Derry keeps you within reach of the Manchester scene.

Newmarket keeps you within distance of the Portsmouth scene.

Epsom keeps you within the Concord scene.

Housing is outrageous everywhere in Southern NH.

Portsmouth would be ideal if you can afford it.

There was just a murder in manch yesterday. It's pretty bad. I'd avoid. Portsmouth has excellent night life though might be a little expenisve. It's on the coast but still close to Boaton, and the mountains

If you’re looking for any bit of a social scene, your location options are minimal. Portsmouth, Manchester, Nashua, maybe concord and that’s about it.

I agree with everyone saying Portsmouth. Coming from NYC you’re probably used to high rents so you may be paying close to the same or a little less, but definitely your best option. Dover is pretty close to Portsmouth too and not a bad option either! I’d avoid Nashua and Manchester.

Yeah low inventory now, only a few apts in my range but not moving until April

I’ll be renting

I bet things will open up more towards spring anyhow, good luck!

You'll want to go to Boston for nightlife. Manchester is a city heading in the wrong direction. If you can swing it Portsmouth is a great option.

I won’t want MA Income tax

We moved to the Keene area in 2018 from New York City. It's important to remember that things are relative. In the grand scheme of things, Manchester is a safe city.

It sounds like there’s a meth lab in every apt building or something lol

Hooksett is right outside of Manchester Londonderry, Derry, Windham, Salem all close to the major Highways - I don't suggest Nashua unless your off exit 1 Manchester has some decent parts but seems to be a hotzone right now for crimes and drugs

Manchester and Nashua are the bigger hubs, but look at the Hooksett, Derry, Bedford areas. Also, look at areas around Concord. Keene is a decent area as well. Cute downtown area.

Nashua was a good transition city for me. There were late night options available for stores and bars(they close at like 1am, but i wasn't partying in NYC till 5am anyway). Once you meet a partner, if you both want a slower life with longer rides to the stores, then you can look further into the state. Worked for me.

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Portsmouth or Manchester if you’re looking to meet people.

You sound like me! I am single and work in tech, had been in Seattle and moved back home with Covid. I would live in Boston or NYC but the savings is too much with no income tax here. The ONLY reasonable answer is Portsmouth. It’s small but pretty nice and has some nightlife. Dating scene is not great. Certainly don’t expect NYC lol. I’m trying to figure out longer term if I just bite the bullet on taxes but it’s tough to swallow.

Rentals are part of housing. There's a less than 1% vacancy rate in NH and rents are also outrageous.

In nyc, everyone wants to keep dating everyone, I’m looking to settle down

Not spiking as much as nyc area

Manchester and nashua are fine. The. Crime is high as compared to NH in general but still safer than many other places.

There is no place in Nashua that I avoid running / biking through.

I would recommend carrying a firearm but, I recommend that everywhere.

Hahaha! I swear it's really not like that.

Can you spend any time visiting New Hampshire before you move here? I really think that if you check out Manchester, there will be very little that makes you bat an eye.

Yes let’s my plan

Any city in NH is gonna be safer than most cities in the country. Just keep general sense about what to avoid and you'll 100% be fine.

That being said, Portsmouth is the gem of the state if you can afford it. Portsmouth is expensive for a reason. It's fantastic.

If you do end up in Portsmouth make sure to check out Prescott park, the Portsmouth brewery and the library. Beautiful park, great food and drinks and a fantastic library.

Tons of night life. Lots of college aged people, but also 30s (I'm 32 and I spend a lot of time in Rochester (where I live), Dover and Portsmouth.

Durham is for 20s. Hop and Grind is good tho.

Sounds like Portsmouth will be ideal for you!

It's a 2% difference in total tax burden as calculated by the Tax Foundation - why not try it for a year. Money can't buy you love.

Dover expat here. It's getting better but if you want a walkable nightlife that's decent you'd have to live directly downtown, and it tends to skew younger due to it being close to UNH in Durham. Portsmouth is probably a better bet, but Dover is making gains on that claim. Just not so much yet.

Less bang for your buck housing wise

You do you man - best of luck

People are really friendly in Nashua. I’m a tiny bit older than you, have lived here a couple months, and have already made some friends. I love the nashua area. Manchester is NOT BAD if you aren’t a sheltered New Englander. Still, Nashua and Portsmouth are nicer.

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If dating is a priority and you’re used to NYC, staying close to the seacoast will help the shellshock. I have a friend (30F) who has had success in Dover. But yeah, portsmouth, or honestly Portland ME is a good bet.

If you want to be closer to the mountains and really want to prioritize skiing etc, you could try North Conway - which who knows maybe in 100 years will be the Boulder of the East. But dating will be rougher.

If you are used to NYC life, there is a good chance you wont like like Nashua, Manchester, Concord etc. Blue NYC people move to the seacoast, with a few exceptions maybe in the richer part of the Lakes Region or North Conway, but often they’ll already have partners. Finding a partner on the seacoast and then moving towards the mountains is a decent strategy.

Dating is def a priority, so def noted

The season is a crucial variable. The lakes region and many other areas inland are a paradise from June-August. Dating is muchhh easier in the summer in these areas, which completely die down in the off season. As in like the population drops by 75% at the end of summer for some towns.

If you are moving up in the late spring, summer - lakes region/N Conway might be fun. If winter, it may be lonely. Nearly all of my friends in that age range that move from NYC/Boston to these areas do Portland Maine or similar.

