New Hampshire is one of those states that you don’t hear a lot about. Tucked away somewhere in New England, it’s the wealthy, quiet kid in the corner with the plaid shirt and who has all the good grades.
At least that’s the stereotype. That’s not such a bad way to be viewed is it?
It’s not an easy life for most of the year up there. But if you ask people who live there, they are fiercely protective of their state. They stick together up there, and would probably rather you stay out. Unless you’re on vacation.
But is it all great in the Granite State? Of course not. Just like every other state, New Hampshire has its trouble spots. The purpose of this post is to use science and data to determine which cities in New Hampshire are the least desirable to live in.
Of course, many of the cities on this list would rank highly if they were in other states. But nonetheless, according to science, these cities are the worst places you could possibly live if you make New Hampshire your home.
After analyzing 26 of the state’s most populous cities (over 5,200 people), we came up with this list as the 10 worst places to live in New Hampshire:
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Worst Places To Live In New Hampshire For 2024
Where are these places, you wonder? And before you get all riled up and say we’re picking on small towns in New Hampshire, that’s not the case.
We understand there’s a lot of good in every place. For example, the best place to live in New Hampshire is Durham.
However, according to data (which doesn’t measure things like beauty and ‘friendly people’), the state has far better options for making a place home. And the worst place to live in New Hampshire? The worst place to live in New Hampshire is Newport.
Read below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your city fared in 2024.
If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.
For more New Hampshire reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In New Hampshire
- Cheapest Places To Live In New Hampshire
- Most Dangerous Cities In New Hampshire
The 10 Worst Places To Live In New Hampshire For 2024
/10
Population: 5,228
Average Home Price: $279,094
Median Income: $67,500
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Crime Per Capita: 0.0178
More on Newport: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Want a ski vacation? Head to Newport, situated a short drive from several ski resorts. Need something to do in the summer? Well, Newport still has you covered. You can spend a pleasant day along Lake Sunapee at the Mt Sunapee State Park.
Great vacation spot. Not an ideal place to live, however. The tourist trade helps boost the economy, but isolation leads to weak diversity. The distance from a major urban center, combined with its small size, also means a lack of normal amenities. The town can also get expensive, which leaves 15.1% of its residents below the poverty line.
/10
Population: 9,485
Average Home Price: $169,746
Median Income: $41,638
Unemployment Rate: 5.2%
Crime Per Capita: 0.0200
More on Berlin: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
When you’re looking at the worst places you could live in New Hampshire, Berlin came in 2nd. Let’s see why.
When you’re comparing the unemployment rate to the rest of the nation, New Hampshire residents are very hard workers. But when comparing the unemployment rate among cities in New Hampshire, you can see some really big differences. In Berlin, the number of people out of work is 5.2%
In New Hampshire, that’s the 3rd highest in the state.
The residents in Berlin have the lowest incomes in the state. Folks in Berlin average $41,638 a year. Which isn’t too shabby in comparison to the other ‘lowest’ income cities in most other states.
Additionally, the homes are valued at $169,746 on average. That’s the lowest in the state. The population has dropped about 15% in the last 15 years. Perhaps these numbers are part of the reason for the Berlin flight.
As one commenter said in City-Data: “Berlin is as run down looking as it gets after a WW-2 vintage bombing attack.”
Maybe there’s a reason they opened a prison there.
Berlin is on Route 16 on the northern side of Mount Washington.
/10
Population: 115,037
Average Home Price: $383,709
Median Income: $74,040
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Crime Per Capita: 0.0289
More on Manchester: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
The largest city in New Hampshire is also one of its most dangerous. No surprises there. But that still isn’t an excuse. In looking at the latest FBI data, Manchester is the third-most dangerous place in the state.
Manchester saw four murders two years ago, and you have a 1 in 25 chance of having something stolen from you here.
Additionally, the schools spend the least amount of money per student than anywhere else in the state. But the ratio per student ($12,761) is still on par with the national average. That says a lot about how great the public schools are in New Hampshire.
