Category: Quality Of Life

NH is 2021’s 8th most educated state

The Granite State is smart! A recent study from personal-finance website WalletHub looked at data from all 50 states, comparing factors like educational attainment, school quality and achievement gaps between genders and races. According to the study, New Hampshire ranked fourth for percentage of people with high school diplomas, eighth for percentage of people who hold bachelor’s degrees, ninth for both percentage of associate’s degree holders and graduate or professional degree holders, and 16th for average university quality.

Score: +1

Comment: Some of our closest neighbors beat us in the rankings, according to the study, with Massachusetts taking the No. 1 spot and Connecticut and Vermont coming in third and fourth, respectively.

Exploring gender justice in NH

The New Hampshire Women’s Foundation recently announced the launch of the Gender Justice Cafe, a series of conversations about topics that impact equity for women and girls in the state. According to a press release, the Gender Justice Cafe will begin on International Women’s Day, March 8, at 10 a.m., with a 90-minute Zoom panel that explores gender justice internationally and features New Hampshire leaders and organizations that are working to elevate the voices of women and girls on a global level. Future conversations include gender and the climate crisis, racial equity and intersectionality, and transgender justice.

Score: +1

Comment: These programs are free, and anyone interested can register at nhwomensfoundation.org/GJC.

Exploring slavery in NH

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire has released a 45-minute video called “I was a slave, even here in New Hampshire”: The Concord Black Heritage Tour, which features notable African Americans from throughout Concord’s history. According to a press release, it includes stories of enslavement, emancipation, the underground railroad, abolitionism and visits from Frederick Douglass, as well as more recent stories, like that of renowned African American illustrator Mel Bolden. The video can be accessed at youtu.be/WhNu6mWn4xI.

Score: +1

Comment: “By reintroducing these stories of New Hampshire’s early Black citizens, we create a space for dialogues around race, diversity and inclusion,” Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire Director JerriAnne Boggis said in the release. “These corrective narratives make it possible to decrease barriers of misunderstanding and decrease people’s racial anxiety.”

Concord launches citizen reporting app

The City of Concord has announced a new citizen reporting platform and mobile app that will allow the Concord community to report non-emergency quality-of-life concerns and service requests. According to a press release, community members can use the web portal on the City website or download the free MyConcordNH app to submit a request or report to the City, including things like potholes, missed trash collection, snow plowing, downtown maintenance, trees, water, sewer and more. Users can also get email updatesabout theirrequests, which are automatically directed to appropriate city staff.

Score: +1

Comment:The MyConcordNH mobile app is available for download on Android and iPhone and includes links to city services and information, and push notifications can be enabled for things like winter parking bans or delayed trash collection.

QOL score: 56

Net change: +4

QOL this week: 60

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].

Bedford boy appears on Ellen

“This is awesome! I never thought I would hear my voice and now it’s on this show!” That was 9-year-old Elliot Perry’s response to Ellen DeGeneres when she asked how he was doing during his appearance on her show on Feb. 18. The Bedford resident appeared as a CHaD ambassador; after he was born several months premature, doctors said he would never walk or talk. He spent 121 days at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s intensive care nursery, and now he’s on a mission to raise $121,000 to build two playgrounds for CHaD in 2021, one at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon and one at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Manchester, according to a press release. During the segment, Ellen presented Elliot and his parents, BJ and Carrie Perry, with a $20,000 contribution from Shutterfly.

Score: +1

Comment: This is one cute kid doing a whole lot of good. The Perrys have also joined forces with Team Police forward Kyle Daly of the Manchester Police Department to raise more than $100,000 in five years through CHaD’s Battle of the Badges Hockey Championship, according to the press release. You can see Elliot on The Ellen DeGeneres Show at ellentube.com.

Fisher Cats plan their comeback

After missing the entire season last year, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats have announced a 120-game season that kicks off May 4. According to a press release, the Toronto Blue Jays Double-A affiliate will play its first home game at Delta Dental Stadium on May 11 against a new division team, the Somerset Patriots (the New York Yankees Double-A affiliate). Other highlights of the season include 18 home games against the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) and 17 post-game fireworks shows throughout the season.

Score: +1

Comment: Single-game tickets for the month of May will go on sale March 15, according to the release, and single-game tickets for the rest of the season will be available in the coming months “as stadium capacity regulations continue to evolve.”

The final reel?

