I totally understand the urge to get out of a tourist destination as a resident. I came to NH to escape that vibe myself, but I'm planning to do the opposite of you, haha! I am 34 and newly single and just don't feel like there are a lot of opportunities to meet like minded people and date here in NH, but I see shows and social events all the time in Portland that I would be interested in. My problem with NH is partly that it is more conservative, and I'm super liberal/leftist. Not just politically but I feel people stick to their own here and start families earlier. If you're looking to start a family you'd probably have better luck here, especially as a not-crazy conservative yourself.

I think most people would consider Manchester to be pretty boring. It's a bit run down as well. But you can go to Concord, down to Lowell, into Boston, or into the mountains. There's not much to do but if you're ok with just hitting a sports bar on a Friday night and doing online dating you would be fine. There are NH hiking groups as well. I honestly really like living in NH but the dating/friend group thing is really my reason to get out.

From Manchester. I can confirm that it’s…a shittier Portland without a beach. There are still tourists but I cannot fathom why or what they’re looking for. Living outside of Manchester is just fine, but you’re an hour from the outdoor activities you like. Manchester itself has a huge breadth of culture, but a serious socioeconomic divide and opioid problem (so much so that the BBC did a documentary about it as the heroin capital of the USA). It could be great, but it’s got a long way to go to get there. There’s a steady nightlife and a few clubs. My favorite spot to eat just closed their doors, so that’s another negative to add 😂 I think you’re looking for Boston, TBH.

You have to go to rumney new hampshire.

This is excellent advice! I’d like to add that you should never dig in the ground, I did and barely escaped the earthworms I turned up.

A fox? Lmfao. It's far more afraid of anything you care about than you should be of it!

Check out north end of manch. Nice, wooded, bikable to downtown.

Theres also some relatively posh, new apts around.

The surrounding towns are great- for raising kids, quiet.

The airport in manch is pretty baller.

Culturally, portland seams years ahead of manch. Def less tourist because of that.

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I’ve got buds on my forsythia.

the north remembers…

No. Manchester is a decaying place.

Wow! That is a lot. I'm just tapping the dozen or so trees in my backyard. I gave away half of my syrup to friends last year bc we can't use that much. Majority of my syrup consumption is in my morning coffee.

How much syrup did you get from 700 taps last year?

Thanks

Oh good luck! I've got 700, shooting for 1000 this year

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Don’t come to Manchester lol

I like both Portland and Manchester, but if I were single, I'd go south to a Boston suburb instead. The pro for these areas though is that it takes pride to live and work in these old mill/wharf cities, and with it, the people tend to be more fun and funny. The music and comedy scenes are both great too.

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Yeah it's everything you dislike about Portlant, minus the beach... Also, good luck finding an apartment in Manchester for less than the GDP of Estonia.

You’ve put the entire state of New Hampshire at risk by not burning down the forest behind your house. That fox will kill everyone

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People in this subreddit hate on Manchester for some reasons that I don't quite understand. I've lived all over the US, including the South and Midwest, before coming to NH and Manchester is really no different from other mid-size US cities.

From my perspective, the biggest difference between Portland and Manchester is size. Manchester is almost twice as large as Portland and if you consider all of Hillsborough County, which has 400K people, you will have a lot more dating opportunities. Plus, if you are in Manchester or further south it is about an hour or less to Boston. So you should definitely have more cultural and travel opportunities.

I'd say it depends on how you plan to meet women. If your are going to meet in person in bars and clubs - Portsmouth and Manchester are your only chances in NH. I think of the two - Portsmouth might be a better choice. If you're looking for online dating - Concord is central enough to get to most parts of the state within an hour.

there's these bands of 'zones' across the USA, and as the weather gets warmer, the zones drift north. Trees and plants are assigned to a zone, and if you stick to your zone, you should be less disappointed by them dying or underperforming.

You can google a picture up, just search for "USDA Zone Map" and voila, you'll pretty much get 90% of it in 10 seconds or less.

People are going to give you flak because you're reporting the sighting of a common animal as a warning. I know you were well intentioned but seeing a fox is nothing special for most people in NH. Appreciate the concern for your chickens though. I had a fisher wreak havoc on my own chicken coop and one killed my cat years ago.