What’s the best place to live in New Hampshire?

Hi guys,

For those who live in New Hampshire, how do you like living there?

If you could afford to live in any place in NH, what place would that be? And why?

If you had to choose between living there and WA, what place would you chose? And why?
If you could afford to live in any place in New England, what place would that be? And why?
If anyone takes their time to answer these questions - Thanks!

Ice Crow wrote: Hi guys,

I live in WA and will be in New England in February. I have done 3 ice climbing trips, the last one was just recently in Montana, and I did a WI3+ for the first time. I’m looking to climb more WI3 with people who have a few years of experience leading WI3 and are familiar with the White Mountains.
I will be in North Conway for two days, on 02/17 and 02/18. I understand my dates aren’t the greatest because they are weekdays, but that’s just how things have turned to work. Hopefully, I will get lucky and find someone. If I have not made solid plans with someone by 02/10 the latest, then unfortunately, I will have to cancel my hotel reservation in North Conway and skip the Whites. If anyone is available and would like to climb in one of those days or both, please, send me a pm as soon as possible.

On another note, for those who live in New Hampshire, how do you like living there? If you could afford to live in any city in NH, what city would that be? And why?
Thanks.

I get home a few days after you arrive. Have you tried NE climbs or the NE ice websites?

do you mean city (by population) or any town?If you mean town I would say it highly depends on what you want to do.
Personally I picked Bartlett/Hart’s Location and had anywhere in the country to choose. It’s between Crawford, Pinkham and the climbing in NOCO. I work out of state and can avoid Conway when it becomes a zoo, but still take advantage of everything in town. The taxes in Bartlett/Hart’s are about the lowest in the state. crime is obviously low and Bartlett has a good school. 
Downsides: Bartlett/Glen don’t offer much outside of a few small restaurants, a beer store and aTiny Grocery store. So you usually end up going to Conway often. Depending where you live there can be flooding, steep roads, etc. you also have to bring your trash to the dump and may need a PO Box depending on where you live.if those things bother you.

Insert name wrote:

I get home a few days after you arrive. Have you tried NE climbs or the NE ice websites?

do you mean city (by population) or any town?If you mean town I would say it highly depends on what you want to do.
Personally I picked Bartlett/Hart’s Location and had anywhere in the country to choose. It’s between Crawford, Pinkham and the climbing in NOCO. I work out of state and can avoid Conway when it becomes a zoo, but still take advantage of everything in town. The taxes in Bartlett/Hart’s are about the lowest in the state. crime is obviously low and Bartlett has a good school. 
Downsides: Bartlett/Glen don’t offer much outside of a few small restaurants, a beer store and aTiny Grocery store. So you usually end up going to Conway often. Depending where you live there can be flooding, steep roads, etc. you also have to bring your trash to the dump and may need a PO Box depending on where you live.if those things bother you.

Thanks for your comment. 

I tried NE climbers a long time ago and got zero replies.I meant just any place, it doesn’t matter if it’s a city or a town, as long as it’s a place in NH you would love to live, and why you would love to live there. You don’t even need to have lived there before. I’m considering a relocation in the near future. I have a couple places in mind that I will be visiting when I’m there in February. 

You are asking two very different questions. I would split them and ask for partner in the partner forum. You will get more luck there but be patient. Most won't be planning so far ahead.

Then you can rename this one asking for where to live. 

Ron Birk wrote: You are asking two very different questions. I would split them and ask for partner in the partner forum. You will get more luck there but be patient. Most won't be planning so far ahead.

Then you can rename this one asking for where to live. 

Thanks for your suggestion. I have just changed this. As for posting in the partner forum,  it’s looking like I may have already found someone. If things don’t work out with this person, then I will post in the forum partner by the middle or end of January. Thanks again.

Thanks all for the great feedback! Lol
I already know that the place I’ve chosen is one of the best places to live in NH. I was just curious to see how the climbing community feels about where they live. I’ve read on other forums how the non-climbers feel about living in NH, and it seems most people don’t feel indifferent about the Granite State. People either love living there, or they hate.

I’ve never lived in NH, only hiked up there in the Whites for a handful of years in my mid twenties. For some context, I was born and raised in the southern NJ suburbs of Philadelphia, and currently live in Los Angeles.

I’d much rather live up by Pinkham/Crawford notch than where I am now. I’m not a city guy at all and much prefer the peace and quiet of rural mountain areas. I’ve never climbed up there though- only started climbing a couple years ago so I can’t comment on that. I also enjoy the snow/cold. 

