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Hah, instead of "ocean-side" I should have said "ocean-bound."
As for the winters ...
Some winters are milder than others. Typically, by December it's getting cold (autumn usually has an "Indian Summer" that makes it quite enjoyable) and we hope for a White Christmas, so that's about the time the snow comes down with some permanency. January at its worst can be bitter cold, where even the warmest bundles of clothes leave you wishing you were inside. At its best, it's a majestic winter wonderland. Shoveling is good exercise or a pain, depending on the rush you're in; a good snow blower or plowing service certainly helps in that regard.
Most grumbles come from the length of winter, that you're ready for the snow and slush and cold to be gone by March, yet it lingers on through May. I used to hate winter for that reason, and moved south to escape it. There's no place like New England, though, and I recommend that anyone who hates winter try living without it for a while.
Most grumbles come from the length of winter, that you're ready for the snow and slush and cold to be gone by March, yet it lingers on through May. I used to hate winter for that reason, and moved south to escape it. There's no place like New England, though, and I recommend that anyone who hates winter try living without it for a while.
ha! same here Unfortunately MD wasn't far enough south: less snow (usually), but more ice (usually) and lots more wind make the windchill just as cold feeling. Ok, the duration is shorter, I admit that. But.... it's not worth it! 3 more months and the countdown will be 2 years!
I grew up on the north shore of Long Island about 30 miles outside NYC. Then after about 8 years in PA I moved to the Metro Baltimore/DC area for about 15 years (Severna Park, MD- pop. 28,000+,but sprawled -- not a small city like Portsmouth is). We moved to NH 2 years ago...here's my $0.02 as a suburban girl turned small-town girl...
Portsmouth is not isolated at all -- it's got everything you need right there, and is close to Boston MA and Portland ME (plus Manchester and Concord NH.) I'd live there in a heartbeat but its not an option with DH's current job.
Moving out of the 'burbs was a MUCH easier adjustment for me than I thought it would be. The lack of traffic and congestion is like instant prozac -- it is SO nice. What really hit me was that in Maryland there were tons of fairs and cool things for families and kids and you never wanted to touch them with a 10-foot pole because they were wall to wall people. Here in NH you can take advantage of all those things with what I'd call a "pleasant" crowd level (if it's crowded at all...)
People say it's expensive -- depends on your frame of reference. Coming from NY and DC this is *cheap* to me. Coming from CA I think the main challenge for you will be not to overpay for housing -- it would be easy to do because even overpriced in NH will be cheap by Bay Area standards.
Politically it is liberal by NH standards but it's absolutely no Berkeley. In general, NH -- no matter what the political affiliation -- is pretty middle of the road relatively speaking. Most people I have met -- even in this so-called "liberal" bastion we call New London -- tend to be more fiscally conservative and more socially liberal/libertarian than my past experience.
Actually, almost I've found that almost everything in NH -- way more so than in the Boston-NY-Philly-Baltimore-DC megalopolis -- depends on your frame of reference...and if your only frame of reference is NH 30 years ago then today's NH looks pretty extreme (whether that is traffic, politics, # of MA people, cost of living, etc).
I grew up on the north shore of Long Island about 30 miles outside NYC. Then after about 8 years in PA I moved to the Metro Baltimore/DC area for about 15 years (Severna Park, MD- pop. 28,000+,but sprawled -- not a small city like Portsmouth is). We moved to NH 2 years ago...here's my $0.02 as a suburban girl turned small-town girl...
Portsmouth is not isolated at all -- it's got everything you need right there, and is close to Boston MA and Portland ME (plus Manchester and Concord NH.) I'd live there in a heartbeat but its not an option with DH's current job.
Moving out of the 'burbs was a MUCH easier adjustment for me than I thought it would be. The lack of traffic and congestion is like instant prozac -- it is SO nice. What really hit me was that in Maryland there were tons of fairs and cool things for families and kids and you never wanted to touch them with a 10-foot pole because they were wall to wall people. Here in NH you can take advantage of all those things with what I'd call a "pleasant" crowd level (if it's crowded at all...)
People say it's expensive -- depends on your frame of reference. Coming from NY and DC this is *cheap* to me. Coming from CA I think the main challenge for you will be not to overpay for housing -- it would be easy to do because even overpriced in NH will be cheap by Bay Area standards.
Politically it is liberal by NH standards but it's absolutely no Berkeley. In general, NH -- no matter what the political affiliation -- is pretty middle of the road relatively speaking. Most people I have met -- even in this so-called "liberal" bastion we call New London -- tend to be more fiscally conservative and more socially liberal/libertarian than my past experience.
