New Hampshire - How's it living there, and how is the riding?

Hi all. Figured I'd post this here as there are like minded folk.

There is a possibility of us moving from western Colorado to New Hampshire.

Colorado is pretty nice, but it just hasn't panned out for us in terms of careers/business. Basically, we're trying to get closer to family on Long Island, better career opportunities for my wife and more business opportunities for me, and to go someplace with trees and water.

I was wondering what the riding ( both off and on road ) is like in the region. From my brief searching, it looks pretty sweet and diverse. Maine, Canada, Vermont there looks like so much to see from the beach to the mountains and everything in between.

I guess what I'm looking for is people's opinions on life in general in New Hampshire, as well as the riding. More than likely we'll have to stay in the southern part of the state ( 45 mins from Manchester ) to keep the employment prospects for my wife.

Is there anyone that has spent much time in both NH and CO, and if so, could you give me some comparisons between the two states?

Thanks

Horrible !!! Dont go there.

no good.. don't come...

Really.. Think Iowa with fewer hills and straighter roads.....

New Hampshire is awesome because it's right next to Vermont!

black flies in the spring Giant mosquitios in the summer Proabbalt got saquatch in the fall and winter:eek1

I guess you guys would prefer more tree hugging, leaf licking, granola eating, environmentalists moving there to shut down more riding areas, increase regulations, and make it generally more unfriendly to motorcyclists?

I go up to the Manchester area (Deerfield) every few weeks to train my dog. The area is nice and not over populated, due to the lack of population the power lines, dirt roads etc are used by ATV's Dirtbiles snowmobiles etc with out a problem. I think its nice up there But I was serious about the bugs....

ya...we're lotsa help eh?

What part of Western Colorado hasn't got water and trees? It's the Rockies isn't it?

My experience of western colorado is, it's a riders Mecca. Jobs on the other hand...I don't know.

So far there hasn't been much posted.

Western Colorado, Colorado in general, and even Utah is pretty good for riding. With all the BLM land, there is millions of acres to ride on. Most of it is either desert or high country.

Water and trees are sparse out here. Growing up in the north east, I never really thought much about where my water comes from as we had an artesian well about 250' and water was plentiful.

Out here, water rights rule - We have a saying: Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting. There is little annual rainfall here ( less than 10" per year ), and it really makes it difficult to grow anything without irrigation or city water. City water is priced to dissuade people from using it to irrigate lush lawns and trees.

Irrigation water rights are part of certain acreage, and usually cost about 4-10x per arce over dry land. Irrigated land can cost anywhere from $40K-$100K an acre. THere is nothing like the lush forests of the northeast, along with the diversity of the foliage.

New Hampshire is an attempt to get closer to family, closer to ability to travel, and still remain somewhat "free".

Thanks for all your help.

IOWA, you ever ride in Florida??
Trust me I have ridden flat and northern New England ain't it.
Trails and tracks up here are awesome. I have ridden Moosehead Lake & Southern Maine and Seacoast New Hampshire. Beautiful country and nice tracks.
I have ridden street all over like a mo fo thru VT,NH,ME and even MA.:huh
We have been up in N.NE for the past 10 years. 4 in VT,1 in NH and the rest in ME.
I have been to Colorado springs once but never rode 2 wheels there.
Not the Rockies but Mt.Washington is pretty damn close.



ps. I guess I should have read your reply. We moved up north to be with my s/o parents. They have been gone a little over 5 years but still like it up here. It all holds in your perspective

I came up to New Hampshire from Georgia, so can' speak for Colorado.

As far as New Hampshire goes, I like it most of the year. Though after 8 years, I am still not used to the winter months. I love having great scenery and twisty (although rough) roads just outside my front door. Vermont isn't too far off and has great riding. Maine ain't bad if you get up near Bethel. Good camping and riding in any of the three states, and some good MC shows down in Mass.

I live in the Lakes Region, but work in Manchester, so get to do some driving.

RSR

I'm a New Hampshire transplant myself, and going on the tenth year! That may not say much, but I moved around a lot before I found this little gem

Compared to Mass, NH is a paradise. Maine and VT have their points and I like to visit, but to live, I take NH any day of the week. It's an awesome state, and I lived in some pretty nice places. The seasons are more/less equal in duration, that is 3 months each (in my opinion). It's never too cold or too hot for more than a couple of days, except this summer was a bummer. Yes, you have the black flies, but then the Junebugs come and eat them up

Most importantly, the state respect and recognizes personal freedoms, something I could find neither in Europe, nor in Mass. If you like guns, NH is about the best you find north of Arizona. If you like outdoors, we have beaches, valleys, mountains, and tons of lakes/ponds. No seatbelt law, no helmet law, no insurance unless you screw up (do I promote these? Absolutely not. Do I enjoy the fact that the state does not force something down my throat without giving me option to decline and decide for myself, Hell yeah!) Plenty of nice riding and twisty roads, albeit a bit rough lately since the budgets are getting tighter and tighter. Property tax is high, but then there is no income/sales tax. No matter what, they get you for about the same amount, here or in any other state.
Gas is reasonable, food is plentiful, girls are pretty to look at, and there is wildlife and plenty of dirt roads to go and see it all.
I have to say that after almost ten years, traveling the state South to North and West to East and vice versa, I still find new places I never knew existed and people who stay the hell out of your business unless you choose to involve them.

The folks are generally nice, albeit a bit crass, rough around the edges, but caring nonetheless.
Bedford to Manchester and south from these is more like a little Massachusetts than NH (and very crowded IMHO), but the rest of the state has its own culture.
You'll either love it here or hate it here, but it won't leave you cold.

