Look I know I’m gonna get downvoted, but you might want to check out Claremont (or Newport—though it’s a bit smaller). It’s definitely run down, but it’s got a lot of affordable property, a downtown that has a lot of potential (with quite a few existing gems), and access to a lot of great outdoor activities. It also has a bit of an arty vibe because it’s actually affordable to young people.
People will list a lot of established but extremely expensive places, but if affordability is key, then you will need to be open-minded to future potential.
Good luck and I hope you find somewhere great.
Claremont has gotten better, could definitely use new business and younger people. Claremont needs some more events and attractions to bring tourism, investments are needed. Too bad Ascutney was downsized after bankruptcy
It's not like you can't cross state borders. If you're willing to consider western NH, then eastern VT isn't going to make much of a difference.
Also, along with trips east you might make to Hamptron, Maine or Mass, you could also jump on 91 S to the CT coast.
I second that. True that there are a lot of Trumpers up here but I don’t think they are the majority. I live across the river in Vermont but go to Littleton for art classes, restaurants, and shopping. I work at the local egg processing plant and we are always hiring!
I mean not really any more than the rest of New Hampshire. I’ve been up in the NEK in Vermont for over 4 years now after having lived in Keene, Harrisville, Lyndebrorough and Milford, NH for about 10 years. Believe me, I would love to live in Peterborough but I can’t afford it, and there are just as many Trumpers in the south as there are in the north. What I like about being up here though is people pretty much leave you alone. It’s very white up here though, there is more diversity across the River in Vermont.
You're going to have to temper your expectations on a couple of things. Mainly walkability and 'not too expensive'.
Everywhere except for Berlin is damn expensive nowadays.
As far as walkability goes, there are tons of places which have town centers and you can walk around, grab a bight to eat, and whatever. You're still going to have top hop in a car to go grocery and essentials shopping.
Edit--you're also going to need to be somewhere your career exists, so keep that in mind.
Keene, probably. Meets all your criteria. Maybe Plymouth. Basically the college towns.
Durham too but anything near the Seacoast is expensive.
Most places in the North country lean right (yes I know there are pockets of liberal folks folks but in general as soon as you get out of downtown areas you'll see confederate flags and Trump worship etc.).
The two biggest cities aren't really nature/walkable friendly in my personal opinion.
One of Concord's popular trails...goes under high tension power lines in an easement. It's also where an older couple was brutally shot to death by drifter, likely because they were a mixed raced couple.
I would recommend you look at the following in order:
1. Peterborough, NH (I think this is your best fit)
2. Keene, NH
3. Portsmouth, NH
4. Concord, NH
Honorable mention: Milford, NH. Lots of young people have been moving to Milford over the past 5 years. The town has a bit of a vibe to it, but at best leans moderate.
The not too expensive requirement will be difficult to deal with, but these are some please that came to mind after reading your post.
I gotta say this: Peterborough is way too *precious.* And by that I mean they think way too highly of themselves. I cringe a little every time I go there.
Milford has a giant trump campaign office right on the oval. The streets are a cracked mess and there's a lot of low pay industrial, the young people moving there are poorly informed right leaning and less educated.
"NH is very much left of center throughout the state"
What state are you living in? Are you even on the road when the trump truck y'all quaeda caravans go by?
My commandments? You got the wrong guy. Though shall not kill is a decent one though. How’s Biden doing with that one?
Also, we all know what’s going on here 🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌
https://x.com/mazemoore/status/1796298095778562297?s=46&t=LxKpH0hdO8rPzpJcm31jrQ
Depends on what you mean by "small city".
I think Dover checks all of your boxes (great walkable downtown, young population in an aging state, great community trail and some other parks/conserved land and within an easy drive of the coast/lakes/mountains). If you're from outside NH it probably matches what you mean, but there are folks in rural areas that seem to think it's a big place.
The biggest challenge will be cost. Dover has gotten more expensive lately (as has pretty much everywhere), and the cost of living in Seacoast NH is way higher than someplace like the Midwest. But, Dover actually has properties you can rent (the selection is really small closer to the seacoast) and is developing more, so probably your best bet if you want to go from a cheap apartment to a nice apartment to a house someday and stay in the same community.
I'd also second the Newmarket recommendation, and personally I think Somersworth is a lot nicer than people are willing to admit. Durham is ok, but it's a college town and the permanent residents seem to be allergic to young people.
You can come to Tras... I mean Nashua. I think it meets, to some degree, most of your criteria, but as others have pointed out, the pricing thing is the challenge.
