Category: Quality Of Life

NH residents spend less on vacations

According to an online story in the Boston Globe on May 30, New Hampshire residents spend less on vacations than residents of other New England states. Citing a recent study by a Canadian online casino, the story reported that New Englanders budget between $1,900 and $2,600 for a holiday away. But not us. As the Globe story stated, “Granite State residents are the thriftiest, with an annual vacation budget of just $450.”

QOL score: -1, because …

Comment: According to the same article, we also take fewer vacations, with people in New Hampshire and Maine only taking one vacation per year, compared to two vacations for residents of other New England residents.

But our trees get around

There is a newly planted tree at Barnstead Elementary School that has gone around the moon. According to a May 25 online story from WMUR, a recently planted American Sycamore tree was grown from a seed that traveled aboard NASA’s Artemis 1 space mission. WMUR reports that “on that mission, the seeds traveled more than 275,000 miles and orbited the moon.” Fourth-grade teacher Brittany Sylvian’s application was chosen from more than 2,000 by NASA to adopt a tree grown from one of the Artemis mission’s seeds.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to WMUR, it is currently the only “moon tree” in New Hampshire.

The secret was popcorn

Merrimack Fire Rescue and police responded to a call last week in the most adorable rescue of the week. According to a Nashua InkLink story from May 28, the rescue team responded to a report of several ducklings caught in a storm drain. The story reported that crews first “used buckets to try to scoop the duckling from the murky water in the drain,” but that ultimately the baby ducks were lured in with popcorn from the nearby Apple Cinemas.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The ducklings were returned to their mother after the hour-long rescue.

A soldier comes home

Northwood Army Sgt. Richard G. Hammond, who was killed in the Second World War, was finally returned to New Hampshire to be laid to rest last week, WMUR reported on May 23. According to the story, Sgt. Hammond “was 24 when he went missing in action on Feb. 17, 1943, after being struck by an enemy tank shell during a battle with German forces near Sbeitla, Tunisia. Officials said the explosion threw Hammond several yards from the blast site.” His remains were exhumed from a U.S. military cemetery in Algeria last September, after they were identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Hammond was reinterred in Northwood Ridge Cemetery.

Last week’s QOL score: 69

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 71

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at [email protected].

Check is in the mail

In a recent study by WalletHub (wallethub.com), an online financial services website, New Hampshire home-owners were the least likely in the United States to be delinquent (a month or more behind) on their mortgage payments. New Hampshire residents ranked 50th out of 50 states in delinquency; just 5.21 percent of home loans in the state had late payments.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Neighboring state Vermont, on the other hand, the nation’s delinquency leader, has a delinquency rate of 7.1 percent.

Falcons with accessories

Last Thursday, Whit and Thor, the peregrine falcon chick residents of a nestbox at the top of the Brady Sullivan Building in downtown Manchester, were banded. According to the Center for Conservation Biology (ccbbirds.org), raptors like peregrines are fitted with metal leg bands “to provide researchers with data on peregrine survival rates, dispersal distances, and population growth rates.” The chicks got bands on each leg. Typically, one band has a unique nine-digit code to identify the falcon in the future. The second band, on the opposite leg, is a two-color band that is easily read from a distance.

QOL score: +1

Comment: To watch the adorably grumpy chicks being banded, visit YouTube and search for 2024 Peregrine Falcon Banding.

Put the phone down

Data from the State Police show an increase in dangerous driving on New Hampshire’s highways over the past year. According to an online article by WMUR on May 22, state troopers have given out an alarming number of tickets over the past 12 months. According to WMUR’s report, cell phones continue to be one of the largest contributing factors to inattentive driving. Between May 2023 and April 2024, for example, 272 tickets were given out in Bedford alone for hands-free, distracted driving. “State troopers are seeing more egregious violations on the road, especially speeding,” the article said. “Within the past year, state police have issued about 1,600 tickets for driving 25 mph or more over the 65 mph limit, including to one person who was caught going 128 mph.”

QOL score: -2

Comment: In a separate online article last month, WMUR reported that 129 people were killed in car crashes on New Hampshire roads in 2023.

Last week’s QOL score: 69

Net change: 0

QOL this week: 69

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at [email protected].

