New Hampshire Living (Manchester, Concord, Merrimack: apartment, house, neighborhoods)

[WannaComeHome]

what a shame you feel that way. It's a beautiful state and has a lot going for it. I can't wait to get back after 32 years of being away. Believe me, 'away' isn't particularly a better place.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by ladibelle

I have lived in NH for 47 years and was born here. Stuck here for family

There are far worse places to be. I have lived in many states in the US and NH is by far the best in terms of quality of life.

[Chamomile]

Hi everyone! Since people seem to be looking for advice about moving to NH I thought I would share my experience. I moved here when I was 18. I grew up in Seattle, WA and the Bay Area of northern California. I miss CA very much but I couldn't afford to live there when I was 18, so I figured I would try a change of scenery (I had some family out here but had never been here). I never intended to settle in NH permanently, but life sometimes has other plans. What happened was, I immediately met a cute young man and two years later we were married. All of his wonderful, tight-knit family lives in the Manchester area, so I have now lived here in NH for 8 years. My husband and I now have three young children. I will now share my impressions of living in Southern NH.

When I first moved to NH, I had visions of picturesque little New England towns with lots of trees. I was straight from Logan Airport to downtown NH, where I was to stay. I was SO disappointed by Manchester. Lol. I was working at the local shopping mall at the time, and taking the bus from downtown Manchester to the mall every day, and had no car to explore the area, so I found the whole place very depressing and immediately began to plot my escape. Luckily, I met my future husband shortly after my arrival and he drove me all over Southern NH to show me what Southern NH can really be like. It was BEAUTIFUL!!!

Unfortunately, what we found raising a family as young college students is that it is very hard to live here with babies/preschoolers when you're on a budget. It is true that there really isn't much you can do with them in the winter, unless you have money to spend. It is just too cold outside to take them out for any length of time. They get antsy and want to run around, and we of course have always had to live in tiny apartments, so every winter the local shopping mall gets packed with moms and kids looking to get out of the house. If you can afford to spend some money, there are children's museums, classes and activities and so forth, but these have always been out of our reach.

In general, I love living in NH, but it sucks to be lower income here. I suppose that's true of many places, though, right? It's just worse here in the winter. In the late spring through the fall, there is SO much to do that we feel rich playing at all the parks without spending any money at all. Manchester mostly sucks (sorry) but it is getting nicer. The Manchester downtown area is SO NICE compared to when I first moved there 8 years ago. The west side of Manchester is experiencing a little bit of a resurgance, which is nice. I'd like to see more of that, as that is where DH's roots are and where his Memere and Pepere still live.

Overall, I really really love NH, except in February. In February (or March) I am generally plotting my escape back to CA. All is well again by April or May.

Next year, we should be able to afford to finally move into a house, and that will make my life so much easier. Ideally, we will plan our yearly vacation in late winter each year.

[WannaComeHome]

your winter problem must be because you're in Manchest/apt life. Having spent my childhood growing up in New Ipswich and Hollis - both small towns, it must have been different. With 5 older brothers and sisters, my parents didn't have a lot of extra money/time for trips in the winter to keep us amused. It was just 'go out side and play'. So you put on a snow suit and mittens and went out in the snow. as I got older (like able to wander the neighborhood) I was expected to amuse myself. Mum had no time to do anything. there was sledding, building a snow fort/snowman... sometimes ice skating. Or you go to a friend's house and play in their snow until you're too cold and go inside. But even as a very young kid - there was no going any place for fun.

I'm glad you learned to appreciate NH -or at least work with what you've got. I always think it's a shame to let one season ruin the entire year. It's such a lovely place.

Good luck on moving to a house! Have you decided where to move to?

[MovedfromFL]

Originally Posted by dyrewolf31

To some people, that's a selling point. Not the poo-pooing Christians part, but the firm separation of church and state.

Absolutely. That's why we are hoping to move away from Georgia in the next few years. Our governor's strategy for dealing with a huge water crisis is to "pray for rain." Great leadership. Religion is very in your face here, and it's in the schools as well. Personally, I respect all faiths and realize that not everyone is Christian. That's not always the case here in Georgia.

[MovedfromFL]

Originally Posted by touretteboy65

Thanks. How about this? The other day, I'm in a convenience store buying a pack of gum. The store is owned and operated by a family from India, a great, courteous, hard working family. They always great you with a smile and are very helpful. A Spanish male came into the store and spoke very little English. They tried to accomodate him as best they could, but no luck. The Spanish fellow was quite rude and upset he wasn't understood. As best they tried and the resulting disrepect they received from the Spanish man, they were still courteous. He left and the older Indian man said, "He speaks Spanish and very little English. It is very difficult. Things are changing for this country. It is sad." I am not judging the entire Spanish people for this one man's behavior, but it is more often than not. A family from India that did not know the English language took the time and effort to learn and are doing well for themselves. They appreciate the opportunity America has to offer. Many of the Spanish people I see are in low riders, blaring their music, speeding through traffic, yelling in Spanish, and hanging out in front of their Section 8 "homes." How is then that one family from one country can do so well, yet another does not? Why is it the prevailing theme from one nationality to another? It is not by accident, it is by purpose. As he said, it is sad.