But yeah you definitely get the rural small town feel, and living by Conway certainly has its advantages. Unless you crave the noise, traffic, annoyances, and access that a city provides, I’d say that area of NH is great. You probably wouldn’t want for much as far as necessities, and there’s great hiking all over the place.

The elevation isn’t quite there, but there’s plenty of fantastic and challenging trails and the AMC gut system is up there is wonderful. 

North Conway 

Do you like zero culture, and nothing to do but watch the stars twinkle as the cars with Massachusetts plates go whizzing by?  More bears than people?   Life in Northern NH is a lot like Alaska.  

Plymouth or Lincoln NH, in the White Mountains and right off 93...much more convenient than the east side of the Kanc...for those in construction labor there are plenty of opportunities and reasonable commute to Concord for more office type positions...plus very close to the Lakes Region

Russ Keane wrote: Do you like zero culture, and nothing to do but watch the stars twinkle as the cars with Massachusetts plates go whizzing by?  More bears than people?   Life in Northern NH is a lot like Alaska.  

What do you consider Northern NH?

aside from cold winters, Alaska and NH are nothing alike.
1. Crime rate2. Alaska has a higher minority population3. everything in Alaska is expensive 4. NH has a good k-12 education and better prospects for jobs outside of seasonal tourism, oil & gas, fishing.5. The list goes on for basically ever. I split my time between the two states (NH by choice). 

Thanks guys!
If you guys could choose between Portsmouth and Bellingham, WA, which place would you choose? I will visit Portsmouth next month and Bellingham in March.

Michael, thanks for your comment. I used to live in LA as well before I moved here 2.5 yrs ago. I visited LA last year and couldn’t be happier I no longer live there, that said, I DO love the Malibu Coast and the Sunset Strip.
I’m not really a small town person, however, I’ve been trying to find a small cool town to live which offers good economy and education, it’s within reasonable driving distance to the mountains, water, climbing and a big city, for the times that I crave big city fun, which is not really that often.
While I haven’t been to Portsmouth or Bellingham yet, it seems those two small towns could be what I’m looking for. The very high cost of living in Seattle is kicking me out of here. Seattle is even more expensive than LA! How is that even possible... I’m struggling to live here. I moved here for a purpose and this purpose has already been met. Now I’m looking for a new place to call home.
It feels like I’m allured by New England and its proximity to NYC, but all the negative things the non-climbers say about NH worries me a bit. Some say NH people hate outsiders. I’m not white. I’m acquainted with a climber from NH who hasn’t been there in 20 yrs. I don’t really know him that well to ask him why he hasn’t visited his birth place in 20 yrs. It makes me think he must dislike there.Anyway, how others feel won’t affect how I feel.
I’m planing to stay in Portsmouth for just a day, the city is small, do you guys think a day is enough for me to get a good feel for the city? I’m also planning to visit Portland.  Should I cancel that and stay two days in Portsmouth?
My trip is booked, but I keep coming back and forth on these details. I have until 02/10 to change hotel reservations. Maybe I could like Portland better. Any input is greatly appreciated.Thanks again for those who took the time to comment. 
It’s been interesting to read how non-climbers feel about NH. They say if you don’t get into a winter sport then you will get into drugs. Some say the reason NH has a high number of drug users is because the state is just too boring. I love ice climbing, so I should survive the winter months.But the non-climbers who love there say it’s a beautiful place with kind people. Others say people there are too cold, and it’s hard to make friends.I know the pain of living in a place and having no friends, so that doesn’t worry me. It took me a    long time to make friends in LA, and it took me a long time to make friends here too. Eventually, someone somewhere opens up... 

Ice Crow wrote: Thanks guys!
If you guys could choose between Portsmouth and Bellingham, WA, which place would you choose? I will visit Portsmouth next month and Bellingham in March.

