Portsmouth sounds like it would fit your criteria too! A really beautiful town. Very walkable, lots of parks and trails. The downtown has bars and a bit of a nightlife. By the water/beahces (right by york, ME) but also close to the mountains. Lot of young people too and everyone is soo friendly. The food is amazing too. Trader joes and whole foods close by.

Portsmouth or Dover for your demographic. Not too far from Boston if you really want top-notch healthcare specialists.

I just moved to Concord from CA and have not been able to find a PCP within a 50-minute drive--no one is accepting new patients. My partner also waits months for specialist openings (cardio, neuro). I've been unable to find a gastro for the past six months. If you have medical concerns, I'd be careful about NH. Otherwise, it's absolutely beautiful and I recommend it highly.

Way too many "moving to NH" posts on here.

Concord is great if you're geriatric, Dover can be fun but gets old fast. If you like being cold 6 months a year come over!

Honestly, if you're seriously considering moving, then check them both out. You can review both Dover and Concord in a day. NH is a small state in a car. You know yourself better than any of us; so you should really visit before making a big decision like this.

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I live in Concord so I can give you a little bit about this city.

-Regarding your username, Concord has Gibson's Bookstore which is one of the best indie bookstores.

-Trails, outdoor walks, etc. Easy yes.

-Lots of grocery stores. Some health food stores, Concord Food Co-Op comes to mind.

-Plenty of good restaurants. I'm not sure about gluten free restaurants but I'm guessing yes.

-Theres a nice Main St. downtown. They have been putting more effort into building it up and making it more of a walking destination. Also regarding dating, restaurants, nightlife, etc...even if you aren't the happiest with an element that's in Concord, Manchester is only 20 mins away. Biggest city in Northern New England.

-Concord hospital complex is really nice and extensive. It's not some small rural hospital. It's legit.

I don’t live near Dover or Concord so can’t help there but I moved to NH from Providence. Providence is lovely and checks most of your boxes, specifically the downtown/night life, gluten free restaurants, healthcare and probably dating options.

Lots of great dog trainers in the Providence area too, I’d check out the r/Providence sub for that.

There are some scenic walking trails within 20 min outside Providence but everything is flat and no comparison to what you’d find in NH.

Cost of living is very high here with almost no apartments available. If you really want NH for a specific reason and can afford it, then its worth it. Otherwise, I would recommend someplace else. Perhaps Springfield, MA? Cost of living is a lot less. There is great nightlife in Springfield and just outside of the main downtown is lots of woods and there are plenty of places for big hikes and there are lots of places for small hikes within the city.

There is also Baystate Medical Center.

Dover would not be a good fit IMO they may be a "city" but it's very much a small town in terms of night life, downtown area, and meeting new people. Not a ton of walking trails removed from the traffic, most of them are far drives from here.

Idk about Concord area but just remember this is a small state where most people grow up in one town and never leave and have their established friend groups. It's hard to meet people here.

If you need top notch healthcare you have two real options:

1. Live within driving distance of Boston (Mass General, Brigham, Beth Israel etc). These are world class research institutions fed by Harvard Medical School.

2. Live near Lebanon for Dartmouth. This is the only academic hospital in NH. If you have anything rare or complicated and can’t be near Boston this is where you want to be.

Central Massachusetts or the suburbs west of Boston will check off everything on your list. There are tons of trails, friendly people, and opportunities to socialize. NH is a lonely place (search this sub for “how do i meet people” and you’ll see). If you generally want to be left alone in the woods NH is awesome though

Probably both those cities will check all the boxes. Concord is close enough to Manchester for more options, and Dover is close to Portsmouth.

You should take a hard look at property prices and rental availability around these parts. You might find there's some bad news there.

Good luck to you!

Concord will have lots of access to walking trails and nature. I just moved to Nashua and am blown away by all the nature and hiking trails within my county. You might have to drive a bit to get to good doctors, I’m honestly not sure. I do know that there are 2 really good hospitals in Nashua, and probably some good ones in Manchester too. I have several rare conditions, and so far I’ve found doctors in Nashua, Lowell, Mass, and Dover. People talk about how bad the food options are in NH, but honestly I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I’m a pescatarian, and plenty of places have vegetarian or vegan stuff, especially in Manchester. I don’t know about gluten free, and I don’t know about Concord, but my guess is you can at least find SOMETHING. There will be people to date/places to go out/a nightlife scene in Manchester. Concord is lovely but more sleepy. But they’re so close together. People will try to tell you that Manchester is sketchy, but that is only if you’ve never been to a city before. It’s not any different from any other small city. And btw, I don’t know Dover, but Portsmouth is beautiful, and Concord is a great little city. Sorry I wrote so much!

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Concord will give you quicker access to Concord Hospital and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. The best rated medicine in the State of New Hampshire. Concord also boasts quick access to the White Mountains national park system, it is less than an hour to the New Hampshire Seacoast, is about an hour to Boston Massachusetts and a half hour to Manchester, an even bigger city than Concord. Concord is a pretty large but not huge city with plenty of night life, theatre, books, museums a wonderful planetarium, tons of shops etc. It is a BEAUTIFUL city. Keep in mind, New Hampshire real estate can get a bit pricey as far as property tax etc. Many Concord suburbs are even more beautiful than Concord itself.

Waiting on the “don’t bring your progressive politics” comments LOL

As people have said, Portsmouth and Dover are good choices but they're expensive.

In the same price range you can check out Portland, Maine as well.

Concord is not the right move. You’ll be bored out of your mind there. It always seems like 90% of the population there is women in there 60s with short haircuts.

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