It's a very sad situation down there. I lived in Central FL from 1974-2006. Everything has gone downhill. Crime is out of control. How are things going to be in 10-20 years down there? Unfortunately, we moved here to Georgia right at the same time this town became heavily Mexican. (33% county, 50% in city limits)

It's sad that living in FL makes you feel you have to watch your back constantly and secure all of your belongings at all times because they will "walk away" if not. It is not normal to have 13 year olds car jacking people. It's not normal to have 5 year olds shot to death in front of their apartment. (just happened). My children will not grow up in such a nasty environment. Even if you are in a nice area (as you are), you are still surrounded by a mess.

[touretteboy65]

Originally Posted by MovedfromFL

It's a very sad situation down there. I lived in Central FL from 1974-2006. Everything has gone downhill. Crime is out of control. How are things going to be in 10-20 years down there? Unfortunately, we moved here to Georgia right at the same time this town became heavily Mexican. (33% county, 50% in city limits)

It's sad that living in FL makes you feel you have to watch your back constantly and secure all of your belongings at all times because they will "walk away" if not. It is not normal to have 13 year olds car jacking people. It's not normal to have 5 year olds shot to death in front of their apartment. (just happened). My children will not grow up in such a nasty environment. Even if you are in a nice area (as you are), you are still surrounded by a mess.

You got that right. There are times I try to convince myself that we could continue living here, even after my retirement. Moving to another state will be a tremendous task and will probably create (initially) a lot of stress on my two daughters, but I cannot ignore the fact that this state is in a downward spiral. We have a gorgeous house that we spent a lot of money, sweat and tears on and we would hate to leave it behind, but I feel deep down inside that we should make the effort and go. I vision my two kids experiencing the four seasons, something I haven't been able to do since I was seven. That in and of itself is enough to convince me to move. Maybe it's my blissful thinking that I feel the only bit of Americana is located in New England? Am I wrong in thinking so??? The entire southern region of the United States seems to be concerned more with sports and building new shopping malls and subdivisions. The West coast seems to be a mess. Regardless, I feel we need to get out before things get too out of hand. I don't like to be surrounded by people whose only concern after their five year old kid gets shot is covering up the crime and driving in circles. Eventually, their kids sit in the same classroom as mine, and I just can't have that. Florida will be theirs to do with what they may; I'll have to read about it in New Hampshire.

[touretteboy65]

By the way, are there fireflies in New Hampshire? I remember as a kid in Jersey, we used to collect them by the hundreds a night and place them in jars. Nothing like that here in Florida. I'm hoping they're there in New Hampshire so my kids can do the same when we move there next year. Thanks.

[Ken E]

We have fireflies over here on the west coast. Not nearly as many as up in N.H. It doesent seem to get anywhere near as dark down here either.

[JukieF]

I'd like to add my comments as brand new resident of Manchester.

My husband lost his job in Colorado (Fort Collins) in November. The long job hunt began. He had a lot of interviews in Silicon Valley (he's an engineer), as well as in Boston, England, Texas, Maryland... We thought that we were going to end up in California, since that's where most of his interviews were. We love northern California, especially the climate. But it's SO expensive to live there. We knew that we'd go from our beautiful, large house in Colorado to a tiny apartment. So when this job opportunity came up in Manchester, I was pretty excited.

I'd never been in New England until we arrived here three weeks ago to start house hunting. So far, I really like what I see. Yes, I'll miss the climate in Colorado and the spectacular Rocky Mountains. And most of my family is still in Colorado, including my aging parents and two of our children, so that makes it hard. But I'm focusing on the positive things. It's absolutely beautiful here. It's wonderful to live near the ocean again (I lived in Portland, Oregon, for a while). I haven't been to the White Mountains yet or the lakes region, but I'm looking forward to exploring them.

One thing I like is the people here. Everyone is so friendly. We lived in NY for a while (Rockland County), and I couldn't believe how rude people were there. That formed my impression of what people in the northeast were like, but I'm happy to say that I was wrong.

We're buying a house right in Manchester. I haven't explored the town too much yet. But my initial impressions are that the downtown area isn't nearly as vibrant as Fort Collins' downtown. But Fort Collins is a college town, and that makes for a pretty fun and exciting downtown. There are lots of bars and restaurants. Lots of live music. You can go downtown any time of the day--until the wee hours of the morning--and there are always a lot of people. I don't have a feel yet for Manchester's downtown, but I get the idea that there aren't too many bars or places to hear live music. I want to check to see what kind of entertainment the Verizon center attracts.

So far I really like New Hampshire. I just hope the winters aren't as bad as I think they're going to be. :-) I can't wait for fall, though.