The unemployment rates and income levels are also far below average in comparison to the rest of the state.
/10
Population: 5,808
Average Home Price: $459,287
Median Income: $113,024
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Crime Per Capita: 0.0494
More on South Hooksett: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 5,235
Average Home Price: $371,259
Median Income: $72,375
Unemployment Rate: 1.0%
Crime Per Capita: 0.0494
More on Suncook: Real Estate
Suncook, one of the worst places to live in New Hampshire, is plagued by safety concerns and a high crime rate. While it may not be overly negative, the reality is that Suncook faces challenges that hinder its desirability as a residential area. Crime statistics reveal a concerning trend, with both violent and property crimes posing risks to the community. However, it’s important to note that with dedicated efforts and a focus on improving safety measures, things can change for the better. Additionally, Suncook’s location within Merrimack County offers potential for growth and development, presenting an opportunity to transform this struggling area into a more prosperous one.
/10
Population: 23,027
Average Home Price: $439,869
Median Income: $83,750
Unemployment Rate: 5.4%
Crime Per Capita: 0.0141
More on Derry: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Derry, located in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, holds the unfortunate distinction of being ranked as the 9th worst place to live in the state for 2023. While Derry may boast a population of 23,571 and a relatively high median income of $73,968, its safety and crime statistics raise serious concerns. With a violent crime rate of 0.0012 per capita and a property crime rate of 0.0109 per capita, residents face a heightened risk of becoming victims of crime. These figures, combined with a poverty level ranking of 11th and an unemployment rate ranking of 1st, paint a troubling picture of the town’s overall well-being. However, there is hope for improvement through community efforts and initiatives to address these issues. With determination and collaboration, Derry has the potential to transform itself into a safer and more prosperous place to call home.
/10
Population: 13,018
Average Home Price: $232,691
Median Income: $53,697
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Crime Per Capita: 0.0245
More on Claremont: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Built along the Connecticut River, on the border with Vermont, Claremont has a lot going for it. It has a decent economy, good housing, strong schools, and easy access to the Green Mountain Trail. It even has its own opera house.
So how does it end up as one of the worst places to live in the state? Diversity in town is almost nonexistent. Meanwhile, the cost of living is relatively high. The median home price of $232,691 compared to a median income of $53,697. This contributes to a poverty rate of 15.9% and an overall ranking of the 7th worst place to live in New Hampshire for 2024.
/10
Population: 8,746
Average Home Price: $319,833
Median Income: $66,942
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%
Crime Per Capita: 0.0118
More on Franklin: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Now we can get to some actual cities that might have some normal numbers. In this case, Franklin ranks high mainly due to the low economic numbers. Homes are the 5th cheapest in the state here at $319,833. Say what you want about low cost of living. What the data says is that cheaper homes means less demand. And there isn’t a lot of demand to live in Franklin.
The median income levels here are the 3rd lowest in the state of New Hampshire, at $66,942. Crime is above average, but not horrible like some of the cities we’ll talk about in a minute. And the unemployment rate, while far lower than the national average, is high for New Hampshire. Almost 3.4% of people in Franklin were without jobs according to the latest numbers.
Franklin is right off of I-93 north of Concord.
/10
Population: 32,573
Average Home Price: $352,607
Median Income: $74,882
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Crime Per Capita: 0.0196
More on Rochester: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Most of the rest of the cities on this list deserve to be on here due to their high crime numbers. Rochester is the 12th most dangerous city in New Hampshire, according to the FBI. Residents had a 1 in 56.7 chance of being the victim of a property crime. That’s really high for New Hampshire, but not even the highest in the state.
Home values are the 6th cheapest in the state, and income levels are almost as low as you can get. Households in Rochester bring in just under $74,882 a year annually.
Rochester is also on Route 16 just north of Portsmouth.
