Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Agree that Concord, NH is worthy of consideration. Personally I don't think it's quite as vibrant as seacoast, NH, but it's more affordable, and if someone likes downhill skiing, hiking, trout fishing - you're closer to those kinds of pursuits in the Concord area than in the seacoast area. Seacoast NH is still good for kayaking, striper fishing, cycling, the beach, and cross country skiing.
OP, I saw you post in the Maine forum with the same question about Brunswick.
For what it’s worth, I grew up there and I would choose it in a heartbeat over any location in NH. Obviously I’m biased, but it’s a pretty great area, coastal, a college town, great downtown, plenty of hiking in the area, easy day trips up and down the coast or to interior Maine, very close to Portland. Bradbury Mountain is good for a nice close-by hilly hike. It has an Amtrak station, too.
I advised you about Concord and Concord IS a better location for hilly hiking, and of course closer to Boston, but way too far from the ocean for my liking (and now I live even FURTHER away in SW NH.)
OP, I saw you post in the Maine forum with the same question about Brunswick.
For what it’s worth, I grew up there and I would choose it in a heartbeat over any location in NH....
I advised you about Concord and Concord IS a better location for hilly hiking, and of course closer to Boston, but way too far from the ocean for my liking (and now I live even FURTHER away in SW NH.)
Thank you! Something about Brunswick calls to me, although Concord is closer to the mountains. It may be something more in my heart than in my head, which is more atypical.
I remember when my friend drove us to Bar Harbor Maine, I found the locals to be very friendly. And that is a plus too. It's important for me to be someplace I can enjoy walking in the evening (high walkability town/small city) and feel safe too. I lived in Evergreen, CO and what I loved was I could walk to the grocery stores, the car repair shop, the sports doctor and even into the wide open spaces in the area. I'd step outside and could look up at the stars in the evening and it was really a great feeling. But that town felt very isolated from other bigger towns and even from the Denver CO suburbs (45 minutes down the highway). Tradeoffs sometimes....
When I lived in Portsmouth, my ski training hikes were Mt Major and up and down the novice ski trails at Gunstock. That was about an hour. Maybe 40 minutes to the Mt Major trail head from Dover. Gunstock is a few minutes farther. Both have pretty nice views.
Thank you! Something about Brunswick calls to me, although Concord is closer to the mountains. It may be something more in my heart than in my head, which is more atypical.
I remember when my friend drove us to Bar Harbor Maine, I found the locals to be very friendly. And that is a plus too. It's important for me to be someplace I can enjoy walking in the evening (high walkability town/small city) and feel safe too. I lived in Evergreen, CO and what I loved was I could walk to the grocery stores, the car repair shop, the sports doctor and even into the wide open spaces in the area. I'd step outside and could look up at the stars in the evening and it was really a great feeling. But that town felt very isolated from other bigger towns and even from the Denver CO suburbs (45 minutes down the highway). Tradeoffs sometimes....
Tradeoffs indeed. I think you need to experience these places with realistic expectations and think hard what's really important for you to be happy and to thrive - that's different for everyone. And the reality is that no place is perfect. Even if some place might by *some* definition seem perfect, if many people believe that, then demand for visiting and living there will be high and it will become expensive and crowded - which is no longer perfect! So I propose that you need to figure out what's most important and what place matches on those axes, and then be insensitive to the other axes where it's less desirable - celebrate the positives on your priorities and ignore the warts on less important aspects, and be happy :-).
Thank you! Something about Brunswick calls to me, although Concord is closer to the mountains. It may be something more in my heart than in my head, which is more atypical.
I remember when my friend drove us to Bar Harbor Maine, I found the locals to be very friendly. And that is a plus too. It's important for me to be someplace I can enjoy walking in the evening (high walkability town/small city) and feel safe too. I lived in Evergreen, CO and what I loved was I could walk to the grocery stores, the car repair shop, the sports doctor and even into the wide open spaces in the area. I'd step outside and could look up at the stars in the evening and it was really a great feeling. But that town felt very isolated from other bigger towns and even from the Denver CO suburbs (45 minutes down the highway). Tradeoffs sometimes....
