Printable View
Haha! Newicks! I worked there for a half a summer in Hampton during HS. The dishwashers made the coleslaw...never eat the coleslaw! And yeah, there is much better available.
There is Petey's in Rye for the same scene but better. Still all that shit is overpriced fried food.
As Dave pointed out, over priced fried seafood is everywhere. Too bad they need to make the bulk of their revenue in three months time. Sure doors drive the price of it up.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackstraw
Fried clams are good, but fried scallops are better. Love that shit, but I can only have one meal of fried seafood per visit. Otherwise I start feeling bogged down. A plate of that stuff feels like 4 pints of DIPA in my gut.
Petey's and Newicks are open all year long. The stuff at the strip closes down.
Newicks is nasty, but I wasn't paying the bill We went there a few times in the late 90's for some family dinners. It was a halfway point for different parts of the family and one my uncle's had a restraining order, so he wasn't allowed in York County, ME, iirc, which would have been the better choice that would have also satisfied various folks. I dunno why they didn't just pick somewhere better. Family. My wife who doesn't like seafood at all was difficult to convince to go there, especially after the time she got violently I'll.Quote:
Originally Posted by schuss
Portsmouth is not in York County. Some decent places there.
I agree. However. It wasn't on the table, I forget why. Family shit. It was Dover or Ogunquit, and the later was out because of the one uncle. Which lead to my wife puking in the hotel room during one of the trips, instead of a romantic get away.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ottime
anyone in portsmouth now?
What's up? I work right outside of town.
damn,,,just had a great meal on the water...heading back to h. beach.....was at martingale wharf.
so wheres a good place to live between portsmouth and good NH skiing?
I work in Portsmouth most days.
^^killer town....wife already planning our retirement in NH in 3 years...make that 2 years/11 months but whose counting.
Too many New Hampshirites there. New Hampshirians?
well i dont havvvve to like them. just live there. i heard they don't take kind to outsiders though.
.
.
.son bought a nice long-board at cinnamon rainbows, got me for cool shoes too. nice shop.
There's a lot of reasons to like the place no doubt.
If you're looking in the seacoast - bring your checkbook or live slightly outside commute to Boston range. Prices have gotten stupid in Portsmouth and the immediate surroundings.Quote:
Originally Posted by cinnepa
^^^that would put a hurt'n on my pension for sure. probably need to get inland more.
If you're not stuck on the coast idea, that whole Rindge-Peterborough-Jaffrey-Keene region is nice. Rural, pretty country, not that far from a lot of stuff. Pretty mildish winters generally, colder than the coast but it's as far south as you can get in NH.
Nice, that's my bud Crops shop. Waves today too. Head to the north side of Jenness Beach for more mellow less powerful sets vs the shitshow crowds of the Wall. It will probably be crowded everywhere, but that's surfing.Quote:
Originally Posted by cinnepa
That's where I grew up. More expensive than you think, and unfortunately far from a lot of places because no interstates. If you don't mind being 2 hours from Boston/the beach etc., It's got stunning lakes, but aging population and medical care nowhere near the level available on the seacoast.Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman
That's a tough question.Quote:
Originally Posted by cinnepa
To ski NH, you want access to Rt16 or Rt101 to Rt93. If you're a lake person, then obviously the lakes region is nice. I kind of think you either want to be in the seacoast or the mtns. Tough to be in the middle. I can get to Cannon in 2hrs from Hampton. It's about the same to N. Conway, but Rt16 is a bit tougher of a drive.
The biggest problem is you'll want to be in northern VT to ski because that's where it snows.
Most years. Except for that recent year when Boston got more snow than here. In one storm, iirc. Crazy year. 2016-17 if memory serves me correctly. Northern VT misses the coastal storms, however Jay Peak does get an amazing amount of reach around snow from those same storms that bend it over and give it dry. So if you are retired and got the means, be a storm chaser. Upper valley is not a bad place to be in the middle of it. You can pick the left bank of the river or the wrong side of the river, your choice. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by jackstraw
Depends what else you like. Up 16 is the easy choice, but you don't get cheap until Milton or so and gate yourself off from easy drives to VT as there's not many good cross-NH routes north of 4.
Alternatively, if you do something like Deerfield, you're between 16 and 93 for easy access to things and can hit 4 or 101 for Portsmouth access while having great parks like Bear Brook nearby. Only thing is there's just not much between the cities due to how close other things are.
If you enjoy rock climbing or specific water activities it's a different answer as well, as you have world class (but buggy) bouldering at Pawtuckaway, sport in Rumney and trad in N Conway.