New Hampshire movie lovers will have fewer places to go for buttery popcorn and cinematic goodness (or cinematic badness, which can be just as fun). According to reports this week in multiple media outlets, Zyacorp Entertainment, parent company of Cinemagic theaters, announced on Feb. 22 that it is closing all eight of its New England theaters (including the three New Hampshire locations in Merrimack, Hooksett and Portsmouth). “After 20 years’ operating movie theaters … and with a heavy heart, Zyacorp Entertainment has closed its Cinemagic Movie Theaters with no plans to reopen,” according to a statement from the company as reported by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in a post on Feb. 23. (QOL attempted to contact Zyacorp by phone and email Tuesday morning but couldn’t reach anyone.) The theaters had been on “intermission till spring” since early February, which is what the website still said as of Tuesday. QOL has seen more movies at the Merrimack and Hooksett theaters than QOL can count. Returning to those theaters, loading up on snacks and watching a summer tent pole or a late-year Oscar hopeful was definitely near the top of QOL’s “things to do when This is over” list. Though southern New Hampshire is lucky to have other movie theaters in operation (and more that are still planning to return to operation), this loss of so many screens is a real blow.

QOL score: -3 (one for each of those theaters)

Comments: Sure, QOL enjoys the convenience of having the big movies hit home screens roughly the same time they’re hitting theaters but nothing quite captures the escapism of seeing a story play out on a giant screen or the joy of cheering for an action movie climax with a crowd.

QOL score: 57

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 56

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].

Youth protest peacefully with art installation

A group of youth organizers hung posters and banners on the chain link fence outside a Liberty Utilities office on Feb. 13, an act of solidarity with the No Coal No Gas campaign, according to a press release from 350NH, a local climate justice organization. The posters said things like “Time for diNOsaur FOSSIL FUELS to go extinct,” and they also displayed cardboard dinosaurs to illustrate their message that fossil fuels are “antiquated and dangerous,” according to the release. The No Coal Gas campaign seeks to end the use of fossil fuels in New England and transition to 100 percent renewable energy, with the next goal being to secure a shutdown date for the Merrimack Generating Station in Bow, which uses coal.

Score: +1 (because regardless of where you stand on the matter, youth getting involved in causes they believe in — peacefully — is a good thing)

Comment: Jordan King, a senior at Milford High School and member of the 350NH Youth Team, said in the release that he participated in the protest, “Because I’m a young person, my future is on the line and I don’t want to be the next thing to go extinct.”

Gas prices rising

Speaking of fuel, gas prices keep going up, so filling up the tank is quickly getting more depressing. According to GasBuddy, New Hampshire gas prices have risen 2.6 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.42 per gallon as of Feb. 15 — that’s 12.5 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and 3.8 cents per gallon higher than a year ago — about a month before the country shut down.

Score: -1

Comment: Lower gas prices was one of the few perks of the pandemic, and QOL is not excited about GasBuddy’s prediction that increased demand will raise the national average another 10 to 50 cents per gallon this spring and summer if oil production doesn’t increase along with the demand.

On the bright side …

One of the other benefits that resulted from the pandemic is that people are pretty used to staying home, so while this week has seen more winter storm weather, the ability to work from home and have kids do school remotely is significantly easier for many people, compared to previous winters. Last year, some schools were trying to figure out how to do remote “blizzard bags” for snow days in order to call it an official school day; now remote learning is the norm.

Score: +1

Comment: QOL is especially happy to be writing this from home, having avoided a stressful morning commute (and now dealing with only minor interruptions from kids who are supposedly in virtual classes but seem to have a lot of free time for snacking and video games).

Cheap-ish car insurance

New Hampshire is the 10th-cheapest state for car insurance in 2021, according to a new study from WalletHub, a personal-finance website. According to the study, full coverage car insurance costs 198 percent more than minimum coverage in New Hampshire, on average; 16-year-olds pay 453 percent more for car insurance than 55-year-olds, on average; and drivers with a DUI pay 125 percent more for car insurance than drivers with a clean record, on average.

Score: 0 (+1 for being in the Top 10, -1 for QOL, who has an almost-16-year-old and a soon-to-be-much-higher car insurance bill)

Comment: WalletHub also listed the Top 5 cheapest car insurance companies in the state: USAA ranked No. 1, followed by Concord Group, Safeco, Geico and MMG Insurance.

QOL score: 56

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 57

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].