Michael, thanks for your comment. I used to live in LA as well before I moved here 2.5 yrs ago. I visited LA last year and couldn’t be happier I no longer live there, that said, I DO love the Malibu Coast and the Sunset Strip.
I’m not really a small town person, however, I’ve been trying to find a small cool town to live which offers good economy and education, it’s within reasonable driving distance to the mountains, water, climbing and a big city, for the times that I crave big city fun, which is not really that often.
While I haven’t been to Portsmouth or Bellingham yet, it seems those two small towns could be what I’m looking for. The very high cost of living in Seattle is kicking me out of here. Seattle is even more expensive than LA! How is that even possible... I’m struggling to live here. I moved here for a purpose and this purpose has already been met. Now I’m looking for a new place to call home.
It feels like I’m allured by New England and its proximity to NYC, but all the negative things the non-climbers say about NH worries me a bit. Some say NH people hate outsiders. I’m not white. I’m acquainted with a climber from NH who hasn’t been there in 20 yrs. I don’t really know him that well to ask him why he hasn’t visited his birth place in 20 yrs. It makes me think he must dislike there.Anyway, how others feel won’t affect how I feel.
I’m planing to stay in Portsmouth for just a day, the city is small, do you guys think a day is enough for me to get a good feel for the city? I’m also planning to visit Portland.  Should I cancel that and stay two days in Portsmouth?
My trip is booked, but I keep coming back and forth on these details. I have until 02/10 to change hotel reservations. Maybe I could like Portland better. Any input is greatly appreciated.Thanks again for those who took the time to comment. 
It’s been interesting to read how non-climbers feel about NH. They say if you don’t get into a winter sport then you will get into drugs. Some say the reason NH has a high number of drug users is because the state is just too boring. I love ice climbing, so I should survive the winter months.But the non-climbers who love there say it’s a beautiful place with kind people. Others say people there are too cold, and it’s hard to make friends.I know the pain of living in a place and having no friends, so that doesn’t worry me. It took me a    long time to make friends in LA, and it took me a long time to make friends here too. Eventually, someone somewhere opens up... 

Malibu is definitely great, and I do love the proximity to the big six mountains out here, with Whitney not too far.  But yeah, LA is not a place I want to be any longer.

Funny you mention Portland; my girlfriend and I are seriously considering moving to Portland in the next year or so.  We were bouncing around the idea of living outside of Seattle since her brother lives there (works for Microsoft so he can afford it), or the Portland area since one of her best friends is in Portland. Apparently it's still  affordable and the area is pretty nice.  Have mount Hood over there, with Vancouver in BC not too far away.  

We were considering just north of Portland in Washington but her friend recommended against it... she is Mexican (as is my girlfriend) and she said it wasn't the best place to live as a POC.  I'm a straight white dude so I can't relate, but I understand that intolerance exists more in some areas than in others.  Also, it's VERY rural there with few work opportunities.  I work from home so it wouldn't really matter for me, but my GF is in animation production at Netflix, so she sort of needs to be close-ish to a city.

In a perfect world, I'd love to move to somewhere north of Vancouver, maybe Squamish area.  I do like the city of Vancouver, and the BC coast is gorgeous, along with some world class hiking, skiing, etc.  But that's not logistically in the cards at the moment.

RE: The people in NH- My experience was pretty limited, but I had great interactions with everyone I met.  But that was up by Franconia/Pinkham area and Conway.  Since we were hiking/backpacking, maybe people we ran into were just in better moods since they were out enjoying themselves.  But driving up through the rest of NH, I could see it being pretty desolate in some spots.  You've also got Vermont close by and Boston a few hours south, so if somewhere in NH didn't work out, you could always bail and have it be only a few hours to scope out new spots and stay in the northeast.

Best of luck in your search and maybe we'll both end up in Portland!

Ice Crow wrote: Thanks guys!
If you guys could choose between Portsmouth and Bellingham, WA, which place would you choose? I will visit Portsmouth next month and Bellingham in March.

Bellingham for sure.  I lived in North Conway in the 70's and Derry, Manchester and Pembroke in the 80's.  We moved to western Washington 30 years ago and it was one of the biggest gifts of my life. Bellingham is a nice college town close to Mt. Baker, the ocean, Vancouver, Squamish, and a couple sets of hills called the Cascade Mountains and the BC Coast Range.   You can ski year-round!  The weather is moderate, the politics are mostly blue, there is astounding beauty all over. 

Michael Anthony wrote:

Malibu is definitely great, and I do love the proximity to the big six mountains out here, with Whitney not too far.  But yeah, LA is not a place I want to be any longer.

Funny you mention Portland; my girlfriend and I are seriously considering moving to Portland in the next year or so.  We were bouncing around the idea of living outside of Seattle since her brother lives there (works for Microsoft so he can afford it), or the Portland area since one of her best friends is in Portland. Apparently it's still  affordable and the area is pretty nice.  Have mount Hood over there, with Vancouver in BC not too far away.  

