I'm afraid I can't fill you in too much, other than I just visited Dover this past weekend and they have a lovely downtown area with several nice restaurants. Have a couple of good friends there and everyone we've met through them are all great people.

It's a great area for fishing from what I understand too, and you're in close proximity to UNH, Portsmouth and southern Maine communities that I would guess have more job oportunities than other parts of the state.

Best of luck!

I think the greater Dover /Portsmouth will be able to give you the things you are looking for. You might also want to check out Newmarket as well. The seacoast is full of artsy/outdoors/hippie types. The people are friendly for the most part, like every where else there are some rude people, we call them massholes, but some NH people are not nice as well. There is a large wetlands trail over on the old Pease airforce base that they set up before the left, there are quite a few State parks, and even the White Mountains National Forest is only a couple hours or so away.

There a ton of places to eat in the greater dover area, not sure what you are looking for as you mentioned you don't drink. Quite a few of the pubs in the area have different specials for low priced food.

Hi: I think you will like the Dover area a lot. Have you looked at the Dover Chamber of Commerce's web site? There is a lot of information about the area. www.dovernh.org

Also you can take a look at the local paper for real estate that is available and prices etc. www.fosters.com

As a previous poster mentioned, we are just an hour or so away from everything! The mountains, Boston, beautiful Maine and NH lakes. We are 15 minutes from historic Portsmouth and the beautiful NH and Maine seacoast and UNH.

There are several new motels here in Dover - they are all listed on the Trip Advisor page and any of them would be convenient for you.

Good luck on the interview and I hope you enjoy your visit here. Let us know how you make out.

Joyce in Dover, NH

Plantfreek,

I would like to direct you to a recent post where I wrote some extensive comments, as did others, to someone who is also considering a move to NH. Their circumstance is different from yours in many ways, but some of the info will still be pertinent. This is easier than re-writign or cut-paste. The Forum topic is titled, "Nighlife in Manchester? And best family neigborhoods?".

That said, Dover is a lovely town, and as has been noted, the Dover/Portsmouth or Seacoast area is quite lovely and viobrant. But so are other parts of the state. Each has its own charms and attractions, whether coast, lakes, rolling hills or mountains, or urban, suburban, rural, easily accessible or variouosly isolated.

I am interested in your interest in a senior community. With all your nature and earthbound interests, I would think you would want more of a piece of land, close to nature, with space for rich gardens, etc. By senior community, are you thinking of a development or condominium that is only open to 55+, or are you thinking of a continuing care community? I wonder if some of these will not provide the connection to nature that you may enjoy and may find especially available in NH. That said, and I suggested this in my post to the other discussion, you may want to make the move here without committing to a specific residence, locale or type of community until you have had the opportunity to experience what living in NH has to offer. As you become accustomed to the lifestyle here, and get to know different parts of the state and different towns, you will be better able to choose where you want to live.

As for folks being friendly, I'd say that New Englanders tend to be on the reserved side, compared with the more friendliness of midwesterners. Of course, this is somewhat stereotyped and depends on the individual, the community and the attitudes and expectations of the newcomers. There is a definite sense of history and rootedness here that newcomers encounter and need to appreciate. On the other hand, with your many interests you will find many ways to connect with people and many little communities of like minded, like-interest folks. Folks aren't unfriendly, they are just reserved.

As for getting a feel for the state, you might want to read this Forum discussion:

"What to do for a weekend"

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g46152-i1368-k8336…

Yes, Dover and some of the surrounding towns have "over 55" communities. There's a really good article about growth in southern NH and how it changed just in the last couple of years alone, if you get the chance you should read it. It just was in Foster's online in September:

www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article…

FOSTERS01/709300096

Dover is north of the city of Portsmouth. It's part of the "Tri-City" area, which consists of Dover, Rochester and Somersworth. Dover has a very nice downtown area. We went to their Holmwoods Furniture store quite a bit, when they were located in back of Dunkin Donuts, but they since moved about 3 miles away to Somersworth, we still go there, it's a lot bigger and actually better than ever at their new location. It's a furniture store that you should put on your list of places to check out for if and when you do decide to move here. :

www.holmwoodsdecorating.com

411 Route 108

Somersworth, NH 03878

There's St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover, one of their private schools that's quite good located on Dover Point Rd., in fact, we have several family members that graduated from there in the last few years.

