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What is northern New Englands Hub?


What is northern New Englands hub?  

74 members have voted

  1. 1. What is northern New Englands hub?

    • Portland
      43
    • Manchester
      26
    • Port City/Seacoast Area
      4


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according to google maps, manchester is about 54 miles from boston and providence is about 50 miles. so they're ultimately the same distance from boston.

driving the everett or 293 or whatever it is along the river through manchester is the worst curvy highway i've been on (i thought worcester and the pawtucket S curves were bad...). that's really narrow there.

i don't understand why manchester doesn't have their own network affiliates. you might argue that they don't need it, but the boston stations won't give you good local news. we have our own for all the networks down here and while they cover all of RI and most of SE MA, they're based in providence. they get the local news, as well as the big news from boston. i'd rather hear that than a lot of news from boston that just doesn't matter to people living 50 miles away. concord is even farther from boston... what do they care what's going on in boston? while you might not think it's necessary, it also brings new jobs into the area, along with providing a nice service...

as far as the hub goes... i haven't spent much time in either portland or manchester, but i'd say it's a toss up given that portland is a major port city (the most major for northern new england?). but the question is really not a good one because vermont is left out of the equation beacuse the cities there are more western so theyr'e cut off from everything else and the cities in maine and NH are all so far south that the rest of the state obviously doesn't have anything going for it other than touristy stuff (which i have to say manchester lacks, aside from sports). i was in downtown manchester for the first time this past week. it wasn't anything great to look at and i'm not sure i'd want to be walking around there alone for any length of time... and what i've seen outside that main strip on elm st wasn't anything spectacular to look at... reminded me of worcester in that sense.

I have to agree there. Manchester is very much like Worcester. It just kinda feels like you driving through Worcester when you are driving on 293 in Manchester and vise versa. And it doesn't bother me a bit thats its more like Worcester than it is Portland or Providence. They are really two different types of cities.

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I have to agree there. Manchester is very much like Worcester. It just kinda feels like you driving through Worcester when you are driving on 293 in Manchester and vise versa. And it doesn't bother me a bit thats its more like Worcester than it is Portland or Providence. They are really two different types of cities.

i never said it was a bad thing... although i personally don't like worcester. they're both very industrial cities compared to portland or providence (although providence is also very industrial, but it's a different kind of city, mainly because it's also the state capitol). i haven't spent a ton of time in manchester or worcester, but i get the feeling being in them that after dark, there's only a select few areas of them that i'd want to be.

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i never said it was a bad thing... although i personally don't like worcester. they're both very industrial cities compared to portland or providence (although providence is also very industrial, but it's a different kind of city, mainly because it's also the state capitol). i haven't spent a ton of time in manchester or worcester, but i get the feeling being in them that after dark, there's only a select few areas of them that i'd want to be.

Every city has its no go places. You can actually walk anywhere in Manch rather safely anytime of the day. At least I think so. So people may not think so. You have to remember this is NH we are talking about.

I find that nowadays, Manchester's claim to fame is its nightlife. If you drive downtown especially on a summer Friday night, there are huge lines in front of all of the clubs and downtown is poppin'. The Verizon Wireless Arena is also a hot spot in Manchester, with many big time events happening there. And don't forget the Baseball park about two blocks away from the arena. A lot of times there is a baseball game, and sell out event at the Verizon and clubbing all in one Friday night and downtown is just nuts. On the southern part of downtown during the summer the young people come out with thier rice burners and have street races with cops hiding out waiting to give out tickets. I Manch's downtown. What we really need real bad is a new downtown mall. The thing we have downtown right now is just an eyesore from the 70's. It needs to be replaced ASAP!!!

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  • 4 weeks later...

i never said it was a bad thing... although i personally don't like worcester. they're both very industrial cities compared to portland or providence (although providence is also very industrial, but it's a different kind of city, mainly because it's also the state capitol). i haven't spent a ton of time in manchester or worcester, but i get the feeling being in them that after dark, there's only a select few areas of them that i'd want to be.