(as someone who has dated in both all areas mentioned I can confirm all of this lol - appreciate the options in NYC while you have them. Dating in rural inland areas in NH in the winter is brutal)

I see, I don’t want to reside in Maine because of taxes but glad it’s close to Portsmoth

yeah Portsmouth is expensive but is a one-of-a-kind town in NH imo. Like a rare area where if you live right in downtown you may barely ever need a car

I’m going to want to do a lot of skiing

That’s where there isnt a way to avoid compromise. There is no inland place with a dating life that comes anywhere close to Portsmouth et al. You basically have to choose between dating and closer skiing. its not that bad though - like 90 mins to many good mountains.

There’s always something!

Move to Claremont it’s surrounded by ski mountains and is located in a very Remote part of the state but is a doable drive to Boston once in a while but not daily. Claremont is also a city and has numerous new stores opening every month.

Your enjoyment of the state will be entirely dependent on understanding where you need to fall on the spectrum of "access to ample dating" and "access to ample skiing".

Seacoast will be easiest for dating and socializing -- while being a bit more of a haul to mountains. Then there are SOME gems like dover / concord / or maybe even the hanover/white river junction aea (enclaves of single people there because of Dartmouth hospital and college) that are closer to mountains with a moderately healthy population of single, professional 30somethings. Burlington is also a solid option for balancing dating + skiing.

But if you don't have luck dating in one of these smaller, more northerly towns/cities -- I can see it getting frustrating.

depending on budget, I'd look into....

- Portsmouth / Portland / Newburyport

- Hampton/Rye (try to snatch a seasonal rental for the year)

- Dover

- Concord

- Burlington

I grew up in Boston and then moved to Nashua. I loved it. It's come a long way and seems to only be improving. Great shops, restaurants, farmers' market, recreation, and local bars. It's a city with a small town feel. It's also within an hour to Boston, the seacoast and an 1-2 hours to some really great skiing. It's NH, so you're going to be really close to a plethora of great hiking, boating, surfing, and mountain biking options.

Manchester is more central and at the junction of all the highways, but I much prefer the vibe of Nashua. Portsmouth is very nice, too, but you are going to find it's a bit further from the mountains and the commute to Boston will be longer with arguably worse traffic.

NH is conceptually not that big (less traffic and people, so getting places is relatively easy). I'd recommend just planting somewhere for a year or so, explore everything and then figure out where to settle.

Keene is a gem! But pretty far inland, which means far from Boston and the seacoast. It is closer to Vermont skiing, though.

Burlington, Vermont?

yeah --- is there a burlington NH? Thought that was clear since I was talking about the hanover/WRJ area. My bad.

Not sure if OP is totally married to NH as an idea. Burlington could be perfect for what they're looking for.

Check out Tuscan village in Salem NH.

OP 'need[s] to be able to go to Boston sometimes'. Burlington is a 3 hour, 20 minute drive to Boston.

This is an easy one. Dover. Why?

Close to mountains, on major routes, quick access to dating scene locally and Portsmouth, has Downeaster stop (commuter rail that goes into Boston - about 1.5 hours and you can work on the train).

You're welcome.

Go all in: move to North Conway and just meet chicks in the ski lodges and at the apres ski bars! (Is apres ski still a thing I’m an old married guy!)

Manchester, Dover, and Portsmouth feel like the only towns in NH that really have nightlife. Of those three, Manchester's a little too on the dumpy side for my taste. Portsmouth's either college kids or a little too snoody. Dover's a nice in-between IMO.

2%? Not even.

https://pioneerinstitute.org/blog/blog-better-government/blog-transparency/new-hampshire-tax-burden-dramatically-less-than-massachusetts/#:~:text=Overall%20Tax%20Burdens,Massachusetts%20(see%20figure%201).

Boston.

Concord is a nice small city - the downown has gotten a lot livelier. It's 45 min.'s further away from Boston than Nashua but 45 min's closer to skiing.

One thing that's worse than NYC area: There's no public transport to speak of in NH. If you can't walk to someplace, you'll ABD - Always Be Driving.

Your 600 word blog by an intern does appear to draw a different conclusion than the research done by policy experts in this field - https://taxfoundation.org/tax-burden-by-state-2022/

Ohhhh. True. Forgot that part.

I do work with people who have the same requirement (Walpole, not Boston)....they don't hate it.

Wish you were this adamant about freestaters moving here. (;

They said they wanted a dating scene. I suggested a dating scene.

Dating here is… difficult.

Interesting I will check out Dover

Yeah, I bet you didnt take one second to look at methodology.

Here from your "experts":

[Quote]In this study, we define a state’s tax burden as state and local taxes paid by a state’s residents divided by that state’s share of net national product. This study’s contribution to our understanding of true tax burdens is its focus on the fact that each of us not only pays state and local taxes to our own places of residence, but also to the governments of states and localities in which we do not live.[/quote]

Lets just say, using [net national product] as a component of state TAX burden is preposterous. If you want to know how much tax youre likely to pay, dont use that tax foundation "study".

ELI5 the flaw in their methodology

Net national product has nothing to do with the tax rate you pay. How do we pay other states taxes? Fed taxes are uniform; you pay what your bracket is. The only adjustment you can perhaps argue for was SALT deductions, but yeah, their methodology has nothing to do with state tax burdens.

I do enjoy you ad hominem the credentials / character of my source rather than its methodology or factual tax rates and collections. Anyone can see what bogus BS that is.

Stay away. So sick of all the out of staters moving to NH and taking up all the housing