Living on the East side of MA, commuting to Keene, NH (Boston: sales, rental)

[Ivycreeping]

Hi, everyone!
I wanted to get some opinions. I want to go to school in Keene, NH, but live in Massachusetts, preferably near the ocean. Salem is my fantasy location, but I'd be willing to check out other pretty towns/cities, but I want to be a reasonable distance from Boston (around 30 minutes at the maximum).

I would only need to be in Keene 2 consecutive days in a row, and from what I've seen, I really don't want to reside there. I love the old New England towns in Massachusetts that have a lot of character and are close to the water.

Would the commute be around 2 hours from the East coast line? Are there any other towns/cities that I should consider? Any insight would be great!

[airedaly]

Driving to Keene from Salem would take more than two hours hours, especially on a morning like this, with snow beginning just at the morning rush hour.

There are plenty of colleges in New England coastal communities. Maybe you can go to Salem State - then you can live and attend school in your fantasy location. You may change your mind once you actually visit Salem.

Keene, on the other hand, is surrounded by charming New England towns.

Commuting two hours (or longer) to attend class is a bad plan, no matter how many days each week.

[Ivycreeping]

Ok, so it is a hellish commute, huh?

Well, it's really not that easy. I want to go to Massachusetts to get a doctoral degree, and I don't want to go to just ANY college. Salem State doesn't even have my program. There's a school I really like in Keene, and I figured if I could drive there the night before classes, I could get a small studio there to crash for the 2 nights I'd need to be there, then spend the rest of the week in Massachusetts.

Also, I need to be around people, and I'd like to be by Boston. I'm a city girl.

Thank you for your reply. What towns are particularly charming over there?

[Valerie C]

Wow... A commute to Keene is something that I wouldn't want to do more than once every couple of months--It would be an incredibly long ride from Eastern MA or NH!

If proximity to Keene and Boston are important to you, you might consider looking a town that has easy access to Route 3. By traveling north on 3, you can hook onto Route 101 to get to Keene.

You'll have to do some careful planning tho. Keene, being a college town, may have the 2-3 day rental options that you're looking for, but it'll have to be just the right situation. Good luck, and keep us informed! I'd be interested to see how this plays out for you

[scf79]

I grew up about 15 miles east of Keene, and I have to say that there's actually much more going on there than there was 10-15 years ago (for instance, there never used to be any shopping besides at the Colony Mill, but now more and more retailers are moving out there (for better or worse)). There's also Peterborough, which is about 35-40 minutes from Keene, but it's got a cute downtown area and I think it has a ton of character (then again, I went to high school there, so maybe I'm biased). However, if you're looking for a place with some sort of nightlife, that might not be the town for you. Good luck with whatever decision you make, but Keene State really is a pretty decent school ... you may want to spend a weekend up there before writing it off completely

[Ivycreeping]

Thanks, you guys!

It's kind of looking like I may have to give up the idea of going to that college and try to find one in Boston, instead. It's almost an impossible choice, you know? It's either the school I want or my sanity (I can't stand small towns or feeling isolated away from a big city).

[shiloswizard]

Hi, I'm new to the board and wondered if many commuted from the Mason NH area to Boston, southern MA often. I'm in sales so I have flexability in my scheduling. I'll be moving up in a couple of weeks, which I'm very excited about, but am concerned about the traveling aspect.