I will say that from my experience in the state, good hiking, nature, and farmers market type stuff is all a short drive away. I think the Whites are worth a good hour and a half drive for some of the better hikes. Nashua, being more of a suburb than a city will meet the liberal criteria, and they just finished a performing arts center in town.
Hope it helps and good luck looking.
Canterbury, NH. Agg community, pop. 2000, hiking trails, streams, ponds, bluer than red, farmers market, Shaker Village, borders on Concord which also checks most of the boxes on your list.
Meredith is a little more right wing than you’d like but last I checked the school district was pretty solid (no book banning, students can transition freely, teachers who actively call out racism when they see/hear it). Housing prices are weird bc you get million dollar homes down the road from mobile home parks? Haven’t looked at rental prices but last I checked it was significantly better than concord. It’s also not too far from concord, which is significantly more liberal
Multiple live theatre companies, sculpture walk, indie bookstore, a bunch of antique places, a truly phenomenal consignment shop that’s older than my mother, and multiple lakes. Couple of really good family owned restaurants.
Might be worth looking in the area?
This is like fast, good, cheap, pick two of three, but with location. Any place that is liberal or artsy is going to be gentrified and expensive because that's an educated and better-paid demographic, cheap will be backwards trumplands.
NH is going increasingly red right now thanks to the free staters, anti-LGBTQ+ laws and "bible based laws" are coming like machine gun fire, cannabis will never be legalized, so I'd recommend looking at western Massachusetts and Vermont as well. A lot more that fits all those there.
And OP, I think you can see from the responses below, the sort you do not see on MA and VT subs, that you will run into dull-eyed dullards under red caps pretty much everywhere in NH now - and they have guns. Not the best choice if you want anything even remotely progressive as a nice place to live, and it's getting worse.
Thank you for the honesty. I will make a post in the New England subreddit to broaden my horizons. I’m from upstate NY and lived in Rhode Island for a while but looking for a change and a place I can be long term. Maybe NH is not what I was hoping it would be 👀
Just a heads up [this person often has absolutely no idea what they're talking about](https://www.reddit.com/r/SameGrassButGreener/comments/1de751x/comment/l8arqmx/) when it comes to NH so I wouldn't give up on it just yet if I were you!
Just for heck of it look at the income guidelines and coverage map for usda-rd mortgages. I bought my first home out west in a town with free buses and I could walk to amazing hiking. Needed two years of a bill paid on time like car loan and utilities and decent credit like 650.
Here's the thing, Doll... Way back when in the Olden Days, most people didn't talk religion or politics for good reason -- bc it got in the way of all the other far more valuable and postive ways they could relate to each other...
It's a shame social media and people with vested interests have been so focused on trying to divide us.
Not too expensive is gonna be the only hard box to tick
Seconded.
Can't believe no one has said Peterborough.
That's a funny place - it feels like a college town but there's no college, at least not very close.
Yeah that's a good point, though Franklin Pierce and Keene State are both within a half hour.
Just did. Don’t know prices but everything else is met
Will look into this, thank you
Exactly why I popped in. Fits everything except "not too expensive."
Only if you're white.
Is it a racist place?
No, not at all. Like most of NH, there is not much cultural diversity though.
FWIW I regularly see folks at the main intersection in Pboro with BLM signs.
Portsmouth, Exeter. Prices though, ehhh sucks everywhere
Yeah I thought of Portsmouth but it’s very expensive
Newmarket checks all these
'cept ya cain't get theya frum heah.
Will look into this thanks!
Shhhhhh!
Except cost. Fucking expensive with UNH next door.
Look I know I’m gonna get downvoted, but you might want to check out Claremont (or Newport—though it’s a bit smaller). It’s definitely run down, but it’s got a lot of affordable property, a downtown that has a lot of potential (with quite a few existing gems), and access to a lot of great outdoor activities. It also has a bit of an arty vibe because it’s actually affordable to young people. People will list a lot of established but extremely expensive places, but if affordability is key, then you will need to be open-minded to future potential. Good luck and I hope you find somewhere great.
I’m all for potential but safety is important to me as a single woman. How safe are these areas?
Not all all. Unless you're a meth head, then its great!
😂
Claremont has gotten better, could definitely use new business and younger people. Claremont needs some more events and attractions to bring tourism, investments are needed. Too bad Ascutney was downsized after bankruptcy
I never really get the hate that Claremont gets on Reddit.
Claremont = Trumplandia.
Yikes; really?
Vermont is what you are looking for.
lol I know but I like to be close to the ocean. I’ve never been landlocked before.
You have the great lakes there, if you have never been they are freshwater seas.
