Various questions

[Adelaide]

Hi there, I'm new to the forum (found it from the FSP site) and enjoying reading many of the topics so far.  So...I have a couple questions about NH that hopefully you can answer. 

First of all I'm curious about the religious/spiritual enviroment there.  Does it seem like the majority of people are Christian and if so are they super fundamental?  Is there much diversity of other religions and/or spiritual beliefs?  I'm mainly curious because it does seem like quite a few who are involved in the FSP are Christians, but I'm not sure if  NH itself has a huge Christian population.  I have nothing against what other people believe, but I do live in a rather openminded state (NM) when it comes to spiritual beliefs, so it would kinda suck to to be in a place that wasn't as open to varied beliefs.

Also I've heard that like many other smaller communities in any state, sometimes it takes awhile for the locals to accept newcomers.  Have any of you moved to smaller towns and run into this?  If so did things get better quickly once you started to get involved in community events and such?  Or maybe you found the residents to be more friendly and open to newcomers than you've experienced in other places?

Thanks for your input.  It's nice to have a place to ask NH residents particular questions, since there really is only so much you can learn from websites in general  .

[Russell Kanning]

I would say that NH is more religiously diverse than NM. But we do not have the equivalent of Santa Fe.
I would also say that NH has less "super fundamental" Christians than the national average.
Noone has asked me what religion I am or what church I go to. I would think that you would feel very comfortable here.
Oh by the way, I am a super-fundamentalist Christian myself who has mostly lived out west. My parents lived in Las Cruces, NM for 6 years, so I have only visited NM.
One thing that strikes me about NH is that when you look at the really old churches in the middle of these cute little towns, they are of many different denominations.
I am new to NH so others might have a much different take on the situation.
Amoungst us fsp movers, we have a wide variety of religious beliefs. A few of us are Christians, but most never mention or have any connection to any "religious" beliefs.

[Kat Kanning]

NH's nothing like TX or OK for religious fundamentalism....like I don't see religious billboards all over in NH.  It mostly looks like some brand of christianity to me, so I don't know about diversity.

[AlanM]

As an example, Exeter has: A Catholic, Baptist, Congregational, Presbyterian, Methodist, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, Episcopal, and a small fundamentalist church which I can't think of the name.

[cathleeninnh]

The fundamentalists here in NH aren't nearly as vocal as in SC or TX. I do not think of NH as very diverse. There are small but growing populations of hispanics, east indians, muslim refugees.

I was pleasantly surprised at the friendliness and acceptance I felt here. The only cool responses I have had were from a few who violently disagreed with me. That's pretty good to me!

I am extremely comfortable here because I found plenty of unpretentious, individualistic, non-materialisic people. And voters here don't like paying for stuff.

I am happy!
Cathleen

[AlanM]

In the seacoast there are many asians, particularly Laotians, but also Cambodians and Vietnamese. Newmarket has a large apartment complex referred to as Laotian Village.

[Lex]

Ten years ago Manchester schools had to assimilate kids speaking over 90 different first languages other than English.  The number now exceeds 100.  We are more diverse than you realize.

I'm sure the assimilation doesn't help maintain the diversity though...

[cathleeninnh]

Maybe they aren't assimilating. If they live /shop/school/work such that many of us don't know they exist, then I don't see any diversity. I would LOVE more restaurants that are authentic in their cuisine. Catering to the local palate drives me away.

Cathleen

[Dreepa]

Also I've heard that like many other smaller communities in any state, sometimes it takes awhile for the locals to accept newcomers.? Have any of you moved to smaller towns and run into this?? If so did things get better quickly once you started to get involved in community events and such?? Or maybe you found the residents to be more friendly and open to newcomers than you've experienced in other places?

I have found the locals to be super friendly.
I am now recognized at all the selectman's meetings ( I go to every one).

I woke up yesterday to the sound of a snowblower. I looked out the window and my neighbor had done my whole driverway.  That is the third time this year.  NH rocks!!! One thing is that people talk to strangers here.  In LA and SF (where I most recently lived) I don't think that they do as much.

