<p>Portsmouth, NH is a great place. For the poster who mentioned that there are not many college students, UNH is an easy 15 minute drive from there. </p>
<p>Portsmouth is an hour from Boston, and an hour from Portland, Maine. There are a lot of quiet coastal hideaways close by. You can find some nearby state parks (Maine & NH) that are beautiful, and not too crowded.</p>
<p>The city itself has some wonderful restaurants, and hosts many cultural activities throughout the year. Strawberry Banke is a wonderful historical section of town.</p>
<p>And don’t forget, it is at a Coffee Shop in Portsmouth where Mrs. Clinton let out the cry that was seen around the world…;)</p>
<p>Although housing prices may be prohibitive, I really like where we live. And there are condos and town houses that are less expensive.</p>
<p>We live out in Suffolk County near Stony Brook U. We have beaches, museums, two stunning duck ponds, vineyards and farms. The best thing is the University and Brookhaven National Labs. Lots of students, profs and an international population.</p>
<p>Not much ecomomic or racial diversity, though.</p>
<p>And of course, rail and car access to NYC. About an hour and a half by car (depending on traffic.)</p>
<p>Milkandsugar-
What made you turn away from Delaware?
We are in the same stage…would love to stay in our small town in northern NJ but the ridiculous property taxes will probably prevent us being able to.
We’re considering Delaware. It appears superficially to be a less expensive, less crowded version of NJ. But we have only vacationed briefly at Bethany. It is beautiful there.
Your thoughts are welcome!</p>
<p>Granted, it ain’t like an ocean beach and no waves, but there are “beaches” with the name “Beach” on the shores of Lake Champlain, including right in Burlington.</p>
<p>Well, I guess calling it Beach makes it one in a very narrow sense. My favorite part of Everglades National Park is called Shark Valley. But, being located inland, naturally there are no sharks - and nothing that could be called a “valley” within 200 miles of there.</p>
<p>I haven’t totally closed Delaware out, but H wants more of the northeast… One of my colleagues has spent years researching for a place and she has settled on Sussex County Delaware. Taxes are low, beach accessible, close to Philadelphia and Baltimore. Lots of 55 plus communities. If you want to keep your costs down, you can buy your house/condo for an inexpensive amount and lease the land.
Anything with a tag of 55 plus, my H wants no part of. He feels we are not in that category.
After speaking with her, I was convinced that delaware was a real good option, I am going to have to do some sweet talking to get him to take a look.</p>
<p>bceagle???
Portsmouth is only 10 miles from the Universtiy of NH. A number of UNH students live in Portsmouth (though it is very expensive) and there is a lot of ‘young and intellectual’ at UNH.<br>
Portsmouth is a lovely city and very hip, though very expensive (property wise). Other areas to check out are Dover/Durham and even Hampton Falls (a separate community from Hampton).
As a NH ex-pat (my family is still there) the cost of living is really quite high. Property values are high as are property taxes. Then there is the cost of heating one’s home in the winter…
But, if you can afford it, love the snow then go for it! It is not as isolated as it once was. The highways are great and the Manchester Airport is very convenient.</p>
<p>Also - if you are checking out Manchester then check out Concord to the north and Derry to the south.</p>
<p>How about Hanover, NH? A university town, very pretty, skiing and hiking nearby. I haven’t seen a beach in the vicinity, but hey.</p>
<p>I’ve been looking farther afield. We live in the Boston area in a lovely suburb (exurb?). I’d like mountains in the summer and warm weather in the winter. My wife wants to keep the current house as we’ve lived in the Boston area for most of our adult life (Cambridge and then the burbs for 15 years). Not sure I want to take care of three houses, but I’ve been thinking about Canmore, Alberta or Boulder, CO or maybe Vancouver for mountains.</p>
<p>I’ve been to Portsmouth many times and I didn’t get university student vibe that I’ve had in other places. A look at the demographics at [Portsmouth</a> Population and Demographics (Portsmouth, NH)](<a href=“Portsmouth Yellow Pages and Portsmouth NH Guide”>Portsmouth Population and Demographics (Portsmouth, NH)) shows that the biggest concentration in age bands is from 25 to 44 with a secondary bulge in the 55 to 64 age band which is what I’d expect. The age band from 15 to 19 is 4.26%. The age band from 20 to 24 is 5.71%. We would expect college age residents around 5%.</p>