Acts of kindness

On this week’s theme of acts of kindness: The Bedford Starbucks has recently changed the traffic flow of its drive-thru line. In order to keep parking spots in front of the shop and neighboring businesses free, there is now a large “do not block” area in the middle of the line, creating a little social experiment every time you go. Who will follow the rules? Who will try to zip forward in line? Who will misjudge the amount of space they need to pull forward? On a recent visit where QOL was stopped at the breach, the car behind honked and then zipped around QOL (who responded with a too-loud, too-long honk). QOL fumed a bit but reasoned the person possibly couldn’t see why QOL had stopped in the first place (bring back the stop sign, Starbucks). When QOL got to the drive-thru, the line jumper had already paid for QOL’s order.

QOL score: +1

Comments: A serving of caffeine and faith in humanity? What a good way to start the day. (And thanks for the coffee.)

Less crime in the Queen City

For the fifth year in a row crime in Manchester has decreased, according to a Feb. 4 post on the Manchester Police Department’s Facebook page. The preliminary Crime Statistics for 2020 show the Part I crimes declined by 4 percent compared to 2019 — specifically, violent crime was down 5 percent and property crimes were down 4 percent. The city also saw “significant” declines in robberies, aggravated assaults, burglary and larceny. One area of concern is an increase in motor vehicle thefts, according to the post.

Score: +1

Comment: In response to the report, Mayor Joyce Craig issued a statement thanking the department for its service and adding, “While this is good news, we know there’s more work to do, and I’m grateful for MPD’s ongoing commitment to community relationships, transparency, innovation and progressive training.”

Bumpy road to get second vaccination

QOL has heard many stories about how difficult it has been to schedule an appointment for a second dose of the vaccine, including two-and-a-half-hour waits on hold after calling 211 and issues with the online vaccination scheduling system that prevented those who already had their first dose from making an appointment for the second within the necessary time frame. Gov. Chris Sununu acknowledged the problems with the scheduling system, WMUR reported on Feb 4, but said everyone in Phase 1B will be able to get the second dose of their vaccine within the recommended time frame. According to the report, Sununu asked for a little bit more patience and said workers were manually entering new appointment times so people would be able to sign up for them.

Score: -2

Comment: According to the report, Perry Plummer, who has been in charge of the vaccination effort, said, “We had a bump. It was bad. It was unfortunate. We own it. But we’re fixing it as quickly as we possibly can.”

Don’t Quit!

On Feb. 8, the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils announced that New Hampshire is one of four states selected for its 2021 Don’t Quit! campaign. According to a press release, three elementary or middle schools in New Hampshire will receive a $100,000 Don’t Quit! Fitness Center. “So far we’ve delivered Don’t Quit Fitness Centers to 36 states and Washington, D.C.,” foundation chairman Jake Steinfeld said in the release. “Kids are excited about working out and being physically active and … their academic performance and self-esteem have skyrocketed. Now, New Hampshire schools have an opportunity to make a change that will have a lasting impact on kids well into their future.”

Score: +1

Comment: School nominations will be accepted now through Friday, March 19; to nominate your school, visit natgovfit.org.

QOL score: 55

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 56

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].

Lots of student loans

A recent study that looked at student loan debt nationwide ranked New Hampshire ninth for the most people with student loans. The study was done by AdvisorSmith, a small business research website, which analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education to find the states with the highest student loan balances and states with the most student loans outstanding. According to the study, in New Hampshire 14 percent of the population has an outstanding federal student loan.

Score: -1

Comment: On the bright side, the average loan balance in New Hampshire is $33,459 — which is slightly lower than the national average. At the end of 2020 the average student loan debt held in the federal student loan portfolio was $36,510 per borrower, according to the study.

Granite State for the golden years

Retirees are faring better than students in the Granite State, it seems; New Hampshire ranked 10th in a recent study that looked at the best states for retirees in 2021. Last week, the personal finance website WalletHub released the report, which looked at factors like affordability, health and overall quality of life. While the state didn’t exactly score high marks for affordability — ranking 30th — it came in at No. 1 for quality of life and ninth for health care.

Score: +1

Comment: Quality of life is key (that’s why we weigh in on it on this very page every week!), but bringing that affordability ranking down a bit would make the state’s QOL even better, no?