We were considering just north of Portland in Washington but her friend recommended against it... she is Mexican (as is my girlfriend) and she said it wasn't the best place to live as a POC.  I'm a straight white dude so I can't relate, but I understand that intolerance exists more in some areas than in others.  Also, it's VERY rural there with few work opportunities.  I work from home so it wouldn't really matter for me, but my GF is in animation production at Netflix, so she sort of needs to be close-ish to a city.

In a perfect world, I'd love to move to somewhere north of Vancouver, maybe Squamish area.  I do like the city of Vancouver, and the BC coast is gorgeous, along with some world class hiking, skiing, etc.  But that's not logistically in the cards at the moment.

RE: The people in NH- My experience was pretty limited, but I had great interactions with everyone I met.  But that was up by Franconia/Pinkham area and Conway.  Since we were hiking/backpacking, maybe people we ran into were just in better moods since they were out enjoying themselves.  But driving up through the rest of NH, I could see it being pretty desolate in some spots.  You've also got Vermont close by and Boston a few hours south, so if somewhere in NH didn't work out, you could always bail and have it be only a few hours to scope out new spots and stay in the northeast.

Best of luck in your search and maybe we'll both end up in Portland!

Thanks Michael. The Malibu Coast alone is a reason for LA to be more expensive than here. Apparently, Seattle may reach a day where only the tech people will be able to afford to live here. I don’t hear any news about things getting a little cheaper. All what I hear is that prices will keep going up. I pay $1850 for one bedroom apartment. Ouch!

That’s cool you are considering to move to Portland. People there are friendlier than the people in Seattle. But I was meaning Portland in Maine, my bad lol
I also like Vancouver!
There are so many great things about living in this area. There are great things about moving to Bellingham as well. It’s 1 hour to Vancouver, 90 minutes to the North Cascades. I too have made a big list of all the great things about moving to NH, that it is, if I love Portsmouth. I mean, really love. I’m not going to relocate to a place that far away unless I absolutely love. I’m pretty sure I will love there. But I don’t think I would live there for too long. I think eventually I’d move back to WA. Unless I’d have a very strong reason to stay. But for now, I just want to get New England out of my system. I love NYC, and Boston too. It would be nice to live in a small city for once. My whole life I have only lived in big cities, yet, nature found its way into me...

I think there are only a few places that I could live in NH.
I too had great interactions with everyone I talked to when I was in North Conway last year.

Thanks again and good luck to you as well!

Mack Johnson wrote:

Bellingham for sure.  I lived in North Conway in the 70's and Derry, Manchester and Pembroke in the 80's.  We moved to western Washington 30 years ago and it was one of the biggest gifts of my life. Bellingham is a nice college town close to Mt. Baker, the ocean, Vancouver, Squamish, and a couple sets of hills called the Cascade Mountains and the BC Coast Range.   You can ski year-round!  The weather is moderate, the politics are mostly blue, there is astounding beauty all over. 

Thanks, Mack. I can’t wait to visit Bellingham. I’ve climbed Baker twice. Baker is my favorite mountain. While everyone is obsessed with Rainier, I’m obsessed with Baker lol Love that Mountain as much as I love the Malibu Coast.

Have you been to Portsmouth? Any thoughts about living there? Portsmouth seems to be one of those places that everyone absolutely loves it. I have read every review out there of non-climbers and everyone loves Portsmouth. Everyone says it’s a beautiful charming city. The moment I read a review that described Portsmouth as, “A small town with a big city feel”, then I was hooked, for that’s exactly what I’m searching. A beautiful charming small town with a big city feel within reasonable driving distance to the mountains, lakes, ocean and NYC, sounds like heaven to me.But then again, Bellingham sounds great too. It seems like I can’t go wrong. 

I live just east of North Conway, in Maine. Maine is definitely the best place to live in New Hampshire.

Bellingham is awesome. Check out Fairhaven while you're there. Cute little downtown with an amazing independent bookstore, if you're into such things. I stay in New England for the ice but Bellingham would be on my short list otherwise. I fly to the Cascades 1-2x in Spring/Summer for my ski/mountaineering fix.

New England: definitely​ don't skip Portland, ME. Really cool spot. 2 climbing gyms, good community, surprisingly good food, the rest of Maine is dreamy as well (Acadia, Katahdin). Portsmouth has nothing on Portland, other than proximity to MA. 