/10
Population: 16,898
Average Home Price: $387,698
Median Income: $67,856
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Crime Per Capita: 0.0293
More on Laconia: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Little Laconia, New Hampshire could use a big hug right now. Sure, it’s a beautiful place, sandwiched between Lakes Winnisquam and Winnipesaukee. But the crime here is horrible. In fact, Laconia is the most dangerous place you can live in New Hampshire.
Chatter on forums indicate Laconia hasn’t recovered from a mini economic collapse to the area, and that Laconia is a ‘little run down’. And while crime might be centered around some of the many cultural events that happen in this vacation spot, the fact remains it’s just not safe, overall.
There were two murders here in 2024, and residents had a 1 in 36.0 chance of being the victim of a property crime.
Additionally, employment numbers (3.1% unemployment rate) and income levels are far below the state average ($67,856).
Methodology: How we determined the worst places to live in New Hampshire for 2024
To figure out the worst places to live in New Hampshire, we used Saturday Night Science to idenift what kinds of things people like and then decide what cities have the least amount of those things.
We don’t think it’s a stretch to assume that people like the following things:
- Good education
- Lots of jobs
- Low crime
- Low poverty
- Nice homes
- High incomes
- High population density (Lots of things to do)
- Short work commutes
- Health insurance
The data comes from the Census’s most recent American Community Survey and the FBI Uniform Crime Report.
We broke crime down into violent crime and property crime to give violent crime a more significant weight. If you did a simple calculation of all crimes per capita, property crimes are typically 7x more common and bias that ranking.
Furthermore, only cities with at least 5,000 people were considered — leaving 26 cities.
We then ranked each city from 1 to 26 for all the criteria, with a #1 ranking being the worst for the particular criteria.
Next, we averaged the rankings into one “Worst Place To Live Score.”
Finally, we ranked every city on the “Worst Place To Live Score,” with the lowest score being the worst city in New Hampshire — Newport. Read on for a detailed look at the ten worst cities in New Hampshire. This article is an opinion based on facts meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2024. This list is our tenth time ranking the worst places to live in New Hampshire.
Summary: Wrapping Up The Worst In New Hampshire
If you’re looking at areas in New Hampshire with the worst economic situations, where there’s higher than average crime and little to do, this is an accurate list.
And in the end, Newport ranks as the worst city to live in New Hampshire for 2024.
The worst cities in New Hampshire are .
If you’re curious enough, here are the best cities to live in New Hampshire:
- Exeter (Pop. 9,918)
- Hanover (Pop. 8,234)
- Durham (Pop. 10,789)
For more New Hampshire reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In New Hampshire
- Safest Places In New Hampshire
- Best Cities For Singles In New Hampshire
Worst Places To Live In New Hampshire
| Rank | City | Population | Unemployment Rate | Home Price | Median Income | Crime Per Capita |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newport | 5,228 | 3.9% | $279,094 | $67,500 | 0.0178 |
| 2 | Berlin | 9,485 | 5.2% | $169,746 | $41,638 | 0.0200 |
| 3 | Manchester | 115,037 | 4.2% | $383,709 | $74,040 | 0.0289 |
| 4 | South Hooksett | 5,808 | 3.9% | $459,287 | $113,024 | 0.0494 |
| 5 | Suncook | 5,235 | 1.0% | $371,259 | $72,375 | 0.0494 |
| 6 | Derry | 23,027 | 5.4% | $439,869 | $83,750 | 0.0141 |
| 7 | Claremont | 13,018 | 2.2% | $232,691 | $53,697 | 0.0245 |
| 8 | Franklin | 8,746 | 3.4% | $319,833 | $66,942 | 0.0118 |
| 9 | Rochester | 32,573 | 3.8% | $352,607 | $74,882 | 0.0196 |
| 10 | Laconia | 16,898 | 3.1% | $387,698 | $67,856 | 0.0293 |
