Still looking...maybe Dover (Portsmouth, Barrington: lease, condo, houses)

[New England Kate]

Hi again,
We have been looking through the entire seacoast region, and have decided Dover is more affordable for us than Portsmouth. Can anyone tell me about Dover - does it have a nice downtown, or is it just a suburb? Any cool coffee houses? That's a big seller!!

It will be just my husband, two dogs and myself. Is it dog-friendly, too? How far is it from the mountains and hiking?

Thank you!
Kate

[sjwaste]

Originally Posted by New England Kate

Hi again,
We have been looking through the entire seacoast region, and have decided Dover is more affordable for us than Portsmouth. Can anyone tell me about Dover - does it have a nice downtown, or is it just a suburb? Any cool coffee houses? That's a big seller!!

It will be just my husband, two dogs and myself. Is it dog-friendly, too? How far is it from the mountains and hiking?

Thank you!
Kate

Kate,

I have little insight into Dover, but I'll share a somewhat funny story and maybe people will read it, think I'm an idiot, and provide you with a response. There is a commercial area with groceries, some restaurants, a starbucks, etc. I only know this because I drove past it to go to Wendy's.

I was recently in Dover for an interview. On my way up, I decided to stop at the Wendy's along 108. It's an older era Wendy's. When you walk in, you might still expect to find a Super Bar in there. Someone has to know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I had to park on the side of the building where the drive-thru window was, so I had to cross in front of a car to go in. As I was doing that, the driver crept forward while checking their order - I saw them, had plenty of space and they weren't moving fast. Still, as this happened, the person rolled down their window, kind of in horror, and apologized for "almost" running me over. I found that rather polite. I tell you this because I am from New Jersey and currently live near DC, and in either location, I would have been a) flipped off; b) yelled at; and/or c) run over, in descending order of likelihood. Note that "received apology" is not on my list.

So based on my sample of 1, plus the friendliness of the employees at that Wendy's, I have a very favorable impression of the people of Dover.

Incidentally, I will be relocating up that way and working in Dover. We will probably live a little closer to Portland, though, to cut down on my wife's commute.

Best of luck.

[buck naked]

I like Dover. It's NH's first city and currently has a population around 30K. My only complaint is it's not easy to get around town especially at rush hour.

In the early 1800's, 400 women walked out of Dover's cotton mill - the first woman's strike in the country.

Adelle's coffee house is popular, but lot's of people just do drive-thru at Aroma Joes...:>

[steveusaf]

Dover has almost everything Portsmouth has, just on a little smaller scale. The downtown has really shaped up over the past 25 years, and there's lots of entertainment and dining options to choose from. Just up Central Ave from downtown, there's a good assortment of big box shopping also. Other than price, I see less and less differences between Dover and Portsmouth every time I visit there. It's "Portsmouth-Lite", without the salt water. Dover will be my city that I travel to for shopping when I move to Barrington in a few years....

[NH2NCMom]

There's also Cafe on the Corner of 1st and Central...also Dunkin' Donuts (much better than Starbucks). There is a walkable downtown for sure - and I agree with it being Portsmouth-Lite. My hometown rocks

[blufordgill]

Hi Kate,
Dover has a pretty downtown-Its actually featured in an ad for NH Travel office in this month's Ladies Home Journal. There are nice coffe shops, locally based restaurants and friendly pubs. there are plenty of parks where dogs are welcome. We prefer to live in Dover . You will get more house for your dollar here.
Deb

[NH2NCMom]

OH forgot to mention Harvey's Bakery - they've been there for decades also right on Central Ave. And for lunch pickup a Mo's sub - the best on the planet (just down the street from Harveys)

[Pawporri]

Originally Posted by NH2NCMom

OH forgot to mention Harvey's Bakery - they've been there for decades also right on Central Ave. And for lunch pickup a Mo's sub - the best on the planet (just down the street from Harveys)

I'll second that motion. They have a great bakery and a great coffee shop that is "Diner" like in it's atmosphere. Also, they have a new "Margarita's
Restraunt" if you like decent mexican food.

[New England Kate]

Thank you so much everyone!!
Signing a lease on a condo in Dover tomorrow.
Thanks!
Kate

[lorilou]

We also selected Dover and are moving in this summer! After an exhaustive search of all the towns along the seacoast, we found that the people there are very "real" and friendly, as someone else mentioned.
I think we're all going to be very happy there!
Good luck!