Folks are being mad negative about Manchester and Nashua but they're not... bad... just expensive for what you get. Def not as glam as Portsmouth/seacoast region, and also not rural.

in those areas you're looking at a solid $1.8k-$2k for a no frills but not... nasty...apartment. Deals can be found but more for folks in the "know" my cousin pays $1,200 a month for a two bed in Manchester but also can smell his neighbors smoking crack at all hours of the day lol with no private parking. (you ALWAYS need a car in NH) . My ex boyfriend paid $1500 (no utilities included) though for a small one bed that was in a decent safe area though. There are okay restaurants and bars in that area but its not exactly hopping.

Im also a remote worker, a bit younger than you and trying to get the hell out after the holidays. I live slightly outside of Manchester and the lack of young people and activities is killing me. Dating is a nightmare (saw you mentioned it) for me personally, but I'm also a woman of color so diversity is important to me which you are not getting in NH.

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Edit: though if you want to see for yourself.... for a recommendation for something fun to do in Manchester I would go see a show at the SNHU arena OR the opera house, whichever is more interesting to you and then a restaurant on Elm St (the one "good"/trendy st in Manchester) for dinner or drinks afterwards. All in walking distance. Outside of those couple of streets the rest of it is either chain shopping or residential.