New Hampshire is a good place for military retirees

According to a recent study by WalletHub (Wallethub.com), an online financial services company, New Hampshire is one of the top 10 states for military retirees. The study used data to study 28 key metrics, WalletHub reported on its website, “ranging from veterans per capita to the number of VA health facilities to job opportunities for veterans.” The study, which ranked New Hampshire ninth overall, placed the state 10th in terms of veterans per capita and fifth in the percentage of veteran-owned businesses.

QOL score: +1

Comments: According to the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security, in 2023 there were 88,297 veterans in New Hampshire, 7.7 percent of the population age 18 and over.

Merrimack High School outsmarts the competition

Merrimack High School defeated Plymouth Regional High in the 2024 Granite State Challenge championship game. The academic quiz competition, which airs on New Hampshire Public Television, pits teams of high school students against each other. In this year’s season championship, which aired on March 16, Merrimack had a final score of 540 to Plymouth’s 240. According to Granite State Challenge’s website (nhpbs.org/gsc), this was a high-stakes showdown. “Both teams were three-time GSC champions going into the final game,” the website reported. “Merrimack took the title in 2020, 2021, and 2023.”

QOL score: +1

Comments: According to Granite State Challenge, this was also the seventh time in the final game for both teams.

Overdose deaths down

New Hampshire saw a decrease in overdose deaths last year. As reported in an online story by Manchester Ink Link on May 16, both the New Hampshire State Medical Examiner (doj.nh.gov/medical-examiner) and the National Centers for Disease Control (cdc.gov) reported last Wednesday that fewer people in New Hampshire died from drug overdoses in 2023 than in 2022. According to the Ink Link article, the state medical examiner reported an 11.7-percent decrease, from 487 deaths in 2022 to 230 in 2023.

QOL score: +2

Comments: The CDC reports that the largest share of overdose deaths continues to be from opioids.

Last week’s QOL score: 65

Net change: +4

QOL this week: 69

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at [email protected].

Hooray for Henry!

Garden writer and longtime Hippo contributor Henry Homeyer was recently awarded the Fred E. Beane award by the directors of the New Hampshire Farm, Forest & Garden Expo in Deerfield. This award, presented jointly with UNH Cooperative Extension and the Department of Agriculture, recognizes effective media coverage of agriculture/forestry and public issues affecting agriculture and forestry in New Hampshire.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Henry Homeyer has been writing about gardening for more than 25 years and is an ardent advocate of organic and sustainable practices.

Making mile markers make sense

If you’ve been confused as you drive between Manchester and Hampton on Route 101, the problem hasn’t been you; the numbers on the mile-markers really haven’t been adding up. As reported by WMUR in a story on May 12, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation is in the process of replacing mile-marker signs to more accurately reflect the driving distance between Manchester and the Seacoast. According to WMUR’s report, when mile markers were introduced in the area, they started measuring Route 101 at 100 miles where the state highway intersects with Interstate 93. “Officials said that this point is only 60 miles from Route 101 in Keene, and must be changed to comply with federal regulations,” WMUR reported. “Mile 100 will now become mile 60, and the other numbers will be adjusted as needed.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to NHDOT, the exit numbers on Route 101 will not change.

Chick-en Ten-ders! Chick-en Ten-ders!

In their first game this season as the Manchester Chicken Tenders, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (13-18) defeated the Harrisburg Senators (18-13) Saturday, May 11, at Delta Dental Stadium, 6-1. As a gesture of support with Manchester’s claim as the birthplace of chicken tenders, the AA team temporarily changed their team name and uniforms.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The Manchester Chicken Tenders will make another appearance later this summer in a July 27 home game against the Reading Fightin Phils.

QOL score last week: 65

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 68

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at [email protected].

New Hampshire is nurse-friendly

In recognition of National Nurses Week, WalletHub (wallethub.com), an online finance management company has released the results of a study comparing the 50 states across 20 metrics including job openings for nurses per capita, average salaries, mandatory overtime restrictions and the quality of nursing homes. This study ranked New Hampshire as the third-best state overall for nurses, just behind Washington State and Maine. New Hampshire ranked first in the nation in nursing jobs per capita, and 19th in health care facilities per capita. The study also cited the excellence of New Hampshire’s nursing schools.

QOL score: +1

Comment: See a full breakdown of the study’s data at wallethub.com/edu/best-states-for-nurses/4041.