<p>coureur…what can I say…the beaches on Lake Champlain are not like ocean beaches but they definitely do have some beaches. I personally love ocean beaches. The lake beaches have far less sand, but they have some. </p>
<p>That one is right in the “city”. But there are many others right outside of Burlington on Lake Champlain such as Sand Bar State Park which includes a sandy beach. Another one with a sandy beach is Knight Point State Park in North Hero.</p>
<p>It is not just that some have “beach” in their name, but there are many references to the beaches on Lake Champlain, even if “beach” is not in the proper title.</p>
<p>milkandsugar…I do not live in Burlington, VT. I live in a more rural part of the state in the mountains. But I do think a bunch of what you are looking for exists in Burlington. </p>
<p>Take a look at this site’s page about Living and Moving to Vermont (it is about the Greater Burlington area):</p>
<p>There is a little video clip of VT set to “Moonlight in Vermont” (what else?) and I noticed one scene in it that is just a mile and a half from my house. Then, there is a video clip about Burlington itself. Look further down the page and it lists various “rankings” or “selections” of Burlington…I won’t list them all as they are on the site but for example:</p>
<p>Burlington was ranked high on the Best Cities for 2010 by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine!</p>
<p>Burlington, Vermont rated #2 in the best college towns survey by MSN Local Edition.</p>
<p>One of “Best Places to Retire Young” by CNNMoney.com.</p>
<p>soozievt,
When H and I were young married, we visited VT several times and fell in love with the state. We thought about moving there back in the 80’s. Thought it would be a great place to raise children. Loved the environment, cross-country skiing, the little by ways and towns. We never did it, D came along, family issues, parent issues, etc. But I think we will look into it furthur. We are now unencumbered with things that were holding us back. I am also aware of the specialty food industry VT has started, initiated and continues to thrive and support. They have a lot of resources for those wishing to start up a small FS business.<br>
My biggest concern is diversity and feeling ok in a place. I know the areas we like in the northeast are a little short on that but we don’t want that to limit us either. Just trying to find the balance.</p>
<p>milkandsugar, I’ve lived in VT since 1981 (we moved here following grad school). It is true that VT is not diverse when it comes to race. It is diverse in socio-economic ways. So, if you live in an urban area like NYC, this would be one thing you’d give up. Of course, you’d gain other things. </p>
<p>As I said, I don’t live in Burlington. I live in a ski resort town in the mountains. In my community, which is not a typical rural town in VT, many people have chosen to live here for the lifestyle but grew up and were educated elsewhere, such as urban areas. </p>
<p>Anyway, the specialty food business is big in Vermont.</p>
<p>Hanover is a kinda cool little college town with many things to recommend it. But the winters can be brutal. I’m thinking the New England winters are a a bit more moderate closer to the coast. Or as a friend who lives in inland MA put it: “People in Boston are winter weenies. They think they have tough winters, but here we sneer at those sissies. But we take our hats off to anyone who spends their winters in Hanover.”</p>
<p>coureur, you won’t catch me in Hanover in the winter. We’re 15 miles NW of Boston and I find the winters here a bit much (the elevation is a bit higher and the snow comes and tends to stay). But, I didn’t recall the OP looking for balmy winters (which he/she wouldn’t find in Burlington either). Places on / near the ocean are milder, so if that were a criterion, I’d guess Portsmouth would be a winner. I’ve only been there once but it seemed nice.</p>
<p>As someone in a similar position, I’ve been looking closely at Brunswick, Maine. Near the ocean with a variety of beach options, college town with good town/gown relations and always something going on, nice mix of folks/food/music, easy access to Boston/Portland, and the list goes on. . .Since my kid goes to school there I’ve had many chances to visit in all seasons</p>
<p>milkandsugar -
not mentioned yet but have you considered the Lakes region of NH up and around Lake Winnepesaukee? It is really lovely up there and while Laconia is very touristy, Alton is lovely. If you like winter sports consider Conway NH as well.</p>
<p>A note about the climate:
There is a big difference between Portsmouth and Hanover. Not only in the amount and lenght of time for snow cover but the number of 0 degree and below days. I don’t mind the cold and snow but zero degrees does me in. To have days and days (weeks) of zero degree weather, imo is depressing regardless of the size of the sun room.</p>