Actually, almost I've found that almost everything in NH -- way more so than in the Boston-NY-Philly-Baltimore-DC megalopolis -- depends on your frame of reference...and if your only frame of reference is NH 30 years ago then today's NH looks pretty extreme (whether that is traffic, politics, # of MA people, cost of living, etc).
-- NDQ
Can I send you an email-I would love to ask you some more questions? Thank you for your opinion, most appreciated. I agree, CA is really expensive-so I don't think I will be too sticker shocked. However, I was surprised to see the cost of living outside of Boston in some of the communities. I hear Boston taxes are pretty high as well; although, CA taxes are no bargain either.
I wouldn't call Portsmouth isolated either. I use to live there when I was stationed at the AF Base that is now closed. Im from Mass originally south of Boston and travelled back and forth all the time. I worked for Delta at Logan and many of my co-workers lived in NH and commuted some from the Portsmouth area as well as Nashua. Portsmouth is a great area and with Boston only an hour away it makes it a perfect location. Not to far and not to close. I think you will enjoy it and as someone mentioned it won't be a sticker shock for you coming from California.
Isolated no not at all, unless someone was used to living in the San Fran area or Boston itself. I live in Oregon now and I think its really isolated, once I leave the Portland area which is small to me. Best of Luck.
I also recommend renting for awhile, so you can look over the NH area or even Mass and decide which state meets your needs better. I do think if you feel the snow will bother you and making a commute in it then living closer to Boston might be a better option. Lots of nice towns north of Boston to consider. Best of Luck.
IIRC there is a direct public bus service from Portsmouth to Boston/Logan. Forget what all these whiners are saying about winter cold. Portsmouth is the local sunbelt. Portsmouth is also the only NH city I would care to live in if I could afford it.
Forget what all these whiners are saying about winter cold. Portsmouth is the local sunbelt.
My thoughts as well. The weather is somewhat milder because it's on the coast. Winter can be brutal inland, though someone not used to it would say that "cold is cold and it's all brutal."
It's all relative. Rudeness aside, the poster said that she is relocating from California where she's probably used to 75 degree days throughout most of the year.
Where are you living now? I agree, I plan to come spend a week and just enjoy the area. My husband flies for JetBlue so we usually fly into Boston-I will then rent a car and head up...I do have to say I was really impressed with the area.-Are the winters as bad as everyone is telling me??
I'm in Northern VA. My wife is a native Californian (San Diego) and she's hoping I get a job up in NH so that we can move there. She happens to love Portsmouth. It's not 70 degrees year round, but there are four seasons, and there's less snow than the inland parts of the state see. Yes, it will snow, and yes you will have to clear it - but that goes for anywhere in the northeast, including NJ where I grew up.
Portsmouth is an hour from 3 different airports, but I am serious that you should fly into MHT. I know you probably fly for free on Jet Blue, but the whole experience is a good way to start the trip. Logan is busy. MHT exemplifies what I love about NH.
I'm being flown in for an interview in the next couple of weeks and I'm truly disappointed they're sending me through BOS and not MHT! When I joked about it with my recruiter, they thought BOS would be more familiar for me. That was before they knew I was familiar with the area!
Not only is Portsmouth not isolated but it's a great place to live. Lots to do for singles and families in the area.
What's there to say about our little neck of the woods, New England.....
The people here are not fake and superficial like most people in southern CA are, well unless yo go to Vermont. Everywhere else we may be reserved at first but once you get to know us we're pretty warm and sincere.
Property taxes in NH are very high because we no sales tax or income tax.
It gets very cold in the summer and snows a lot.
There's a Dunkin Donuts on every friggin corner (you can determine for yourself whether that's a good thing or bad thing)
The clam chowder and lobster rolls are great. It's pronounced chowdah by the way and it's ALWAYS white
Wicked is a synonym for very
We're not all arrogant, egg head pseudo intellectual liberals trying to emulate the speech patterns of the late infamous Ted Kennedy.
Don't open your mouth if you like baseball but aren't a Red Sox fan unless you live in Connecticut in which case you're not even really part of New England anyway
We all secretly think Tom Brady's gay but don't want to say anything to upset the guy because he's the best thing that's ever happened to our Patriots...........
We see no reason why a foot of snow should keep us form going out and driving where we need to go.......
We don't need to turn the heat on in the fall until it gets down into the mid 50's...anything sooner than that is a waste of money.............put a friggin hoodie on
We fully acknowledge how horrible and against the rules of nature the NYC accent is........
We don't find Jersey Shore the least bit amusing
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Unfortunately MD wasn't far enough south: less snow (usually), but more ice (usually) and lots more wind make the windchill just as cold feeling. Ok, the duration is shorter, I admit that. But.... it's not worth it! 3 more months and the countdown will be 2 years! 
Thank you