FYI Jim...Manchester and Worcester are much safer cities than Providence sny day of the week. While they are not the most aesthetically pleasing urban cities in NE, they are next to the cleanest and safest out of all. I love Prov., but it is one of the dirtiest crime-ridden cities in NE. ( after Hartford and Springfield)

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FYI Jim...Manchester and Worcester are much safer cities than Providence sny day of the week. While they are not the most aesthetically pleasing urban cities in NE, they are next to the cleanest and safest out of all. I love Prov., but it is one of the dirtiest crime-ridden cities in NE. ( after Hartford and Springfield)

i think that's more relative to the location in providence. there are more "nice areas" than "not so nice" areas in providence than manchester and worcester. downtown providence gets safer and safer everyday (not that worcester and manchester's downtowns don't) and it's growing. the area around thayer and wickenden is pretty safe.

i was just stating that when i've been in manchester and worcester at night, i didn't get the feeling that it was the sort of place i'd really want to walk around. yes, downtown manchester was full of people and activity (moreso than worcester, although it was february when i was in worcester).

while providence might not be the cleanest or safest city in NE, it's not terribly dangerous either. the ghettos in providence don't compare to those in the major cities of CT (or even the not-so-major cities in CT, waterbury, new london, norwich), with maybe the only exception being new haven, but their ghettos are probably on par with providence.

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i think that's more relative to the location in providence. there are more "nice areas" than "not so nice" areas in providence than manchester and worcester. downtown providence gets safer and safer everyday (not that worcester and manchester's downtowns don't) and it's growing. the area around thayer and wickenden is pretty safe.

i was just stating that when i've been in manchester and worcester at night, i didn't get the feeling that it was the sort of place i'd really want to walk around. yes, downtown manchester was full of people and activity (moreso than worcester, although it was february when i was in worcester).

while providence might not be the cleanest or safest city in NE, it's not terribly dangerous either. the ghettos in providence don't compare to those in the major cities of CT (or even the not-so-major cities in CT, waterbury, new london, norwich), with maybe the only exception being new haven, but their ghettos are probably on par with providence.

Well, let's agree to disagree on this one. After all, this is the NNE forum....One only needs to look at statistics to tell the difference....and I'm sure the few posters that do post here could care less about what happens here...

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

There you go, M. Brown...I voted for Manchester, mostly due to the new airport. I think this wil be a catalyst for growth in the area. Now if they were to restore/reopen the Carpenter Hotel....Seriously, while I think Portland has a lot going for it, I see lots of things in the offing for Manchester.

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  • 2 months later...

There you go, M. Brown...I voted for Manchester, mostly due to the new airport. I think this wil be a catalyst for growth in the area. Now if they were to restore/reopen the Carpenter Hotel....Seriously, while I think Portland has a lot going for it, I see lots of things in the offing for Manchester.

:thumbsup:

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  • 1 month later...

the airport isnt new just renamed lol

i bet u in 4 years it will be internation(besides canada)

I actually heard some where they were going to add a third runway. They are already chopping off the end of So Willow st to make one of the current runways longer....again.

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I'll argue that there really isn't a hub of Northern of New England. The geography of NNE, and the fact that there is no major highway that links the three states contributes to this. Also, NNE is too provincial to have a central hub - Vermont has Burlington, Maine has Portland, and New Hampshire has Manchester. Also no city sticks out as being particularly Hub-esque - i.e. no city serves as the major business/gov't/transportation center. Manchester is the largest city with the major airport and the nice 'gritty mill city making a comeback' story. But Portland is the trendy port city with the best urban fabric and a strong tourist trade. Meanwhile Burlington has established itself nationally for its free-thinking, laid back, 'bunch of Ben n Jerry loving, SUV hating liberals' atmosphere. So there you have it, I think every city stands on its own.

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  • 3 months later...

Portland by far. Manchester kind of reminds me of a big suburb. It doesn't have the urban sophisticated feel that Portland does, nor does it have the bustle of Portland. In my view, culture counts and of the choices given Portland walked away with the trophy.

