Stacy Milbouer recently broke down some Granite State myths and stereotypes.
This week, we asked readers: What’s something about New Hampshire that outsiders just don’t understand?
Here’s what they had to say…
“The fact that NH is still a lot of open area, a lot of farms, a lot of woods. On my street, if you go 3/4 of a mile in one direction, you’re in the city, with restaurants, stores, banks, etc., but 1 1/2 miles in the other direction, there are working farms, including a sheep farm. Some of our terms and habits would probably be a little strange, and as mentioned, if you’re not in the city you might have a well and septic tank instead of city services. Every time we go to the beach, my mother looks at the passing landscape and comments that people from NJ would be shocked to see all the wooded areas. Town meetings would probably be a bit foreign to some people as well.” — David Masters
“Flatlanders just don’t understand that if you move to a rural environment you don’t get city conveniences. For example, if you live next to the pig farm that supplies your pork; you’re going to smell and hear farm smells and noises. Also, they don’t comprehend things that have been in place for hundreds of years, like water rights to a spring on your neighbor’s property.” — JoAnn Carlson
“Outsiders don’t know how susceptible we are to extremist control because of the ease of taking over the General Court (Legislature). This is why the Free State movement is targeting the state and has already wreaked havoc on several small towns. As the cheapest (stingiest) state, this ethos has facilitated the in-migration of extremists.” — Bill Carr
“What many people from outside of New Hampshire don’t understand is how backward-thinking our state government is. I have heard people refer to NH as ‘like a third-world country’ and ‘the Florida of the North.’” — Tim Kelly
