Author Topic: Potential Move to the Upper Valley, NH  (Read 2269 times)

tarheel2

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Potential Move to the Upper Valley, NH
« on: April 30, 2018, 05:05:29 PM »
Hi everyone - my family is currently considering a move to Hanover, NH (Dartmouth). My wife is a SAHM and we have three young children.

Financial situation aside, can anyone comment on their quality of life and level of happiness up there? Coming from Chapel Hill it would be quite a change - much more rural, much colder in the winters, etc. We are also worried about how nice people are up there - we are really blessed here in Chapel Hill that way.

Any and all comments appreciated, thanks!

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Potential Move to the Upper Valley, NH
« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2018, 05:26:16 PM »
I only have experience in Keene, but it’s plenty friendly. It’s not Boston.

JLee

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Re: Potential Move to the Upper Valley, NH
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2018, 09:23:05 PM »
It's a beautiful area if you're ok with cold.  I worked for a local police department up there for years before I moved west. Would you be looking at living in Hanover or one of the surrounding towns (Lebanon, Enfield, etc)?

tarheel2

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Re: Potential Move to the Upper Valley, NH
« Reply #3 on: May 01, 2018, 04:54:14 AM »
It's a beautiful area if you're ok with cold.  I worked for a local police department up there for years before I moved west. Would you be looking at living in Hanover or one of the surrounding towns (Lebanon, Enfield, etc)?

We'd be living in Hanover/Lyme. We are under no illusions about hold cold it is. When we visited a little over a month ago they got a blizzard.

slappy

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Re: Potential Move to the Upper Valley, NH
« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2018, 05:51:12 AM »
I believe Hanover was on Money's list of best places to live within the past couple of years.

snogirl

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Re: Potential Move to the Upper Valley, NH
« Reply #5 on: May 01, 2018, 07:45:02 AM »
I've had life long friends who live in the Upper Valley and been visiting there since I was a kid since growing up not far from there.
It's a great place to raise a family. It's proximity to I89, I91, and I93 give you so many options for travelling. I take the Hanover express bus alot into South Station Boston that is near the Hostel when I want a big city excursion. The express also goes to Logan and Manchester airports. It's cheap way to travel.
I love the recreation that is close by. Killington and Okemo, the clean water of Lake Fairlee. The CT River Valley. Clean living for sure. King Arthur Flour, the microbreweries, Montshire Museum, VINS, Queechee Gorge, Woodstock VT, Quebec City, Boston, all within minutes to less than 2 hours from that location.
There are many amazing places to eat cheap and otherwise, whippy dip haha look it up. Farmstands and Farmers market. It biggest drawback is you do have to become a hearty new englander. It's easy though!

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« Last Edit: May 01, 2018, 07:47:01 AM by snogirl »

aetherie

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Re: Potential Move to the Upper Valley, NH
« Reply #6 on: May 01, 2018, 08:29:40 AM »
I grew up in that area and can vouch for the quality of life being good. People are pretty friendly.

drachma

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Re: Potential Move to the Upper Valley, NH
« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2018, 12:17:32 PM »
I don't live in the upper valley but I do live around Concord. I like it.

My advice is to take up some kind of winter sport. you just need to get out of the house regularly in the winter or you will go nuts. it's beautiful here and the weather is usually only REALLY impossibly cold for a week or two. Most of the winter hangs out around 20F which is perfect for outdoor recreating, not too cold but not so warm that things start melting.

Downhill skiing is obviously popular, but for a more mustachian approach, cross country skiing is big, as in its a big high school sport, most of not all of the towns have plenty of places to go including groomed trails, often free. the snowshoeing and winter hiking are all excellent and very accessible. and free. backcountry touring is more advanced, and the gear is pricy, but if you have the skill it is an excellent way to get fit and shed some rad terrain without paying for lift tickets. On the more extreme end, the ice climbing here is world-class

people aren't outwardly mean, the general new-englander stereotype is that we just tend to keep to ourselves unless asked. so ask. I think the people here are great. the public school systems (if you have the money to live in a good town) are also some of the best in the nation, and there are a lot of highly regarded private schools.

pbkmaine

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Re: Potential Move to the Upper Valley, NH
« Reply #8 on: May 04, 2018, 02:22:03 AM »
Take up snowshoeing! That was my principal winter exercise when I lived in Maine, and it made me look forward to the snow.