Pittsfield

Best - has everything you need in town, small independent hardware and grocery stores, pharmacy, car wash, gas station, auto parts... liquor store until recently moved to Epsom. Lots of old houses, very picturesque.

Worst - most people would say it's a poor slummy garbage town but I don't really experience that since I don't live downtown and there's nothing wrong with it when I go in. I'd say the worst part is just high taxes for the schools (all the way through high school supported by one town without a large tax base). That also keeps growth slow which is fine with me, I like all the old buildings and unused land. From looking through the town's history this used to be a much more significant place, kind of a hub town for the area before they rerouted route 28 to bypass downtown, now you can drive through without noticing it. There used to be a train station and bus service to Concord but both ended by the 60s.

When I first moved here the long commute to Manchester was a downside, 50-60 minutes but without much traffic usually. But now I work remote and don't really go to Manchester so it doesn't matter anymore. Concord is 20-30 minutes depending where you're going. Just far enough you can't "run out" to go do one thing. Which is why its nice we have most amenities in town.