| 11 | Concord | 44,049 | 5.3% | $379,611 | $77,874 | 0.0150 |
| 12 | Hudson | 7,003 | 2.0% | $470,939 | $80,901 | 0.0313 |
| 13 | Hooksett | 5,268 | 4.3% | $459,819 | $83,456 | 0.0304 |
| 14 | Londonderry | 12,143 | 4.7% | $527,708 | $113,557 | 0.0176 |
| 15 | Milford | 8,530 | 4.9% | $439,699 | $71,065 | 0.0075 |
| 16 | Keene | 22,907 | 2.6% | $303,115 | $69,381 | 0.0235 |
| 17 | Nashua | 90,943 | 5.1% | $437,854 | $88,766 | 0.0123 |
| 18 | Somersworth | 11,994 | 2.8% | $380,908 | $75,841 | 0.0213 |
| 19 | Hampton | 10,050 | 2.2% | $560,109 | $92,907 | 0.0140 |
| 20 | Lebanon | 14,515 | 0.7% | $398,820 | $90,911 | 0.0204 |
| 21 | Dover | 32,849 | 3.7% | $466,477 | $90,844 | 0.0107 |
| 22 | Portsmouth | 22,138 | 2.5% | $672,711 | $100,169 | 0.0145 |
| 23 | Newmarket | 5,829 | 1.0% | $475,693 | $88,295 | 0.0094 |
| 24 | Exeter | 9,918 | 2.7% | $530,210 | $79,813 | 0.0108 |
| 25 | Hanover | 8,234 | 4.5% | $908,412 | $111,958 | 0.0086 |
| 26 | Durham | 10,789 | 3.9% | $616,892 | $93,542 | 0.0054 |
Please do not claim you used science here. It makes you look like an idiot. If you chose metrics such as access to National Forest lands, hunting, fishing, and multi-use trail systems, Berlin probably would have been number one also.
The state of NH has sure not helped Berlin by sending all the system people north from the bigger cities because the apartments and stuff are cheaper there. Then the city fathers also helped by allowing a state prison and federal prison to grace them, which opens up another poop chute for them.. There is not much of anything to do in Berlin or the surrounding places.. The tax rates are chasing a lot the big businesses out that were giving jobs to the community, and all of the negativity the business people get when they are thinking of putting a business in Berlin from the city fathers make them turn and run.. Then they are more worried about having new equipment in the city departments to work with then taking care of the streets and stuff.. I could keep going but I wont… So all in all I can see why Berlin is #1 on the list..
I live in Alton, number nine on the list. Here is a 1st paragraph. Makes ZERO sense. Who wrote it?:
Another little blip on the map, Alton, located a short drive from Wakefield in eastern New Hampshire, has far less to do, entertainment wise. In fact, the population density here is practically as low as you can get. You could always drive to Concord, as long as it isn’t snowing. Which is like six months a year.
unless u can afford a boat or desire to drive somewhere or visit a nearby town, truthfully I would stay on the town west of the lake becuase there are always things to do in those towns..
Also, it snows less than six months a year. There has been snow in New Hampshire from June through October, and probably September at some point too.
So you cannot drive?
Laconia is a very nice and safe place. I’m shocked at this inaccurate article.
U obvously dont walk anywhere in that town there are some shady streets in that town which even scare me and I have walked in some of the shadiest streets around the seacoast.. I say U really need to explore that whole town on foot sometime you might actually see what helps make this report..
I’ll go to town for you! Straight up
Okay people, half of you commenting clearly didn’t even read the criteria utilized to formulate this matrix. Outdoor activities were not included, pretty much assumed anywhere in NH. And I think this is a good (maybe great) wake-up call to all the complainers. QUALITY OF EDUCATION = quality of life! You don’t want a bunch of unemployed, drug-addicted teen parents hanging out on every street corner (when they aren’t robbing your house for more drug money)? You need to be willing to invest in education. It’s not rocket science! All you people who don’t want to pay the taxes needed to improve your schools (I’m looking at YOU Franklin & Laconia!)? Those dead-beat loser kids? Guess what, YOU raised them, through your schools, hope you’re proud!