If I was looking at a retirement joint it would be Sugar Hill / Franconia. Beach in 2 hours. Within an hour to Dartmouth Hitchcock for healthcare. All the beauty of Vermont with all the financial benefits of NH. Littleton for all your tax free shopping needs.
Otherwise I'd say stick to the seacoast and buy a little getaway up north in the Conway area. You could pick up a place for mid 100's all in and cover the nut renting it out when you aren't there.
I dunno, gettin' a little close to Buttah up that way.Quote:
Originally Posted by AdironRider
Ha!Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman
I agree though. Sugar Hill is a cool spot. A bit desolate, but really nice. Prices up there are not as cheap as one would assume. I was looking at property for a bit and could not justify it.
The other side in N. Conway you can rent it out a bit easier.
Super close to From_The_Nek.
Wife and I have been talking about Portsmouth as a retirement destination for many years. I love cool little cities and it’s one of the best in my estimation. We’re about an hour away north of Boston now and go up there a fair amount. Problem is by the time we tick all the boxes - walkable to downtown, decent sized yard, cool neighborhood and a garage the price tag is nuts (even considering I plan on selling my metro Boston spread for stupid dough.) I’m mulling over the Kittery option could be walkable to downtown if you find the right place and prices look more reasonable. Ipswich and Newburyport are the two leading alternatives though. Longer drive to the snow though,Quote:
Originally Posted by cinnepa
Yeah, I guess I wasn't super clear but that mid-100's number is for Conway and not Sugar Hill, where mid-100's will get you a raw land lot maybe.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackstraw
Wifes mom took us there ( she lives in Portsmouth, wife is from tiny town near N Conway.)Quote:
Originally Posted by schuss
For a guy from Utah, the lobsters and beer were good.
Think its all I ever get there.
Yep, I can almost see Sugar Hill from my house on the right side of the river.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackstraw
Sugar Hill is expensive to buy (supply/demand).
Some slightly less trendy areas just south of there (the three L's Landaff, Lisbon, Lyman, and also Bath) can often have cheaper property.
For us Portsmouth has become almost too big and too busy, but that's just typical of any tourist town for old fart locals. We do go to Kittery more often than not these days or we stay on the outskirts of downtown proper. Again like other places, the cooler hang out (breweries, etc) are forced in the lower rent areas.Quote:
Originally Posted by Obstruction
Portland ME is another great city that is expanding into the industrial zones.
Yep. Kittery has great restaurants and is more laid back, and Portland is a class above Portsmouth in beer and food. Portsmouth is land-limited and Dover has yet to prove it can support great restaurants, so most end up in Portland with a few scattered between. South Berwick is a great example of a stealthy town with great access and good local stuff (thistle pig is amazing). They even have a town ski hill with a rope tow.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackstraw
Any interesting stuff is happening on the west end of Portsmouth, but even that is rapidly building up.
Going to Portland in a few weeks, love that city. Yeah it's growing but the city proper is on a peninsula and can't really grow too much. Man I remember Portland when I was a kid, it was a complete dump (Portsmouth was too, but not as bad). I can still see Portland from those days in my mind, what a change.
Another really good city in the same general vein is Halifax. Very cool town.
Haven't been to Halifax. Call me a weirdo, however, i like Fredericton a lot. Headed there this weekend to dump the kid off for year three at UNB.Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman
Yeah somehow I've never set foot in New Brunswick, it's not on purpose and I've been right next to it a few times. I'd like to check out Saint John some time too. No idea what's there.
Saint John is very industrial. So is Moncton. Fredericton is sleepy, and sorta like a combination of Burlington with a Montpelier vibe, in VT terms. I like the beer at Picaroon's and sitting outside on their lawn looking over the river at the lights of Fredericton.Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman
Halifax is like a mini Boston, the downtown was kind of modeled on Boston in a way, the main central parks are the Common and the Public Garden just like Boston. But it's much hillier and much smaller and way more relaxed. Beautiful harbor and lots of ferries. I love ferries. t's pretty modern since basically the whole downtown got blown the fuck up in 1917 when a ship full of high explosives blew up in the harbor and all the really old stuff got destroyed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion
I've been all the way to Sydney NS, it was cool to see, amazing scenery, but bleak as shit. Former coal-mining and steelmaking center, now all gone and still missed.
A nice drive is out east on US 1, then go to Lubec, and on to Campobello Island. Take the ferry to Deer Island from Welshpool. If it's running. I heard it doesn't run every summer. :o. From there you can take another ferry to mainland NB and eventually NB 1. Stop for beer in Saint John. Finish your drive to Halifax.
or from Halifax go down to Yarmouth, take the car ferry back to Portland and done. Make a bigass loop out of it.
Place sucks
Cape.