Thinking of transferring to UNH in Durham! Opinions? (Manchester, Dover: appointed, rentals)

[swankerme]

Hi everyone!

I am a college student current in Fort Collins, Colorado. I am thinking about transferring next semester to UNH in Durham and I wanted to get your opinions on the area. I did a search and Durham isn't talked about so much.

I visited New England last year, from Boston to Manchester and Vermont (spent most of a week in Waterbury). I absolutely loved Vermont, I would go to UVM but monetary reasons, UNH is a better choice. I really like the small "quaint" town feel of New England, I am not a city guy at all. I am actually studying forestry, so I want to go somewhere rural with plenty of trees.

How is Durham and the seacoast region? Any opinions on college life (I'm not a "partier"), small town life, outdoor activities? Are there good local joint restaurants in Durham? How does it compare to Vermont cities (Barre, Montpelier, Stowe)?

[Annabelle]

Durham is a much smaller college town than Ft. Collins but still it is a "college town" with just a few hours drive to the White and Green Mountains and all that they offer to the outdoor enthusiast. Portsmouth, being just 15 minutes away has a lot to offer as far as small city life. There are so many things to do and see for people who love both the mountains and the coast. I would recommend a visit though to make sure it is where you want to be.

[NH2008]

The Seacoast region is great but I don't think of Durham as particularly rural OR as a bustling city like Burlington (have never been to Burlington, but from what I've heard it's more of a city.) You would be close to woods and you would be close to Portsmouth but you would need a car to get to either. You could definitely get wings and pizza in Durham but beyond that I think you'd be driving.

I visited a friend at UNH when I was in college and I was a little disappointed. Seemed like the typical college scene (ie kids standing around an empty room drinking cheap beer out of cans while listening to loud music) but I have friends who went to grad school there and loved it. I have an acquaintance whose husband is a professor there and she said they feel Durham isn't all that it could be. But Portsmouth is great, and the woods aren't far. I do think visiting in person is always a good idea.

Sorry, this isn't much help. Good luck!

[dubthang]

I love Durham. It is small, but the local businesses are great. UNH is expensive though so make sure it is well worth the move. I lived in the seacoast area (and attended UNH too) for 5 years plus.

Surrounding towns to check out
Dover - great town. Lived here for three years. Good local restaurants, bars, and music scene.
Portsmouth - Similar to Dover. Slightly higher class, and on the ocean.
Newmarket - Lived here for over a year. Decent, but small downtown. Cheaper rentals and cheaper gas.
Lee/Madbury - Small towns that can offer cheaper housing, closer to highways, but not much else. Both are very pretty though.

UNH is a great school too. They kicked me out, but that doesn't mean that you can't excel there.

[steveusaf]

I'm from the Portsmouth area, have lived near Barre/Montpelier VT, and lived 45 minutes away from Ft Collings in Cheyenne, WY, so I have experience with each of the areas mentioned in your thread.

Durham is nowhere near the college scene that Ft Collins is. Smaller town, probably a more "artsy" feel than CO. Whereas everything is in Ft Collins, at UNH you'll have to drive to Portsmouth or Dover for most of the good stuff. Living in Cheyenne, the traffic in Ft Collins annoyed me. You won't find that in Durham. UNH has access to one key thing Ft Collins does not - the ocean! You're close to the beach and even closer to the Great Bay, which I must say has some great kayaking if you're afraid of the ocean waves. I second the previous poster's recommendations of towns to live in if you're not living in Durham. Dover and Portsmouth have the best night life, although Portsmouth is a little better IMO. You'll pay more to live there, though. Just like you'd go to Denver for big night life stuff or major sports events, you'd go to Boston if you went to UNH. It's about an hour away. You're about an hour and a half from some good mountains, so a little further than you're used to in CO.