I smell school teacher…
I would say Rochester wouldn’t be that bad if there wasn’t a heroin problem here about every other day overdoses, this town has always had its fair share of petty crime, but do have to admit it has gotten worst, The Rochester Fair is like a rundown fair now almost no vendors go there because of theft. But Rochester is trying its best in Job area’s Like a new Mall to route 11 Granite Ridge, but it takes to work 3 jobs just to try to live since most jobs there are part time they really lack in full time industrial jobs locally and unless you know someone who has one of those jobs your out of luck getting in. And to say on property wise well guessing the town dont care what landlords rental rates are because in one months time anything empty for a 2 bedroom jumped from as little as 900 a month to 1300 a month before heat and water included to nothing included..
Pinardville isn’t a city. It’s not even a town. It’s a borough in Manchester. Therefore, you picked a neighborhood from your second – worst finalist and went redundant.
A good formula would have instead turned up Farmington or Claremont in your obviously 617-centric-hit-list. Dover and Concord are probably the only two communities in NH even worth looking at. Your formula is FUCKED.
I have been a resident of Somersworth, NH for nearly three years now. I *chose* to live here, for 1,000 reasons that do not fit these narrow-minded metrics. However, I will not take issue with that. What I will dissect is the text written here about my chosen home.
“According to the chatter we’ve read on forums, this ranking is valid. People complain about drug dealing, sex clubs and other nefarious behavior. Fact is, Somersworth is the second most dangerous city you can live in New Hampshire.”
-“Chatter we’ve read on forums.” Is this the scientific research that you speak of? Nice.
“There’s a lot of Section 8 housing here, and apparently, you have to stay away from certain areas of downtown.There was a murder in town in 2013, and you have a 1 in 25 chance of being the victim of a robbery, most likely a car or home break in. Yikes.”
-I love the scientific correlation between Section 8 and rampant crime. Gosh, those Section 8 tenants should just be dropped off into the ocean and the world would be a better place. Oh shoot – that’s in Portsmouth. God forbid someone who was down on their luck wander a toe over into the precious mecca of everything awesome and beautiful.
“The fact remains there are far better options if you want to commute into Portsmouth.”
– Speak of the devil! Well, you know life would have many far better options if the entire populous of Somersworth received a 500% pay grade increase. Perhaps instead of fleeing the treacherous wastelands described here, those shiny new tax dollars could go into making Somersworth shiny and beautiful.
I feel sorry that section 8 folks are so badly maligned by everyone around the country. Many people using this subsidy are good, honest people. Many are disabled or otherwise down on their luck – elderly. Certainly, there are those who are characterized rightly, however, to continually denigrate people who receive rental subsidies is morally wrong. Furthermore, Donald Trump owns a section 8 housing complex. How do you like that? Inherited by his father who made money off people on subsidies.
Furthermore, the section 8 program is a RENTAL SUBSIDY TO HOUSING OWNERS. THESE PEOPLE MAKE MONEY – SO PLEASE STOP MALIGNING RENTERS WITH THIS SUBSIDY.
THIS PROGRAM ROBS PEOPLE OF THEIR DIGNITY AND SELF RESPECT. DID YOU KNOW THAT? IT IS ONE OF THE WORST PROGRAMS THAT WASTES TAXPAYER FUNDS, IN THAT IT ROBS PEOPLE WHO USE IT OF THEIR DIGNITY AND SELF RESPECT. IT IS ALSO EXTREMELY PUNITIVE. PEOPLE PAY UPTO 40% OF THEIR INCOME TO LIVE IN DECENT APARTMENTS. SOME PAY EVEN MORE. IN MA, A FAMILY OF TWO CAN EARN UPTO 42,000 OR SO ANNUALLY AND STILL QUALIFY FOR SECTION 8. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IT MEANS THAT THE GREED OF PEOPLE WHO OWN REAL ESTATE IS PREDATORY. RENTS ARE TOO HIGH. THERE IS NO STABILITY. PEOPLE CAN BE MADE HOMELESS; AND THEY ARE, BECAUSE OF THE EVIL, SHAMEFUL PREDATORY CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM THAT IGNORANT AMERICANS SUPPORT. TOTALLY STUPID. TAKE A LOOK AT THE WAGES THAT PEOPLE MAKE – UNLESS YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO LAND THAT COVETED JOB, YOU ARE ONLY A PAYCHECK AWAY FROM SECTION 8. SEE THE “AFFORDABLE HOUSING” WAIT LISTS AND YOU WILL MAKE YOURSELF VOMIT. GOOD PEOPLE, ELDERLY, DISABLED, THOSE WHO HAVE PAID INTO THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM, WHO HAVE SUPPORTED OTHERS IN THEIR WORKING YEARS AND WHO HAPPEN TO NOW NEED A SUBSIDY ARE PUT ON A WAIT LIST THAT SPANS MORE THAN 5 YEARS.