Tuttle's Red Barn is located on Dover Point Rd., it's one place that you should try to go to when you visit! It's America's Oldest Family Farm. You can check it out in the bookstore:

Tuttle's Red Barn, The Story of America's Oldest Family Farm by Richard Michelson

OR online:

www.tuttlesredbarn.net

151 Dover Point Rd

Dover, NH 03820

Just south of Portsmouth there's several over 55 communities that you should check out while you're here. There's one that I want to make sure you try to see, it's in No. Hampton, NH., like I said it's a little further south on Rte 1, but when you're cruising the seacoast you should stop in to see them, they're beautifully built. They're called Greystone Village, they're near everything you'd need, stores, restaurants, two excellent hospitals and everything else on the seacoast. If your husband gets the job in Dover, he'd be minutes away. It's quite a development, they actually thought of everything when they designed it. There's several on the seacoast, but I think this one stands out because they're not astronomically out of reach like most of them are and also they're not mobile homes, they're homes. So Plantfreek, if you get the chance? GO there to see them, take a tour and you'll see what I'm talking about with them!

There's SO many people that are in the same boat as you with college tuitions and graduate school now coming up, I hear ya! It's definitely not easy! Boy am I hearing all about it in my family these days!

A very good friend of mine moved to New England from Indiana about 15 years ago and she never looked back! Her mother, brother & sister are living here now too, and same thing, they love it! I wish you well.

Good luck!

I don't think you'd have a problem at all with the area. The people (us people) are generally friendly, but there are jerks just like everywhere else. The seacoast is pretty much a mix of artsy and liberal down in Portsmouth, and the well-off conservatives in the surrounding towns. The two sort of combine to make up the middle class, just typical people. The area in itself has a mix of a rural and suburban feel, in one minute you'll be in suburban Dover and the next, rural Barrington. Only being an hour away from Boston, you still never feel too 'stranded' though.

The cost of living I believe is fairly average, gas is about at $4 though it recently dropped some. Groceries have gone up significantly in the last year, unfortunately along with the rest of the nation. Though I'm not sure about the costs of a 55+ communtity (which there are lots of by the way), I cn tell you that you can stil get a more than decent house for $300,000. I do have to tell you that the taxes are nearing outrageous for no reason at all (city officials are well overpaid, it would be great if you were looking for that job though). Lately the market has either been for large, $700,000+ houses or smaller ones under $250,000. Either way, it's definately a great time to buy!

There are some nice restaurants in Portmouth, though Dover is rather limited. LaFesta, a brick oven pizza place, is probably the best in the downtown, if you like chains you'll be happy as there are plenty in the north end of town. Next to that there are some okay chinese and other ethnic restaurants. There's a pretty large asian population in the area, so it's not hard to find good asian fare, especially if you don't mind venturing down to Portsmouth. Alexander's, on the Rollinsford/Dover border is a nice quaint, red sauce restaurant. In Portsmouth, our favorite has to be Ristorante Massimo. It's upscale, so I'd definately have to reccomend it for your nice night out. The nothern Italian food is to die for, as well as the service. Anneke Jans in Kittery, ME is another nice one that stands out, the people and bistro style food are great. For something more casual, Agave in Portsmouth for Mexican is my choice. Though Kennebunkport is a bit of a trip, it's a fun place to visit for the day. We like Grissini and Joshua's, though they're also fancy. Waterfront restaurants are very popular, there are lots of places to choose from. Overall, there are plenty of places to choose from. Most of the nice places put an emphasis on fresh food, with there being a few farmers markets and many local products. Freshness is important to anyone who likes good food, no matter what their political background is.

Boating and hunting are both very popular, especially with the more conservative set. The fishing can be good, the marine patrol is just very strict. Definately get ready to be stopped! For some real fishing, head up the Maine coast to Camden where you can catch about anything. This is a great hunting area, many are big on gun collecting and target shooting in addition. For rock climbing, you'll have to head upstate, though there are some state parks. There's a few ponds, but the biggest attraction is the beaches. The NH beaches are okay, Wallis Sands State Park isn't bad, but you definately want to stay away from Hampton, dirty. I personally prefer the Southern Maine beaches, such as York and Ogunquit (much closer than it sounds).

Though it has it's pros and cons, the area continually is voted to have one of the best living standards in the country. It actually sounds like you're kind of place. Good luck, I wich you the best in Seacoast NH!