I had friends who lived in Evergreen up on High Drive above town. They had another house by the lake. By New Hampshire standards, that’s not isolated. I drove there for dinner from Tech Center a bunch of times. From the lake to, say, REI in the city is 30 minutes. New Hampshire had no “bigger towns”. Manchester, which isn’t a particularly desirable place, is only 110,000 people and that’s as big as it gets. If you think Evergreen is isolated, there isn’t anywhere in Northern New England that isn’t isolated. Vermont has no cities at all. When I lived in Portsmouth, city was Boston and that’s an hour. When I worked in border towns like Salem and Hudson, Boston is closer but that’s suburban sprawl, not somewhere near outdoors and hiking.
Mountains near a city that isn’t Denver is Salt Lake City, maybe Albuquerque/Santa Fe, and the west coast cities. Reno is probably the most affordable. Mount Rose is right there and Tahoe is a pretty quick drive up I-80.
I had friends who lived in Evergreen up on High Drive above town. They had another house by the lake. By New Hampshire standards, that’s not isolated. I drove there for dinner from Tech Center a bunch of times. From the lake to, say, REI in the city is 30 minutes. New Hampshire had no “bigger towns”. Manchester, which isn’t a particularly desirable place, is only 110,000 people and that’s as big as it gets. If you think Evergreen is isolated, there isn’t anywhere in Northern New England that isn’t isolated. Vermont has no cities at all. When I lived in Portsmouth, city was Boston and that’s an hour. When I worked in border towns like Salem and Hudson, Boston is closer but that’s suburban sprawl, not somewhere near outdoors and hiking.
Mountains near a city that isn’t Denver is Salt Lake City, maybe Albuquerque/Santa Fe, and the west coast cities. Reno is probably the most affordable. Mount Rose is right there and Tahoe is a pretty quick drive up I-80.
It is interesting on your perspective. Denver and REI in Lakewood, etc. felt world's away. It took me 45 minutes at least to get to downtown REI. It just felt like a long haul for me. I just do not like driving the highway much (but I do). And taking the longer routes takes more time of course.
I am from New England (CT) and have driven through many towns on the way to the Whites. It was awhile ago and I haven't been there recently. I didn't feel it was isolated in New England. Maybe that is because it felt more accessible, doable, and also fun to go through those small and larger towns There was great variety in the routes I could take so there was never a sense of the "same old, same old." That is one thing I miss about New England; the sense of constant newness in routes to take, in places to visit and it all felt accessible (except for a few roads that are all dirt that I didn't feel I needed to take anyway). CO is vast but some of it is inaccessible to me (e.g. 4 wheel-drive routes, rough roads, hairy/scary routes, highways in winters...) And highway driving (which is needed most of the time to get anyplace away) is just not something I enjoy in this state. So psychologically I guess everything feels more a long haul.
I really don't have a need for big cities, which is why I want to leave the front range. I just like hilly hikes and loved the 'daks and Whites (and similar) when I was back east. And I know there is so much I have not done.
But when I was in New England, it was at a time I was not considering relocating from CT, so I didn't look at anyplace in terms of the possibility of relocating there. Besides I am sure it has changed, at least slightly in some areas.
I guess I’m still trying to understand how you felt isolated in Evergreen. Was it the demographics? It’s a 6 figure household income white collar bedroom town so more of a place for married with children. You’re going to get that in any of the 6 figure household income towns in New Hampshire except maybe Hanover.
I guess I’m still trying to understand how you felt isolated in Evergreen. Was it the demographics? It’s a 6 figure household income white collar bedroom town so more of a place for married with children. You’re going to get that in any of the 6 figure household income towns in New Hampshire except maybe Hanover.
Not isolated from people primarily, but from places. Perhaps you missed my comment with the post:
"felt very isolated from other bigger towns and even from the Denver CO suburbs (45 minutes down the highway)"
I didn't think the money differentials impacted community connections. Evergreen has a very strong non-profit and arts presence and has great athletic centers with pool, rock climbing, yoga, etc. And it has a good community theatre as well as many community events (such as Christmas tree lighting, New Years activities at the lake, fairs, and so forth). People are welcoming and friendly.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
