That's going to be difficult. You'll probably be able to get a studio apartment somewhere, but you won't have a lot of choice in the matter. Nashua is going to be too expensive, Manchester is definitely cheaper. If you go north from Manchester it will get cheaper and less convenient. You're likely to be living further away or in a not so nice area of town. You could probably swing a 1br in Concord, but another alternative would be to find a roommate in a nicer place in Nashua.

For what it's worth the commute south to Nashua and then north towards Manchester isnt too bad. There's some northward traffic, and Fridays can be problematic during the summer, but it's not a nightmare by any means.