Tough loss for gift store owners

Countryberries, a gift store in Deerfield, was destroyed by a fire on the morning of Jan. 29, according to a report from WMUR. The shop is a total loss, and there is no word yet on the cause. The owners, Bruce and Kathy Graham, who live in the house adjacent to the shop, were asleep when the fire started but awoke in time to get out safely, according to a message that the couple’s daughter, Kelly, posted on the store’s Facebook page. “We built the shop in 1997 with the help of family and friends, but as so many of you know, Countryberries was more than just a building on the Graham property (or a room in their house many many years ago),” the post reads. “It has been a dream, a passion, and part of the Graham family since May 1991.”

Score: -2

Comment: The post on Facebook said that although the family is devastated, they are grateful that no one was hurt and that the Graham’s family home of 36 years was not destroyed in the fire.

The Plunge is on

The Special Olympics of New Hampshire’s Penguin Plunge will go on this year, giving brave plungers a chance to raise funds for the program, which is still supporting its athletes by offering fun activities even while they’re at home. There’s still time to sign up and meet fundraising minimums before taking the plunge, which can be done anytime in any non-frozen body of water (the event normally takes place at Hampton Beach) between now and Feb. 7. According to a press release, signing up at sonh.com will get you a link to the fundraising platform, which can be used on any social media.

Score: +1

Comment: If you run into the ocean in the middle of winter and no one is around to see it, did you really run into the ocean?

QOL score: 56

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 55

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].

Inspiring teen gets a book deal

Thirteen-year-old Brayden Harrington of Concord will write a picture book called Brayden Speaks Up, to be published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, according to a Jan. 20 article in the New York Times. Harrington got national attention when he spoke at the Democratic National Convention, after meeting President Joe Biden at a campaign stop and bonding with him over their stuttering. According to the article, Brayden Speaks Up will be published Aug. 10 and is part of a two-book deal; next year, he plans to write a novel geared toward kids ages 8 to 12. Brayden also spoke at Biden’s inauguration, reading aloud a passage from John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address.

Score: +1

Comment: “What got me through and helped motivate me was knowing I could be a voice for other children who stutter as well as anyone else who has faced challenges,” Brayden said in a statement following the Democratic National Convention, the New York Times reported. “I only hope my story provides a little extra support and motivation for those that need it.”

Only 424 days to go…

That’s how much time will pass, as of Tuesday, before Manchester will be able to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with its annual parade, which was canceled last year and now this year as well. The decision to reschedule the 25th annual parade until Sunday, March 27, 2022, was announced on the event’s Facebook page on Jan. 14. The counter on the event’s website, stpatsnh.com, was recently reset to count down to the new 2022 date.

Score: -1

Comment: A message on the event website encourages locals to support downtown Manchester restaurants, which lose revenue when major events like the parade are canceled, by purchasing gift cards to use at a later date.

Blizzardly fun

The annual Blizzard Blast, a winter obstacle course race put on by the United Way of Greater Nashua, is going to be different this year (isn’t everything?). What has in the past been a one-day event in Mine Falls Park will now be a multi-day event with 5K, 10K and half-marathon options, according to a press release. It will take place throughout the city, and runners will stop at one or more of the 21 participating nonprofits, like the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, that serve the greater Nashua area. At each stop, runners will have to do non-running exercises like burpees, squats, lunges and army crawls. The event starts Saturday, Jan. 30, and runs through Saturday, Feb. 6, with runners choosing the course and time to run. Sign up as a runner, team or sponsor at UnitedWayNashua.org.

Score: +1

Comment: This year, proceeds from the fundraiser will support United Way’s Covid-19 Relief Fund.

More space for people in need

Two facilities owned and operated by Families in Transition-New Horizons (FIT-NH) in Manchester have been renovated, allowing the nonprofit to better respond to space and operational limits caused by Covid. According to a press release, funds for the renovations came from the CARES Act, and the project included moving the organization’s food pantry from 199 Manchester St. to a new property at 176 Lake Ave., across the street from the organization’s Family Emergency Shelter. The former food pantry was renovated to create additional sleeping quarters for people experiencing homelessness, the release said.

Score: +1

Comment: Joseph Campbell, president of North Branch Construction, which completed the renovations, said in the release, “[Those] struggling with food insecurity are able to visit the Lake Avenue food pantry for assistance, and 40 people experiencing homelessness on another cold winter night now have a safe and warm place to sleep tonight in the adult emergency shelter.”

QOL score: 54

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 56

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].