Most of the time, I say I live in Vermont.
On the days I actually go anywhere outside of work, it’s to the state of Vermont. Most of my friends are in VT, the beer I buy and drink is in VT and the scenic drives, photography and outdoor activities all take place in VT. If I go out for dinner, it’s to drive north to Montpelier or hit Worthy Burger in South Royalton and sometimes, to Essex Junction Vermont to watch a movie which is only IMAX movie theatre near me without driving to the most southern part of NH. Burlington VT is a lot more fun than Manchester / Concord NH and the distance driven is identical. I live exactly 6.5 miles from the Vermont border but my mailing address is New Hampshire.
A lot of people don’t really understand the divide between southern and northern New Hampshire. The majority of the state’s population is concentrated on the border of Massachusetts. Here are a list of NH counties w/ populations based no most recent Census data
- Belknap County 60,088
- Carroll County 47,818
- Cheshire County 77,117
- Coos County 33,055
- Grafton County 89,118
- Hillsborough County 400,721
- Merrimack County 146,445
- Rockingham County 295,223
- Strafford County123,143
- Sullivan County 43,742
I live in Grafton county and it’s the 2nd largest county right after Coos by 85 square miles. It’s a huge county at 1,714 square miles. When you look at the counties south of Grafton, the total population is 1,146,479. The total population of Grafton, Coos and Carroll equals 169,991. Only 14% of NH’s population live in the northern part of the state. If I were to move 60 miles north, I’d be living in a population that takes up only 2.8% of the state’s population.
My point is, the state of NH’s population is heavily skewed toward the south as realy an extension of Boston/Mass. A large number of southern residents commute to Mass for work and the towns resemble Mass townships. Vermont’s population skews north so when I leave the house, I’m driven to head north where there’s less traffic, better food and a different mentality than head south into a density that resembles Boston.
My county is heavily populated but skewed by a Ivy League school (Dartmouth) and their ballooning DHMC Hospital. Both of these groups employ the majority of the county with some people commuting 120 minutes a day to work at a Dartmouth funded job. If Dartmouth wasn’t here, there would be very little economy or population in this area.
I don’t feel like a resident of NH. My proximity to the border, social situation & the merchants I frequent are all contributing factors to this feeling. Vermont is a beautiful state, very positive and green. I always look at Vermont rentals when it’s time to move to a new house. I end up finding NH places to be cheaper remain vigilant that one day, I’ll make the move to VT.
Friends say I can’t call myself a Vermonter and I get it but I live in a pretty remote area with the only ties to this state being a mailing address. guess I’ll just keep faking it until I get that pine green license plate on my car.