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They're small cities but northern New England doesn't get a lot of discussion here. Which one is the most attractive city? Photos of these cities look scenic, here is some criteria...
Best downtown
Most scenic setting
Best city for tourists
Best city for living
Crime/safety
Jobs/local economy
Manchester is by far the most under appreciated of the bunch. Yes, it's gritty, but it has a sneaky good restaurant scene (whereas Portland and Burlington are highly publicized in that regard). It's also by far the best for job opportunity given its location and viability as a commuter city to Boston (it's a damn shame that NH doesn't seriously push for commuter rail from Manch to North Station). Portland and Burlington have small city economies (largely service based) that make finding work far more difficult. Manchester also has a nice little downtown and has done a decent job of rehabbing old mills and row houses in recent years. It's a city on the upswing that has a lot of potential.
Portland and Burlington are the "obvious" choices due to their charming historic downtown areas, seaside/lakeside locations and proximity to their respective states' most scenic areas. They blow Manchester - an old mill town- out of the water when it comes to tourism and for good reason. That being said, I think Manchester is very livable, in the midst of a renaissance of sorts, and probably the best choice if a job is a concern. If I won the lottery and had to pick between the three, I'd go with Burlington (I lived in Portland- really didn't like living there though I appreciate it from a visitors perspective). As a normal guy who needs a good job and wants room to grow in my career, the choice would be Manchester by a mile. It's not the sexy choice but it's the most practical and it really is an underrated city (Portland and Burlington are far from underrated- both are exceptionally well known nationally).
I've only driven through Manchester, so I can't really comment there. Irfox's post seems spot on though.
Between Burlington and Portland it's sort of a tossup. Do you like the ocean or do you like the mountain (though the mountains are closer to Portland than the ocean is to Burlington)? On the other hand, Burlington has Lake Champlain, which is great. Both have great downtowns. I personally think that Portland "feels" a bit bigger and seems to have more things to do, but I haven't been there enough to be sure.
Also, do you like Montreal or Boston? Burlington is about 90 minutes from the former, with Portland being about 2 hours from the latter. Manchester, of course, is on the fringe of the Boston metro.
Best downtown: Portland has the best complete downtown, but I do love the pedestrian only areas along Church St in Burlington.
Most scenic setting: Burlington, especially the areas along Lake Champlain.
Best city for tourists: Burlington seems to be the most tourist driven and friendly. But if you are a "foodie" traveler Portland hands down.
Best city for living: Toss up between Portland and Burlington. As far as small cities are concerned I could see myself living in either.
Crime/safety: Not sure statistically, but they all seem safe. New England is just safe in general.
Jobs/local economy: Portland has the largest economy, but Burlington's seems to be growing at the highest rate, also with the lower unemployment rate.
I am going to vote for Portland, because I could see myself living there one day, but I also love having Burlington near by. Portland's food and drink scene set it over the top for me, on par with much larger cities.
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