There’s a saying down there… “Manchester, where dreams go to die”. Not far from the truth in my experience.

Although I met my wife in Manchester 10 years ago so I suppose I can’t speak ill of Manchester re: dating. I was in my late 20’s back then for perspective.

The ol’ mill-city-type demographics have changed slightly since I was a kid, and more young people are making their way to the city due to more companies setting up shop there. The attractive jobs are still mostly in Boston though, so it’s by no means a Mecca for young professionals.

The bar scene has exploded. Elm St. between Bridge and Merrimack on a warm summer night is filled with people, which is a relatively new sight within the last 5 years or so. The restaurant scene, not so much. Campo was solid but has since shuttered. You can’t really compare the restaurant scene to Portland, it’s just much better up here. The SNHU arena is a joke and I’ve never seen a big name play there twice (just the big touring acts like circuses and the occasional Bud Light sponsored country band). There use to be a strong local music scene 10ish years ago, but we moved many years ago so I’m not sure anymore. Shaskeen was always a place to see cool local bands and is still around. Penuche’s on Hanover is long gone and with it a slew of great memories from that chapter of my life (RIP).

The city has done a decent job of beautifying Elm St. from Bridge to Merrimack, and the Granite St bridge gateway off of 293. However leave this area in any direction and the city can get pretty rough. I grew up on the West Side, and maybe it’s because I was born there, but I could never see us going back for any reason. The opioid problem is enormous and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

We live in Portland now and love it. Plenty of green spaces, great restaurant scene, minutes from multiple beaches and we absolutely love mid-coast Maine. I’d say stick it out or move to Allston/Brighton if your looking for young people/nightlife/quality of life. For what it’s worth - we’ve lived in Portland, Boston and Manchester and we’ve been happiest here in Maine. My mother, siblings and some friends still live there so we visit semi-often, but that’s usually enough for us.