Other suggestion: Burlington, VT. Rural white state overall but it's a very liberal smallish city with a big college. No ocean but a big lake. Bit farther from Boston and NYC but easy drive to Montreal, the actual coolest city in North America :-) Some pretty nice local climbing, easy access to NH and the 'daks, the best skiing in New England (it's a low bar but it's something). Outdoors a bit less crowded than NH. 

Ice Crow wrote: 
I’m not really a small town person, however, I’ve been trying to find a small cool town to live which offers good economy and education, it’s within reasonable driving distance to the mountains, water, climbing and a big city, for the times that I crave big city fun, which is not really that often.

But didn't you tell us, "I already know that the place I’ve chosen is one of the best places to live in NH".

I lived in NH for 18 years, grew up in rural NH that housed just about all the stereotypes you hear about small town NH. The comment about if you don't get into winter sports you'll get into drugs definitely holds some merit. Many of my classmates and peers who weren't passionate skiers, skaters or had something to look forward to in the winter used booze and drugs to pass the time. That said, the winters probably aren't that much different from the winters in Washington state, so if you haven't lost your sanity there, you won't from the winters in NH.

I might be biased, but I can pretty confidently say that NH has the best outdoors opportunities in New England, regardless of the sport/recreation. As far as a place to live with culture and community, the North Conway area and Portsmouth are the best areas to stay. Portsmouth is a young and (relatively) lively city, with lots of art, music and festivals. Coming from Seattle, it'll definitely have the "small town" vibe you're looking for in comparison. Conway is the outdoor hub of the Northeast. Hanover is also a cool town, with a very strong college town persona, since Dartmouth is there. As far as the people of NH, that varies greatly depending on where in the state you are. The cities tend to be more blue, the rural areas are more red, just like many places in the country. People can be rather standoffish at first, but warm up to you as long as you make an effort to be part of their community in some aspect and are honest.

That said, if you are looking for a place to live in New England, not necessarily just New Hampshire, move to Burlington. It has all the best aspects of Portsmouth and more. A lively, welcoming but not overwhelming culture and nightlife, college town, that is very liberal. 20 minutes away from decent climbing, and 2 hours away from Rumney, Cannon, and most places in the Adirondacks. Skiing and ice climbing in VT is some of the best in New England. Not to mention some of the best beer in the United States. While Burlington may not have that classic, Boston-esque vibe that a lot of New England cities/towns have, I would say Burlington is one of the best places to live in New England.

In terms of Portsmouth vs. Portland I would definitely check out both cities. For coastal New England both are good options. I think you could get a sense of Portsmouth in one or two days.  I am not sure about Portland because I don't spend much time there but it's not a huge city so one or two days would probably be good.  

In terms of climbing, Portland might be a better option if you mostly climb on the weekends and are ok with driving a lot. The drive times are similar to northern NH climbing options and Portland also has Clifton Crags and Camden Hills within a 2 hour radius. Portland is also much closer to the climbing in Acadia. Portland has multiple nice gyms for indoor climbing whereas Portsmouth doesn't have a gym and the closest gyms aren't that great.

I will say that Portsmouth might be a better option if you want closer outdoor options. Pawtuckaway is 35 or 40 minutes away and has great bouldering and decent short trad climbs. Stonehouse Pond is a similar distance is and has good sport and trad climbs (although mostly concentrated in the upper grades). There are a bunch of decent bouldering options in Durham, Newmarket, and Exeter which are about 20 minutes away and good towns to check out if you are considering living in the area. Within an houryou also have the Cape Ann area with a lot of good bouldering and some good (short) roped climbing. Also about an hour away you have Longstack and the other Lakes Region crags which have decent trad (and some sport) climbing. I'm not super familiar with the Portland area but it doesn't seem like there are many options for outdoor climbing within an hour.

In terms of non-climbing considerations, Portland is a bigger and might have better employment opportunities depending on your field. It also has a major airport. I think access to non-climbing outdoor opportunities and cultural / social opportunities is fairly similar between the cities but Portland might get a slight nod there. I don't do a ton of music, art, theater, foodie stuff but there is a lot of that in Portsmouth and it seems like those opportunities are growing here. I'd guess the same is probably true in Portland.

I would also suggest checking out some of the other towns around Portsmouth if you are interested in more rural areas. Towns like Durham, Exeter, Newmarket, North Hampton, Hampton, Epping, Nottingham, Deerfield are all are good places to live in a more rural setting but are also close to Portsmouth / Boston and the ocean.