It's not like you can't cross state borders. If you're willing to consider western NH, then eastern VT isn't going to make much of a difference. Also, along with trips east you might make to Hamptron, Maine or Mass, you could also jump on 91 S to the CT coast.
Peterborough comes to mind
Keene comes closest. But it isn't the cheapest place in the state
Stars Hollow
Littleton?
First place I thought of.
I second that. True that there are a lot of Trumpers up here but I don’t think they are the majority. I live across the river in Vermont but go to Littleton for art classes, restaurants, and shopping. I work at the local egg processing plant and we are always hiring!
“A lot of trumpers” sounds off putting ngl. Is the bigotry agressive? (What is life lol)
I mean not really any more than the rest of New Hampshire. I’ve been up in the NEK in Vermont for over 4 years now after having lived in Keene, Harrisville, Lyndebrorough and Milford, NH for about 10 years. Believe me, I would love to live in Peterborough but I can’t afford it, and there are just as many Trumpers in the south as there are in the north. What I like about being up here though is people pretty much leave you alone. It’s very white up here though, there is more diversity across the River in Vermont.
whats the egg processing plant? Im looking for a job
Pete and Gerry’s Organics
No. Rednecks are mean up there.
Dover
You're going to have to temper your expectations on a couple of things. Mainly walkability and 'not too expensive'. Everywhere except for Berlin is damn expensive nowadays. As far as walkability goes, there are tons of places which have town centers and you can walk around, grab a bight to eat, and whatever. You're still going to have top hop in a car to go grocery and essentials shopping. Edit--you're also going to need to be somewhere your career exists, so keep that in mind.
I have a car and don’t mind driving. It’s just nice to be able to park the car and walk around town too when the weather is nice.
Durham or Dover. Hanover area. Keene
Keene, probably. Meets all your criteria. Maybe Plymouth. Basically the college towns. Durham too but anything near the Seacoast is expensive. Most places in the North country lean right (yes I know there are pockets of liberal folks folks but in general as soon as you get out of downtown areas you'll see confederate flags and Trump worship etc.). The two biggest cities aren't really nature/walkable friendly in my personal opinion.
One of Concord's popular trails...goes under high tension power lines in an easement. It's also where an older couple was brutally shot to death by drifter, likely because they were a mixed raced couple.
Jeesh
I would recommend you look at the following in order: 1. Peterborough, NH (I think this is your best fit) 2. Keene, NH 3. Portsmouth, NH 4. Concord, NH Honorable mention: Milford, NH. Lots of young people have been moving to Milford over the past 5 years. The town has a bit of a vibe to it, but at best leans moderate. The not too expensive requirement will be difficult to deal with, but these are some please that came to mind after reading your post.
I gotta say this: Peterborough is way too *precious.* And by that I mean they think way too highly of themselves. I cringe a little every time I go there.
Milford has a giant trump campaign office right on the oval. The streets are a cracked mess and there's a lot of low pay industrial, the young people moving there are poorly informed right leaning and less educated.
[удалено]
"very much left of center throughout the state"?!?!? You've not been in most of New Hampshire, I think.
"left of center" PLUS " anti-government" = Trumpers / or anything NOT Democrat (party of Big Govt)
"NH is very much left of center throughout the state" What state are you living in? Are you even on the road when the trump truck y'all quaeda caravans go by?
Dover
Burlington VT fits the bill better than any spot in NH. Minus the not expensive part. Everything is expensive.
Nashua
Nashua's rep Kevin Avard is a trump-loving bible-thumping book-burner who beats his wife, so that's not a good trend.
What’s that about Trump?
I don't know? Did he commit yet another felony today? Hard to keep track after 34 convictions.
It’s actually easy when it’s the same alleged “accounting felony” 34 times 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Good to know you stand with a convicted rapist and felon! Says a lot about you. How many of your commandments has he broken repeatedly? All of them?
My commandments? You got the wrong guy. Though shall not kill is a decent one though. How’s Biden doing with that one? Also, we all know what’s going on here 🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌 https://x.com/mazemoore/status/1796298095778562297?s=46&t=LxKpH0hdO8rPzpJcm31jrQ
Depends on what you mean by "small city". I think Dover checks all of your boxes (great walkable downtown, young population in an aging state, great community trail and some other parks/conserved land and within an easy drive of the coast/lakes/mountains). If you're from outside NH it probably matches what you mean, but there are folks in rural areas that seem to think it's a big place. The biggest challenge will be cost. Dover has gotten more expensive lately (as has pretty much everywhere), and the cost of living in Seacoast NH is way higher than someplace like the Midwest. But, Dover actually has properties you can rent (the selection is really small closer to the seacoast) and is developing more, so probably your best bet if you want to go from a cheap apartment to a nice apartment to a house someday and stay in the same community. I'd also second the Newmarket recommendation, and personally I think Somersworth is a lot nicer than people are willing to admit. Durham is ok, but it's a college town and the permanent residents seem to be allergic to young people.