As for Vermont, UVM is in Burlington and is quite a large college by VT standards. It's even more "artsy" than UNH, much more liberal in my opinion, and is in a great location on Lake Champlain. Barre/Montpelier is too far away from UVM to commute IMO, especially in winter. Its about 45 minutes. Stowe is a touristy town with good places to eat and great skiing, of course, but not really a commuter town. You'd probably be happier around the Burlington area. Very close to outdoor activities of all kinds. Not a cheap school either. I'd rather stick to UNH and be closer to the ocean. At UNH, you can have both mountains AND ocean within striking distance - the best of both worlds. That's why I'm moving back to stay in 5+ years!

[dubthang]

One thing that I think is unique to UNH (and perhaps other small towns with large campuses) is that the whole place is very surreal. If you stay there long enough you begin to think that all girls only wear sweatpants and Uggs, that all guys have something to prove, domestic beer is super cheap, and that cell phones (cellies) are a permanent part of the head.

[NH2NCMom]

Hi...

I might not live there anymore, and I never lived in Durham, but worked in Durham for a few years, knew lots of people in Durham and lived nearby for most of my life.

Durham is definitely a college town, with the soriority/fraternity feel in different parts. However, it still is a family town with many things around the area. There are several restaurants in the town and neighboring towns as well. UNH is an outstanding university and the Thompson Center is one of the top business schools in the country. UNH has a great forestry division, with a forestry center in Portsmouth/Rye line. I know this because I know someone who worked there.

While there are several things in the towns surrounding Durham, you don't necessarily need a car as there is the Coast bus which will bring you to Dover where you can grab the train to go to Boston and such. Coast also brings you to Portsmouth and some other towns too. However, it will be best to get a car so you can go discover the lakes and mountain regions which are loaded with forests obviously. Take a browse through the forum, there are tons of pictures of all the trees.

Personally I think UNH is all you are looking for and more!

[swankerme]

Thanks everyone for the replies - there is some great insight here!

I realize that it is a completely different world from the West (and Fort Collins for example). I do not care for larger cities. The only thing Fort Collins has going for it is that the college diversity brings a GREAT downtown, great restaurants, unique local shops, microbreweries, etc. I do not care for shopping malls, chain stores and "city life". When I visited New York / NE last year, I thought the small towns atmosphere brought a unique and distinct feel to the area - you could drive 5 miles and be in a different town with different stuff.

So would you actually recommend living in a nearby town isntead of Durham? I am all about finding a great price, and commuting 10 miles to school would not bother me. Is the bus commuting system fairly good (FtCo is huge on busses). Also, how is the bicycling scene? Is it easy or hard to get around on a bicycle? Colorado has designated bicycle lanes in nearly every street.

[dubthang]

There are chain stores and a mall in the seacoast area too. You won't be escaping that. It is hard to be carless, and live out of town (Durham,) but improvements are being made. A buddy of mine is trying to start a west-east bus company in NH. Currently nothing like that exists. I worked for Wildcat Transit (UNH bus company) for years. They are great and can get you to the surrounding towns (Portsmouth, Dover, Newmarket, Newington) fairly easily. When school is on break, however, the shedule changes, and it isn't so easy to get around. Coast bus company is also available to get you to other farther out areas, but you can't get Coast in Durham. C & J is available in Durham to get you to Boston, and you can get Amtrak in town too.

UNH was once the most expensive state school around (and may still be.) They are great for sciences, music, business, and forestry. They have a sweet wood working shop too. Just make sure you want to pay the very large out of state tuition.

[Cherrycheeks]

I realize this thread has narrowed its focus from the original post, however, I do want to address something said from the original... just in case you loved Waterbury/Montpelier/Barre and hoped Durham would be similar. Montpelier is unique and it would be hard to find another city like it. Since it is the capital, many people commute to work there (but don't live there) so on weekdays the population swells making it possible for businesses to survive despite the small permanent population. That makes the downtown able to support diverse business and seem bustling at times while also able to maintain the small-town feel. There are a lot of resources in VT (such as free health care) available to someone who may be struggling with funds (say, from college expenses). After college you may want to reconsider Montpelier... but not Barre, trust me.