[Russell Kanning]

I think he was asking about diversity in religion more than ethnicity.

I remember a teacher friend in Pasadena saying that the school district would exaggerate the number of languages spoken by the children and/or how many of them didn't speak english. This way they could beg for more funding.

[AlanM]

I think he was asking about diversity in religion more than ethnicity.

But to me it is all the same pot brewing madly, bubbling up, making a great ghoulash. 

[cathleeninnh]

Mmmmmm! Ghoulash! Anyone have a good recipe?

Cathleen

[Lex]

I think he was asking about diversity in religion more than ethnicity.

Are you sure Adelaide is a guy? That sure looks like a chick in the avatar...

[Adelaide]

I think he was asking about diversity in religion more than ethnicity.

Are you sure Adelaide is a guy? That sure looks like a chick in the avatar...

Lol, um yeah I'm female, glad someone caught that .  Thanks for all the replies so far everyone.  Yes, I'm more interested in religious diversity since I already know (at least from various NH websites) that there isn't a *ton* of racial diversity.  That doesn't really bother me, since it wouldn't matter if a place was a big mix of ethnicities or just a few.  The only thing that would concern me in a place that is predominately one race, is the chance of racism (bigger chance? Same chance as anywhere else? I don't really know). 

I was a strong fundamentalist Christian in the past (even a missionary for a time!), but I don't adhere to any one religion now, and am raising my girls like that too right now.  I lean more towards some of the neopagan ideals and beliefs, but am not at this point active in any particular group.  It *would* be nice though to know some others with similar beliefs, so knowing if a state is in general open or hostile to those "other" beliefs would be good to know .   

I personally don't like NM too much as far as climate, and the people while most of the time decent, are not nearly as friendly as those I've met in some other Eastern states in the past.  I really love the architectural history out East too, you just can't find that huge assortment of 100+ year old homes out here.

I'm in college right (technical and creative writing)  now so likely wouldn't be moving until I'm finished, but I'm going to continue to think seriously about joining the project, I just found out about it this week.  I'm not sure I hold the exact same political views as the majority of Libertarians and similar, but I do agree with many of the things I've read so far.  Heck I still haven't bothered to register to vote (I know, very bad).  Anyhow I have more questions pertaining to the project, that will give me a better idea if this is something I could help with.  Since the FSP boards do seem a little less active do you think it would be better to ask here? Or maybe post in both forums? 

Also another question pertaining more to NH in general, do you run into many single parents?  I'm not very interested in the extreme South part of the state, or the Seacoast, but I'm not sure how well a single mom would do in the wilds of the far north.  I know there are a lot of happy mediums between the far North and far South, I'd like to be somewhere that's semi rural/small town but maybe somewhat close to one of the college towns, so there would be *some* potential for nightlife/music. 

On a similar note, this may be a weird question, but what's the dating situation in NH?  For example, Albuquerque in some poll was discovered to be one of the hardest cities in the USA for single people to meet people.  This is very true, but we find ways to maximize our chances lol.  I think it's because people are little less friendly when it comes to strangers here.  So to any of you non-married folks, do you think it's difficult to meet people there?  Maybe because some areas are more remote/smaller pops.?

Thanks again for your input!

[Caleb]

Random thoughts, from the Keene perspective:

Religious diversity:  Personally, I don't think New Hampshire is overwhelmingly religious.  I see cars with Pagan bumper stickers all over the place, so if that's your thing, we have that here. I don't think religion will end up being too much of a problem for anyone, whether they are religious or not.  People seem to "live and let live".

In terms of "blending in", I haven't noticed too much of a problem.   I'm pretty talkative, though, and I don't really care much what people think.  People here know that I'm a radical, and they seem pretty ok with it.  Many seem to sympathize with our ideas, even if they aren't optimistic we will succeed.

Nightlife?  Forget about it.  At least in Keene.  There are some bars, if that's your thing, but no nightclubs.  There are, however, college kids in the street into the wee hours of the morning, so if that's your idea of nightlife, there it is.

Dating and socializing?  I think that's up to the individual, wherever they go.  In general, people here are pretty easy to talk to.

Caleb