Nashua vs. Portland

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grittys457

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I have a friend who moved to Nashua and we're joking around on what city is better. I've never been to Nashua but I know it's about 25% bigger than Portland.

Then I start looking up pics and whatnot. What the hell? It looks smaller than Portsmouth. I can't find any pic that shows an actual downtown of a city that size. How in the hell do they have that many more people than us when Portland looks to be three times bigger?

I'm guessing it's just because it's a commuter city to Boston and they don't need a real city vibe there. Just confusing. Am I missing something?
 
grittys457 said:
I have a friend who moved to Nashua and we're joking around on what city is better. I've never been to Nashua but I know it's about 25% bigger than Portland.

Then I start looking up pics and whatnot. What the hell? It looks smaller than Portsmouth. I can't find any pic that shows an actual downtown of a city that size. How in the hell do they have that many more people than us when Portland looks to be three times bigger?

I'm guessing it's just because it's a commuter city to Boston and they don't need a real city vibe there. Just confusing. Am I missing something?
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No you are correct.

If I had to guess I'd say Nashua has a greater average density than Portland, but Portland has pockets (downtown) that far exceed Nashua's greatest density. This is because Portland is a central city and Nashua used to be, but has become more of a bedroom for Boston. It's a border town where a lot of people live. They go to Boston and to a lesser extent Manchester, if I had to guess. Nashua does have some nice spots downtown.
 
This chart of Nashua's population says it all.

Nashua is historically a much smaller city than Portland or Manchester. With the completion of the Everett Turnpike, connecting Nashua with Route 128 and Boston, its population increased rapidly beginning in the 1970s. Most of that new growth, however, is reflected in Nashua's largely suburban feel, compared to a place like Manchester, Portland or even Portsmouth.

Historically, it's population has been very similar to Concord, which is now only half the size of Nashua. That helps to explain why Nashua and Concord have very similar downtowns, in terms of size and layout, in my opinion. Nashua does have a nice downtown with a good collection of shops and restaurants, though, just one that seems small for a city of its size. It lacks the taller buildings and offices of Manchester and Portland, and has more of a smaller town downtown shopping and dining district feel. It does have a millyard, much smaller than Manchester's, set back from Main Street.

Just like I would argue Portland feels bigger than it is due in part to its distance from Boston, Nashua feels smaller than it is due to its proximity to Boston and Manchester.
 
Read it has a couple bad neighborhoods. City data shows Portland crime way higher though

So am I right to say Portsmouth is a better city at a 1/3 the size?
 
Other than both cities being located in New England, there is no comparison between the the two. Nashua's population is larger but so are it's city limits, 32 square miles to Portland's 22. If Portland added South Portland's 11 square miles to the count it's population would exceed 90,000 people.

Been to Nashua many times and I feel that it's downtown fits perfectly for a city of around 30,000 which is what it was intended for. Reminds me of a mix between Haverhill and Leominster in substance and vitality. Makes sense that Nashua has more of a Massachusetts feel to it than New Hampshire in my opinion. Just as Lewiston looms in Portland's shadow, Nashua will always be looking up to Manchester. Nashua is a perfect example of a city that has a central business district that does not measure up to it's population.
 
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Portlander said:
Just as Lewiston looms in Portland's shadow, Nashua will always be looking up to Manchester.
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Funny you mention that. I've always thought of Nashua as NH's version of Lewiston, albiet larger, less scummy and with more potential. It did earn the nickname "Trashua" at one point, but it has come a long way since then.

I'm a big fan of Martha's Exchange in downtown Nashua. Great brew pub!
 
Portlander said:
Other than both cities being located in New England, there is no comparison between the the two. Nashua's population is larger but so are it's city limits, 32 square miles to Portland's 22. If Portland added South Portland's 11 square miles to the count it's population would exceed 90,000 people.

Been to Nashua many times and I feel that it's downtown fits perfectly for a city of around 30,000 which is what it was intended for. Reminds me of a mix between Haverhill and Leominster in substance and vitality. Makes sense that Nashua has more of a Massachusetts feel to it than New Hampshire in my opinion. Just as Lewiston looms in Portland's shadow, Nashua will always be looking up to Manchester. Nashua is a perfect example of a city that has a central business district that does not measure up to it's population.
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Nashua will always be in Manchester's shadow to a certain extent, but it's location on the Mass border gives it some leverage that Lewiston doesn't have. And I think it's got a lot more vitality than Haverhill (which has some beautiful old mills) and Leominster: being on the border means it has a lot of retail sprawl along its southern edge, but it is also a reason why it has some major contractors, tech companies and so forth located in the city, and why it's been pushing much harder than Manchester for commuter rail.