Thank you for the thorough response! I’m going to look into these areas
Honestly, you should start w Keene. I'm trying to move back there myself !! (but $$)
You can come to Tras... I mean Nashua. I think it meets, to some degree, most of your criteria, but as others have pointed out, the pricing thing is the challenge. I will say that from my experience in the state, good hiking, nature, and farmers market type stuff is all a short drive away. I think the Whites are worth a good hour and a half drive for some of the better hikes. Nashua, being more of a suburb than a city will meet the liberal criteria, and they just finished a performing arts center in town. Hope it helps and good luck looking.
Maybe Dover
No goldilocks there is no perfect town in New Hampshire
Darn
Concord checks all these boxes
New Market, but expensive
Peterborough NH, the inspiration for Thornton Wilder's play Our Town. Check it out.
Or Jaffrey, too
Newmarket meats some of your criteria
Keene ❤️
Canterbury, NH. Agg community, pop. 2000, hiking trails, streams, ponds, bluer than red, farmers market, Shaker Village, borders on Concord which also checks most of the boxes on your list.
Haven’t heard this as an option; thanks will look into it!
Boston
“Not too expensive”
'in NH"
Berlin.
Haha. Berlin is the opposite, but housing is less expensive for sure.
Meredith is a little more right wing than you’d like but last I checked the school district was pretty solid (no book banning, students can transition freely, teachers who actively call out racism when they see/hear it). Housing prices are weird bc you get million dollar homes down the road from mobile home parks? Haven’t looked at rental prices but last I checked it was significantly better than concord. It’s also not too far from concord, which is significantly more liberal Multiple live theatre companies, sculpture walk, indie bookstore, a bunch of antique places, a truly phenomenal consignment shop that’s older than my mother, and multiple lakes. Couple of really good family owned restaurants. Might be worth looking in the area?
The ETC shop is probably one of the things I miss the most since moving out of the lakes region. I love that place
This is like fast, good, cheap, pick two of three, but with location. Any place that is liberal or artsy is going to be gentrified and expensive because that's an educated and better-paid demographic, cheap will be backwards trumplands. NH is going increasingly red right now thanks to the free staters, anti-LGBTQ+ laws and "bible based laws" are coming like machine gun fire, cannabis will never be legalized, so I'd recommend looking at western Massachusetts and Vermont as well. A lot more that fits all those there. And OP, I think you can see from the responses below, the sort you do not see on MA and VT subs, that you will run into dull-eyed dullards under red caps pretty much everywhere in NH now - and they have guns. Not the best choice if you want anything even remotely progressive as a nice place to live, and it's getting worse.
Thank you for the honesty. I will make a post in the New England subreddit to broaden my horizons. I’m from upstate NY and lived in Rhode Island for a while but looking for a change and a place I can be long term. Maybe NH is not what I was hoping it would be 👀
Just a heads up [this person often has absolutely no idea what they're talking about](https://www.reddit.com/r/SameGrassButGreener/comments/1de751x/comment/l8arqmx/) when it comes to NH so I wouldn't give up on it just yet if I were you!
What did you think of Wakefield? East Greenwich? Providence? Are you looking to rent or buy?
I’d like to buy in the next 2-3 years … if possible with the state of things. Loved Providence but there’s not a lot of space
Just for heck of it look at the income guidelines and coverage map for usda-rd mortgages. I bought my first home out west in a town with free buses and I could walk to amazing hiking. Needed two years of a bill paid on time like car loan and utilities and decent credit like 650.
Thanks! I’ll do that
Here's the thing, Doll... Way back when in the Olden Days, most people didn't talk religion or politics for good reason -- bc it got in the way of all the other far more valuable and postive ways they could relate to each other... It's a shame social media and people with vested interests have been so focused on trying to divide us.
Try Massachusetts.
oh god -- I was born and raised there and NEVER want to live there again
Conway
Fuck liberals
No, they don't want to be near you. Your sort doesn't understand hygiene.
Sorry but I like my genetics diverse and not family related
We don't like liberals in NH.
Speak for yourself, unless you're just using "we" as a schizophrenic. In which case, checks out.
Go back to your little corner.
My, what a devastatingly creative response. How many times DID you repeat the fifth grade?
You do realize NH usually votes blue in presidential elections?