WAKE UP AMERICA. STOP BLAMING INNOCENT PEOPLE. BLAME YOUR UGLY PREDATORY SYSTEM.
LOOK AT OTHER COUNTRIES THAT ACTUALLY VALUE THEIR CITIZENS –
In ending, I think the section 8 is a bad program. It gives people false hope. 2/3 of the people receiving this subsidy can’t use it because landlords won’t rent to them. It helps slum lords by subsidizing them, slum lords like people on high. EVERYONE ELSE WINS, BUT THE TENANT WHO IS USED AS A SCAPE GOAT AND ONLY SOMEONE TO BE EXPLOITED BY ALL DID YOU HEAR ME? ALL THE PEOPLE IN HUD, FROM THOSE WHO WORK THERE TO THE SLUM LORDS ARE MAKING MONEY OFF YOUR TAX PAYER DOLLAR – BUT YOU THE TAXPAYER, ONLY A PAY CHECK AWAY FROM HOMELESSNESS, CONTINUES TO MALIGN AND DENIGRATE YOUR FELLOWS – WHO ARE NO DIFFERENT THAN YOU ARE.
WAKE UP AMERICA. SEE THE GAME. SEE THE EXPLOITATION.
I have grown up in N.H. . Lived here almost my whole life except for a 12 year stint where my family and I lived near Atlanta. These rankings have to be meant as a joke. As it states these towns are not being compared to the other States in the U.S. But but to other towns in N.H. . When I moved back home I was ins shock of the amount of people from Massachusetts that had taken over our state. That is the issue. The transplants. In little bitty Rochester alone you would be hard pressed to find one of those down town druggies even from here. It is such a shame we allowed all our once public swimming areas have been bought up by Massholes and have become “Private Property” . We have lost our integrity and given way to the sway of the all mighty dollar. Our police departments were not prepared to handle big city issues crammed into our once small town values.
It’s not an accident that the City of Berlin Cale in 1st as least desirable!
The ruination of our City came when the decision was made to not extend I-93 to Berlin. For those old enough to remember the issue was that no blasting could be done in Franconia Notch for fear of bringing down the Old Man of the Mountain.
Immediately after it came down by natural forces (gravity), I talked to politicians, wrote letters to the editor of our local newspaper asking that I-93 be extended 1 mile North per year. All I/we asked for was to be on the States 10 year plan and because Berlin and Coos County lack population which equals State Representatives we were thoroughly ignored!
Couple the lack of access to the Interstate with local politicians who are more interested in rubbing elbows every four years with the Democratic Washington elite than fixing our City you now have a place that is reaping what it sowed….no thanks to current four term Mayor Paul Grenier!