Manchester feels much more like its an integral part of New Hampshire to me (and it is, and has historically been much more important than Nashua), but I'd really like to see Manchester, Nashua and Concord collaborate and work cooperatively a lot more than they currently do. I think a regional transit agency, for instance, would make financial sense and lead to much better service. Having the cities connected by commuter rail (hopefully within a fairly short period of time) should help. Nashua (and especially its downtown) is much more vibrant than Haverhill, Leominster or Lowell, but it really is nice as a large, relatively urban suburb rather than a city of its own, or even a satellite city as Manchester has been described.

Dr. StrangeHat said:
I'm a big fan of Martha's Exchange in downtown Nashua. Great brew pub!
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There's at least one area where Nashua truly beats out Portland. Portland has plenty of excellent breweries and bars, but Martha's Exchange blows Gritty's away when it comes to a brewpub. (And as much as I like Sebago's beer, none of it is actually brewed at the Portland pub.)
 
When in'finiti fermentation and distillery opens next month it will make every other brewpub in new England look like moe's tavern
 
For the record I don't like Grittys beer, despite my name. I like Allagash, Maine Beer Company, Rising Tide, Marshall Wharf, and Oxbow for Maine beers.

This place will be my new home. I'm going to rent out a barstool



http://maine.eater.com/archives/2012/12/18/at-infiniti-all-food-and-drink-will-be-made-onsite.php
 
grittys457 said:
When in'finiti fermentation and distillery opens next month it will make every other brewpub in new England look like moe's tavern
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I hadn't heard of that--that sounds very exciting--even if the name isn't great. But there are some pretty serious brewpubs in New England already (CBC and Portsmouth Brewery being among my favorites). It's always baffled me that Portland hasn't had another brewpub (Gritty's has its place, but it's not in the same league as the CBC or Portsmouth Brewery, for instance). Anyway, the other breweries you mentioned, as well as bars like Novare Res (whose owners it sounds like are opening In'finiti)are why I think of Portland as the brewing capital of New England, and In'finiti will be exciting, but it will have to be almost inconceivably great to make places like the CBC or Portsmouth Brewery look like Moe's Tavern.
 
Eric from novare has so many connections in the beer world. He's not f'ing around with this place. Nothing special about Portsmouth brew house. Not to mention the Kate the great brewer left and is opening a place in southern Maine

In'finiti will def be a top 5 place in new England realistically .

Eric is probably half the reason the shelton brothers beer festival is being held here this summer. Most important beer geek festival in country
 
grittys457 said:
Eric from novare has so many connections in the beer world. He's not f'ing around with this place. Nothing special about Portsmouth brew house. Not to mention the Kate the great brewer left and is opening a place in southern Maine

In'finiti will def be a top 5 place in new England realistically .

Eric is probably half the reason the shelton brothers beer festival is being held here this summer. Most important beer geek festival in country
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Nothing special about the Portsmouth Brewery? Tod Mott was (and is) an insanely good brewer, but so is the new brewer Tyler Jones. There's no need to trash the Portsmouth Brewery just to say that the folks behind Novare are similarly good. I'm sure they wouldn't be doing that. I'm very excited about In'finiti (though I still wish it had a different name), and if Novare is any indication it will be great, but that's not to say that some other brewpubs aren't also great. And the general consensus is very strongly of the opinion that the Portsmouth Brewery, CBC and some other New England brewpubs are already excellent. Hopefully In'finiti will join them, but not by displaying hubris or trashing their fellow brewers.
 
Patrick said:
What's wrong with Moe's Tabern?
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Moes-Tavern-night-E0604_sml.JPG


You know, come to think of it, not much. It's built up to the street, walking distance from lots of homes, in the center of town... it provides a place for people to get together, hang out, and form a community. I guess if there was bus service and a building next door instead of a parking lot, that would make it better, but it certainly serves its purposes. I, for one, know that I'll never move to a neighborhood without a good coffee shop, a place to get some groceries, and a good neighborhood bar.
 
I lived in Nashua and grew up there for half my childhood and always liked taking trips to Portland...It's nothing compared to Portland IMO. Very different cities...Portland has much more charm and more of it's Historic fabric was cherished and cultivated. Its streetscapes in the core are much more human scaled (smaller streets, etc) with much more density and pedestrian friendliness. Nashua is a bit more spread out with it's downtown consisting of one street, Main St. The street itself is really wide with parking on both sides and 2 lanes each way.

The biggest difference is Nashua feels more like a suburb and Portland a city...If you look around, Nashua is an old city but too many of its structures were bulldozed and homes were vinyl-ed and "uglified" with the exception of Concord St near Greeley Park where character and beauty still exists in the huge historic homes there...Portland still has a lot of its original charm left in its buildings and homes.

So to me, there really is no comparison as they are not equal

Portsmouth is a cool place but much smaller and on another level of comparison of the two...BTW: Portsmouth Brewery is the s***! Wife and I always made trips to Portsmouth just to go to that place and get a flite...Never a letdown...
 
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