For me, I found my little slice of heaven. (yes, some things could be a lot better, but then again, other things could be one hell a lot worse)

Oh man, comparatively we got nothing. I have done several riding trips to CO. There is not much for off road here. Mt washington is 6500 ft. and you gotta pay to ride up it.

Whats CO got, like, how many peaks over 14k ft? 40 or somthing?

http://www.nhstateparks.org/uploads/JerichoMtnSPTrailsMay2010.pdf

Jericho state park.

Fall time our trees have more colors

I dont want to sound negative with my last post, Maine northwest teritory is nice, lakes and mountains region. Vermont is pretty. Northern teritory of NH is pretty, but small, very small. I did a couple of rides to Nova Scotia, and Cape Brenton Island that were longer nice rides. The coast line is beautifull. Up state NY you have the Adirondacks and such.

But I lived in AZ for 2 years and Golden for 6 months (couldnt get work) but I got spoiled from the diversity and unlimited parks. Utah, Zion, Arches, Moab, Bryce Canyon, . Then head south, you got Grand canyon, etc.
North to Yellowstone and Glacier National Park.
Four corners to Joshua tree and Death Valley.... well those are gettin out there, but all are a lot closer to CO than NH.

I'll second that quote.

If you can find what you are looking for in the upper valley of NH, Sunapee to Lyme, or in Coos county NH, or even in the Southwest corner of NH you will be happy with the riding offerings. It is not Colorado by any means. As stated, the sooner you can get to VT riding the happier you will be.
IMHO for riding, Southern NH where the most likely spots for your wife if she is a tech'er, is rotten dogs ass for riding until you can get North of Concord and East/West of Concord. The LEO's are not nearly as, shall I say, atuned to motorcyclists and their needs as the VT LEO's are. If you rip through a village or are being insane, the VT folks will trip you up too. Which is fair enough. But in So. NH, it is like riding through Woodstock in VT. Go through there once a couple mph's over the disturbingly low posting and you will understand. Which I think sucks IMO. I just hold my nose until I can get the hell out of So. NH to ride.

If you are in the Upper Valley you have great interstates to cage to your family obligations. You have access to the best of VT and NH riding out the door. It has everything you need, but maybe not everything you want like greater Boston. Lot's of great restaurants, several colleges with-in a couple of hours, 1/2 hour to the best skiing in VT. If you want to get ripped off, you can shop in Hanover and feel just like you are in Cosmopolitae. Boston is 2 hrs away depending on traffic. Don't believe the 1.5 hour touting you will see. Unless you like visiting with the LEO's. Oh yeah, and the trip to Long Island on 91 will be a whole lot less frustrating on a Holiday weekend than the roads from So. NH to Long Island. Even though it is farther away.

Keene is a nice little city IMO. But, it is kind of an oasis. Worth checking out though. And if you want country living, it is literally on the borders of the city. Within 5 to 10 minutes you can be in the city from several of the small towns. My favorite town in all of NH is Walpole. About 20 to 25 minutes north of Keene. It is so nice, they have their own little Hollywood production icon; on top of a John Deere shop and an Agway. Not much there if you like bright lights though. They do have a grocery store and a small plaza. It killed the downtown mecca.

Hope that helps you some.

54

I didn't take it as negative. I'm old enough to know that there isn't anyplace in the world that's perfect. There are going to be compromises moving anyplace, and the goal is to find the best balance of needs/wants for us.

Living out here is good, especially if you are a outdoors man. The off-road scene is probably one of the best in the country ( CA might be larger, but we have less regulations ). I know NH is going to be totally different, but after spending my childhood on Long Island ( wasn't that bad for dirtbikes 15 years ago ) and about 10 years in Florida ( didn't even bother with a dirtbike ), New Hampshire seems pretty good. I think a snowmobile will be in my future should we end up there.

My issue out here is everything is pretty much a desert, and perhaps I'm getting tired of similar landscapes within 300 miles of here.

Thanks for the post!! This is the kind of information I was hoping to hear.

We looked at Keene a while back ( actually found a house in Rindge we liked ) but the employment prospects for my wife were nill. She was hoping to get a professor position at the law school there ( she's an attorney ), but it never panned out. Other towns we looked at were Rumney ( I liked it there, but there was no work for my wife ), Sutton, Weare, and Goffstown ( there is a house there we both really like ).

It seems like most of her opportunities are going to be Manchester, Concord, and Nashua. Maybe Boston, but we're 99% against commuting there unless the salary is high.

My problem is I want acreage - 30-50+. I like being isolated somewhat, and enjoy target shooting on my land. I want enough land to buffer the noise I'd make. I also want enough trees to be somewhat independent of heating oil.

I'll be passing through NY at the end of October, and I might try to squeeze a day to get up there, but that really isn't enough. Our next trip to the north east will be over Christmas, and then we'll be able to spend a few days there.

Thanks everyone for the advise so far, and please keep it coming if you have anything else to add.

I'm in the Keene area. Rindge is tough with employment, so Keene would be the best bet. As far as professor's position, you have Keene State College, Franklin Pierce, and a few others. Those two are the biggest, though.

Acreage is nice but not necessary for target shooting. In NH you need to be 300ft away from a permanently occupied building and 25ft away from the road. No need for noise buffering -- I hear gunshots all weekend long and no one seems to be bothered by it.

Look into Peterborough, NH (1/2 way between Keene and Manchester, so about 30 min commute either way). New Ipswich has inexpensive acreage but you would have to work in Mass.

You'll have a hard time finding affordable acreage anywhere near Concord,Manchester, Nashua...not that there isn't any. Also, expect more ordinances and restriction in the South-eastern part, than in the South-western part.

check out the Dartmouth /Lebenon area . I hear they got some kind of school op that a way . right on the interstate that leads to Concord .also VT law is 1 hour+- to the north..........