ok, we get it , less people means no jobs no taxes, poverty zone, how about write your governor and do something about it,, we have crime watch meetings monthly, and crime is way down in nashua, if u see a crime report it,,,,,talk to your neighbors, have cookouts and bingo together,, we keep drugs out of our neighborhood,,,,,,
ok I agree I live in berlin and I’ve lived here since the day I was born there is murder, drugs, weed, overdose, teen pregnant, and I’m 13 I know someone’s gonna say “your to young to understand” but because I live here and have self raised myself with a druggie mom and no dad on the planet I can say I know enough and probably more than you I personally cant find a full neighbor hood where there’s not either a pedo, pregnant teen, druggie, stoner rapist yeah so just saying berlin deserves the worst oh and that not even getting into all my friends there is not one “perfect” family in berlin and by that I mean just a healthy family not to long ago my friends aunt was hit by a car and another guy was found dead in a dug out and another friend lost her 15 year old brother to an overdose and half the kids don’t know there dad and have depression. so instead of continuing this for another hour I’m just gonna go and to all the complainers its a list by facts that he found on the internet your on the internet and you don’t have to believe in everything on the internet so calm yourselves and if you looked this up and r hating on it why did you look it up the researcher probably put more time in this then you have in your manners so once again signing off ~Ashlin morgan-vi (p.s. no joke my middle name is after captain morgan once again I live in berlin please kill me thx) XD
Ashlin Morgan is a beautiful name, no matter where it came from. Life sounds really tough for you, I’m very sorry for that. You deserve a healthy family and to know your father and to have a father that loves you. It is not your fault that it isn’t what happened. You don’t have to be defined by other people around you or by the economic challenges that came to your town when the mill closed.Take each negative story of people you know and keep it as a cautionary tale for your own life. Read about great people and learn form them, wherever there is a library, you can do this. Keep writing, you have stories. Stay away from drugs, don’t do heroin even one time! Ever! Too much thrown away with that stuff.
Its all cause and effect. There is little free will, even though all the religions want us to believe this. Because the family one is born into, the environment, the neighborhoods, peers are things that effect and influence our lives. Druggie moms, bad neighborhoods —why did that happen? Because of money and someone did someone in, including those created by real estate rental owners, corporations and more. Low wages. Exploitation. Don’t blame the druggie moms, blame the causes that led them to this type of behaviors. Ask druggie moms, what happened to make them give up? Or who made the bad life happen for them?
The only metric you use to call Keene “possible one of the worst places to live in, period” is that the unemployment rate is 5.5% when you didn’t take into account that a quarter of the population of Keene are college students studing at Keene state.
Also by your own list Keene is only to towns away in ranking from Nashua which you call one of the best cities to live in. Not sure how that works.
This is the problem when you cherry pick one or two metrics but have no actual knowledge about the communities you are degrading. Get woke.
*two
Probably someone from new York wrote this. Spending money on schools and houses is a cost, not a benefit. New Hampshire performs excellent on value of housing per dollar, and value of education per dollar. Unemployment is meaningless because with 70 percent of homes in the lake region being second homes, the economics are totally different.
And being better than the national average at a low cost is excellent for these metrics.
If a person is looking to move to a state for a growing family, NH is probably not for them. Only those of us with professional occupations can even get a decent job here, and then nowhere near the pay you’d get elsewhere. Hubby and I moved to Colebrook when we each got out of the Air Force (which was how we met, assigned to the same base) we only stayed there a year, as that place didn’t even have a national store chain of any kind. (Population 2,500) We then moved to Claremont, where we raised our kids for the next 10 years. I am a nurse, hubby was a lab tech at the time, so finding jobs was very easy. We love that our children grew up with great schools, clean neighborhoods, and nice people. I feel I should mention that we’re a multiracial family, but never got nasty looks, etc. for it. Hubby decided to go back into the AF, this time as an officer, and has now retired. We decided to move to Laconia, but again, we’re skilled labor, plus we have hubby’s pension, which is more than his civilian job pay. I hope this clarifies why NH isn’t for everyone. It’s not a career-building area, but way safer than nearly every other state in the country.