A new historic home in Manchester

The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources has announced that the State Historical Resources Council has added eight properties to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places. One of them is the Samantha Plantin House in Manchester, according to a press release: “A fairly typical late Victorian side-hall single family dwelling, it is reportedly the home of the first Black landowner in Manchester. The daughter of a formerly enslaved mother, Plantin (circa 1827-1899) moved from New Boston in 1844 to work for the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. She purchased land from the company in 1870, later selling it for a profit and using those funds to construct this home circa 1890. The house’s exterior as well as a barn added soon after Plantin’s death have been largely unaltered since the early twentieth century.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: See nhdhr.dncr.nh.gov for more on the State Register of Historic Places.

Peregrine update

As of Monday, May 6, the eyas (downy peregrine falcon chick) count remains at two at the nest at the Brady Sullivan Building in downtown Manchester. Whit and Thor, as the chicks are named, were hatched last week and can be seen on the New Hampshire Audubon’s livestreaming Peregrine Cams. Two other eggs didn’t, as of May 6, show signs of hatching. Find links to the cams, which are provided with support of the Peregrine Networks and Brady Sullivan Properties, at nhaudubon.org. Find updates on the falcons and their daily activities in a log linked in the chat of Feed 1.

QOL score: +1

Comments: According to a story in the New Hampshire Bulletin last September, 74 chicks have hatched at the Brady Sullivan nesting site since 2001; Whit and Thor bring that total to 76.

Rain didn’t stop the taco fans

Last week’s Taco Tour in Manchester hit some big numbers. According to Cole Riel of the Greater Manchester Chamber, the director of this year’s Tour, more than 20,000 people attended, despite heavy rain. More than 90 area restaurants and organizations served more than 100,000 tacos.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Riel quotes Manchester’s Police Chief as saying that this was the third year in a row without incidents or arrests at the event.

Last week’s QOL score: 61

Net change: +4

QOL this week: 65

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at [email protected].

New Hampshire is getting in gear

May is National Bike Month and May 7 is National Ride a Bike Day. The Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire has more than 20 bicycle-related events scheduled on its calendar for May (bwanh.org/calendar). There is a Tour de New Hampshire bicycle tour of Manchester rail trails on May 11. The Hooksett Riverwalk Trail will have its grand opening this month. S&W Sports in Concord will host Concord’s annual Bike Swap, and Veterans Count (vetscount.org) will hold its sixth annual multi-route ride in Nashua to honor New Hampshire service members, veterans and their families.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition, there are more than 380 miles of rail trails in the state.

Helping more people enjoy the game

Fisher Cats fans with sensory issues have another tool to help keep them from being overwhelmed at games. According to an April 25 press release, the team has partnered with Home Base Transportation (homebasenh.com), a New Hampshire-based organization that provides reliable transportation to children and adults with special needs, to provide KultureCity Sensory Bags to Delta Dental Stadium for the 2024 season. According to the announcement, “The program began at Delta Dental stadium on April 23 and will run indefinitely. Sensory Bags include items that can help lessen sensory overload for both adults and children such as noise-canceling headphones and fidget tools. Individuals who may feel overwhelmed by the environment can check out Sensory Bags at Guest Services, where weighted lap pads will also be available.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: “It’s important for us to create an environment that is inclusive of everyone,” said Fisher Cats official Stephanie O’Quinn.

New Hampshire house prices way up

New Hampshire Business Review (nhbr.com) reports in its April 26 issue that the prices of houses in the state have outstripped the growth of household income over the past five years. Citing statistics from the New Hampshire Association of Realtors, “The median price for a single-family house in New Hampshire rose from $283,000 in 2018 to $470,000 in 2023, a 66 percent increase in five years,” the article says. “The most recently available data suggests household incomes in New Hampshire grew much more slowly than the price of a house. Between 2018 and 2022, median household income in New Hampshire rose 20 percent.” The Business Review cites the increase of working from home, a limited supply and high demand as possible reasons for the remarkable rate of housing inflation.

QOL score: -1

Comment: According to the same article, Coos County has had the highest rate of growth in house prices, at +103.5%, but Hillsborough County has the highest average sticker price at $490,000.

QOL score last week: 60

Net change: + 1

QOL this week: 61

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at [email protected].