can believe what they want and hopefully won't talk about it if it's not brought up!
I guess it's cool people can own guns if they want, but that type of thing doesn't interest me. I have no desire to own a gun. Just want to find some nice people to enjoy life with and live a little slower than I do now.
Once again folks, thanks so much for your insight. Just took a couple weeks off mid december to move, so this is actually happening!
From a social life standpoint, I tend to be pretty shy and even here in DC don't have much of one, so I'm not too concerned. I think living here in DC where people are generally not friendly at all (everybody keeps their head down when walking past other people, lots of hand gestures when driving, etc), that I have trained myself to be the same, so i'm hopeful people tend to be a bit more friendly, like saying hi when walking the dog, stuff like that so I can open up and meet and appreciate new people again.
Having a dog is the best way to meet your neighbors, I always say. That's how I knew everyone in my 'hood so quickly!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike3513
I'd just like to be in an environment where people can believe what they want and hopefully won't talk about it if it's not brought up!
That's generally how it is here, so that's perfect.
Having a dog is the best way to meet your neighbors, I always say. That's how I knew everyone in my 'hood so quickly!
That's generally how it is here, so that's perfect.
Best of luck to you in your move!
Dog walking on Littleton Main Street and others is one of the best activities for meeting people and other animal lovers What kind of dog do you have? You can check out mine in my profile.
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) and do a small hike up Kilburn Crags.
I DO NOT listen to any of the above mentioned radio personalities
You might have a chance, but, no guarantees for sure.
What kind of dog do you have? You can check out mine in my profile.
