Peterborough to Keene commute? (Manchester, Portsmouth: rent, how much, theater)

[lukedaddy]

Hello all,

Just about a week and a half till we leave GA and head for NH! Unreal.
Currently we have NOT yet found a place! We are considering a place in Peterborough, which I have never been to but I heard is really nice. I will be working in Keene and I wondered what the commute would be like?
I see most of it (ok, all of it) is 101. Mapquest says it's like 17 miles and should take 31 mins. That seems a little long to me, is it correct?
Also, being from GA I have never driven in snow (yeah, yeah I know) when that time comes, what will I need to add drive time wise to my commute? An extra 10 mins.....30? I have no clue. One thing is for sure, we have to find a place, and find it lightning quick or this could become a nightmare! Thanks in advance for any feedback you can give!

[GregW]

Thirty one minutes would be a good time from Peterborough to the east side of Keene. In the summer on a dry day outside of commuting (even Keene has commuters) hours. During a January snowstorm an hour should be added. Be aware there is a small mountain between Peterborough and Keene.

I suggest you rent closed to Keene for a year and get used to NH before you get stuck with an impossible commute.

[dognh]

Peterborough is a fine artsy town. The commute to Keene is definitely doable. The reason for the extended time is probably because 101 out here is not a highway. it's windy, one lane and slow (lots of cops).

The good thing is that Peterborough puts you 17 miles closer to rest of NH.

Snow in NH is just something you get used to - no matter where you live.

[AngelaK]

It will depend on where you live in Peterborough and where you work in Keene. Rt101 is not the only way to get from Peterborough to Keene. You can take rt 123 to rt 9/202, route 10 and 12, etc..........lots of smaller roads that will get you where you need to go...all of these ways will take 25-35 minutes (it is about 30 miles between the two towns). In a snow storm, add I would guess you could add anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending on the situation. Good luck.

[WannaComeHome]

as DogNH said, what is confusing you is that just because the road is a numbered 'highway', doesn't make it a Highway! speed limit will probably be 45mpg - which may or may not be paid attention to. But, it certainly will not be a 'superslab' highway with a speed of 55-65 on it. very few highways in NH are like that, probably only rt3/I93 going up the state and I95 over to Portsmouth.

One good thing about Peterborough is.. if you have any major medical needs, the Monadnock regional hospital is in Peterborough.

[Valerie C]

Route 101 from Portsmouth until it merges w/ Rte 293 in Manchester will have a speed limit of 55-65 (and lots of state troopers ready to pounce) but it's not the "drive with headlights on" route with white cross memorials here and there that it was a decade ago. Once 101 splits off from 293, it's a 2-lane, long and winding road...

[Rexicana]

It's 30 minutes. It is an OK drive, although the slow-down for Dublin Lake always gets me (I hate driving though). I know a lot of people who go to Keene from PBoro and vice versa, so it can't be horrible in the winter. I found most of 101 to be super salted and well maintained all winter. Now pull off on a side road and you never know what you will find. I drove back from the Colonial Theater in the nasty start of a snowstorm and it probably added 15-20 minutes to my drive. I'm a slow driver anyway though.

[Tarastomsgirl]

That time is correct. 101 is one laned, up and down mountains with little room for error. You can't get fast on it at all, its just twists and turns and has rock ledges on one side and mountain on the other.. I drove it once in the snow coming back from manchester airport and it I had to go 30 mph the whole way..the hour drive turned in to a 2 1/2 hour drive. If there's an accident on that road forget it. You're gonna be late cause its gonna block both ways.. I'd stay closer to Keene. Esp cause you've never driven in snow.. You're about to find out how delayed it will make you, and how much slower you're going to have to drive and somedays not at all..Also check with your job because some require that you live with a certain time frame from work. You'll be driving in snow for most of the year (if the winter is like this last one) so from Nov- well it snowed the day we left on May 3rd.

[lukedaddy]

Wow.......sigh. Well it looks like we are just going to have to go with Peterborough. The other place we were considering was in Jaffrey, but we seemed to like Peterborough better. I wanted to be in Keene, but budget wise, and finding a place that allowed a small dog AND had W/D hookups was next to impossible to find!
Ah well....looks like I will just dive in head first. Commute it is.
By the way....Hey Tara, congrats on the move back to Florida! I know you will be happy and that's what really counts. Looks like we will have just missed each other by a week or two.

[dognh]

Forget Jaffrey...blagh. No offense