<p>Hey guys, I'll most likely be a Freshman at UNH this coming fall and I'm just curious what current or past students have to say about the University. I loved it when I toured it but I'm hoping to get an insider's perspective. Positives and Negatives? Any feedback is much appreciated, thanks! </p>
<p>I don’t have any insight as a student, although I believe the sciences program is pretty good (if that is what you are intersted in). </p>
<p>As a parent who has lived in the town of Durham since 2001 (and NH on and off since 1976), I will say that you won’t regret living in the area of Seacoast NH. The campus and town are pretty quiet - but Portsmouth is a quick hop away by the bus system, and that is just a great town (lots or restaurants, boutique shops, art galleries, mall, good local music scene, etc). </p>
<p>Like I said, Durham isn’t up to much by itself - couple of bars, couple of small shops, limited retail, small supermarket - but nice enough. Newmarket (3 or 4 miles down the road) is a bit more lively, and it seems to be a popular place for off-campus renting. </p>
<p>Both Boston and Porland ME are about an hour away, and Boston is easily reached by public transport (Amtrak goes right into city center, as do busses). Plenty of opportunity to get to a larger metropolis and enjoy galleries, Red Sox games, history - etc. </p>
<p>Also - great for outdoor rec. Plenty of lakes/rivers around, decent skiing about 90 minutes away, local trails for x-country skiing, the coastline (whale watching, surfing for the hardy constitutions, lighthouses, and history). UNH also has a good marine bio program, with facilities on Great Bay. </p>
<p>From a townsperson’s perspective, there seems to be a fairly good relationship between the U and the town. Not too much aggravation … on the whole the campus seems fairly safe (at least as much as any large university these days). Occasional ruckuses (like after the Sox won the world series) - but that doesn’t seem to be out of the norm these days. </p>
<p>My son is off to college - but won’t be going to UNH as he’s been in town most of his life. </p>
<p>Best.</p>
<p>A dad. </p>
<p>Thanks! Yeah, I’ve heard the area around the campus is a bit quiet but there’s a lot to do if you go 15-20 minutes outside campus. </p>
<p>Portsmouth is one of the great, small cities in America. Not very well-known outside NH and MA, but a great place to shop, eat, go on whaling tours and so on. As touched on above, the White Mountains are close by - 30 mountains over 4,000 feet - great for skiing in winter and hiking in fall and spring. In addition, some of the nicest beaches you will ever see are also close, such as Ogunquit (ME), Rye Beach (NH) and Wingearsheek in Gloucester, MA. </p>