You want to know what is killing these towns and cites? It a the same thing that killed San Francisco. Secularism. Godlessness atheism if you will. All of which leads to a lack of hope because underlying this is thought that ultimately all life is meaningless. If there no point to why we are here there is no compelling reason to follow any moral standard at all. God has been driven out from the public square and history shows that this happens as a result. Taxing people more will not solve the problems, turning to God however does
I’ve lived in Tilton, New London and Sunapee, and I’ve been snowed on at least once in every month of the year, and I’m not talking about the White Mountains either. I’m not up theya now! but by Jeezum, I’ll be back! I’ve been to most of the places on the ‘bad’ list, had good times in all of them, and I’ve got to say, whoever came up with this list should maybe get out more!
In reading these comments I had to say something to defend this small town. We moved here to Berlin in 2016 from Houston Texas. There are more complaints and bias statements I have ever read on a forum. No; we were not born and raised here but try being black in the South making it out alive in one piece. I know with that statement, many will think that is what I use to compare lifestyles, but until you are black and have to deal with what we had to deal with, you have no freakin idea!
We moved here site unseen. In fact we didn’t visit Berlin when we were looking for places to live in New Hampshire because I went off of these types of forums to help make a decision. If I read this one, it would have changed my mind and I’m so grateful I ignored all the complaints of drugs, violence, and poverty statements. Upon arrival, we were terrified because again, being black and all; we had no idea if we were going to be accepted. I mean; in Texas when we were just riding around looking at houses, we were ran out of neighborhoods! Sometimes with guys and kids on the back of a pick-up truck holding their confederate flags and shot guns making sure we leave the area(no joke) this happened in 2014!
This will sound like a fairytale story but Berlin deserves some recognition and just a little bit of hope from a stranger that ended up here.
I knew nothing about Berlin when we showed up and learning great things about the potential that it could be everyday. In all honesty, we didn’t care about what most people were looking for. Good jobs and schools were not on our radar because we homeschool both our girls and worked for ourselves which in my eyes is the best freedom in the world. I know that a lot of people are not blessed to be able to live the way we do and I sympathize for those that want to and can’t. I hurt for the girl that commented on here about parents and drugs which I can relate. I won’t go into that here, but you have to be better than how you were raised!
We have been in Berlin going on 4 years now and it’s been all kinds of emotions living here. In all transparency, we are still figuring it out but I wouldn’t change anything and would do it all over again if asked. People are people and we expected nothing from anyone but received a lifetime of warmth and love from complete strangers! We came into this beautiful town not knowing what to do but knew that Berlin had so much potential and we wanted to be apart of some hope! We didn’t let the fear of drugs being here stop us nor the statistical violence and poverty that’s listed on the internet stop us either. Again, we wanted to be a part of what could help make Berlin great instead of adding to its problems. Every state and town in this country have problems and if you are looking for that perfect place then just wait to go to Heaven because it doesn’t exist here on Earth. All we can do it try to live together without the multitude of complaints that hinder us from coming together to do something instead of whining what is not here! Find ways to make it great here to live and if you can’t do that then to be honest, Berlin is not the place for you! Expect nothing but in return, bring all the hope you can think of because with more like minded people, Berlin can beat those statistical odds.
I must say… I’ve never seen comments about an article vary so widely and passionately in their responses. Particularly about a “ranking” article that ignores circumstances .. positive and negative… because they don’t fit neatly into an article that would require a mere 60 minutes to compose from federally-available data. I could give examples, but it’s not worth my time. Just put in an effort to improve your town, your community, your street! Ignore this mindless trash.
I lived in Concord, for the last 7 years. I loved it. I was right down town, I walked to work and walked around town at night. The locals are super friendly and always helpful to each other. The Main Street renovation project turned out really nice and many new shops opened up. They have continued to renovate and upgrade many of the old buildings down town and it is fun to hang out at one of the many restaurants, bars, or coffee shops listening to live music. All the businesses on Main Street are independently owned and have great pride in ownership. Its an awesome place to “shop local” any time of the year. Many city wide events to support locals that thousands of people show up for yearly, plus several parks for everyone to play. Now, what I have heard is the other side of the river is a different story. So, take it with a grain of salt.
Living and working around Berlin, NH during COVID-19 is phenomenal