Absolutely. Manchester may have 100,000 people, but its metro area even including Nashua is still 150,000 less than Portland's. Manchester has always been a mill town. Cultural events are not a priority there, as in Portland. Culture certanly DOES count, as you stated.

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Sheesh. What happened to Manchester's lead?

Thankfully, it dropped.

The winner should go to the biggest northern New England city, so definetly Manchester. Portland Maine would come next.

Cities need to be judged based on their metropolitan population. Portland is the largest, in that case.

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  • 1 month later...

Manchester is deffinately the hub of NNE. The census statistics for Manchesters metro area are very misleading, only including a few towns when portlands "metro area" includes basically all of southern maine. Manchester hands down.

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Manchester is deffinately the hub of NNE. The census statistics for Manchesters metro area are very misleading, only including a few towns when portlands "metro area" includes basically all of southern maine. Manchester hands down.

the towns surrounding portland have more population than the towns surrounding manchester. also, boston's metro area pushes more into new hampshire i think (without looking at what it includes) than it does in maine (if at all in maine). there's a big gap in populated areas between nashua and manchester, and even between manchester and concord is more sparsely populated than around portland, which has the big advantage of being on the coast.

i think someone said it already... but it could be argued that boston is northern new england's hub.

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the towns surrounding portland have more population than the towns surrounding manchester.

Manchester is part of Boston's metro area, just as Providence and Worcester are (they are all more or less the same distance from Boston). Portland is not in Boston's metro, though there are some commuters from southern Maine and Portland to Boston, many commuters on the Downeaster Amtrak line.

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Manchester is part of Boston's metro area, just as Providence and Worcester are (they are all more or less the same distance from Boston). Portland is not in Boston's metro, though there are some commuters from southern Maine and Portland to Boston, many commuters on the Downeaster Amtrak line.

If you look at a map the four cities shape almost a perfect diamond. Map.

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  • 3 weeks later...

the towns surrounding portland have more population than the towns surrounding manchester. also, boston's metro area pushes more into new hampshire i think (without looking at what it includes) than it does in maine (if at all in maine). there's a big gap in populated areas between nashua and manchester, and even between manchester and concord is more sparsely populated than around portland, which has the big advantage of being on the coast.

i think someone said it already... but it could be argued that boston is northern new england's hub.

The towns around are about the same size as the ones around portland, somebody determined for some reason that portlands metro should include a bunch of town when manchesters includes only a few

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  • 2 months later...

Since I have lived in both Manchester and Portland, I feel that Portland is far more deserving as a Northern New England hub, if there is one. As a metropolitan area, Portland is the largest. Some census reports show Manchester as part of the Boston metro; other reports list Manchester/Nashua as a metro area. Manchester may have more than 100,000 in the city, but that figure is deceiving. Portland has much more of what it takes to make a real city - far more restaurants, far more downtown shopping, much more attention paid to the arts, more tv and radio stations, and on top of all that, a much greater array of tourist attractions to see. Portland has always been careful to design its taller buildings to match its surroundings. Greater Portland Landmarks has contributed a great deal to the attention Portland has paid to its architectural past. Manchester apparently does not have an influential group such as that, judging by the two tallest buildings in the city. Hampshire Plaza rises up like a gray monster, towering out of place by the historic Amoskeag Mills, and the City Hall Plaza Tower nearly obliterates the dome of City Hall itself! Portland has its share of eyesores for sure, but the city has learned from its mistakes and works hard at planning to see that the mistakes are not repeated. In Manchester, architectural heritage is not a priority, and I think attention to the past is another factor that makes a city well-rounded, comfortable, and a place where people look forward to entering, either as a visitor or a resident. I'm not comfortable in Manchester anymore. Last time I walked up Elm Street by where McQuade's used to be, I saw NO ONE on the street with me, in spite of the revival Elm Street has supposedly been given. Even with a smaller civic center, Portland has revived in an astonishing fashion. Though I have very close friends in Manchester, I would never want to move back there. To me, Portland offers its residents a far greater quality of life.

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