Hi all,
I grew up in the Hanover area, and I am currently living here while I finish a fellowship at Dartmouth. One of my colleagues helped put together a lot of these pieces for new fellows, so I thought I’d pass it along (it does not include any information about graduate student housing):
Housing is pretty reasonable, although there’s a bit of a range. Some of the newer apartment complexes can approach $1000 for a one-bedroom and $1600 for a two-bedroom. Average housing costs are around $800 after adding on heat, electricity, and cable, though it's certainly possible to find something lower... keep in mind heating costs can be very high here.
There are a number of different towns near Dartmouth to live in the area here are the most common:
- Hanover, NH
- Etna, NH ( a small area, technically part of Hanover, but slightly different) – more likely to find a house here or a room in someone’s home.
- Lebanon, NH
- Norwich, VT
- White River Junction/Hartford, VT
Most of these locations are within 10-15 minutes of the campus, though depending where you are in each town it can vary. Hanover and Norwich (some parts) are the only places you can live that are truly “walkable” to campus. There is a free bus you can take from Lebanon as well (http://www.advancetransit.com/). If you are willing to drive 20-30 minutes or so, you can also look at Canaan, Enfield or Grantham areas. Norwich, Hanover, and Etna are the most expensive areas, while White River Junction, Lebanon, and the areas farther out will be less expensive.
For finding a place: Dartmouth owns several properties (that tend to be a bit more expensive) and also maintains a list of local properties rented by others (that tend to be cheaper). See http://www.dartmouthre.com/upper-valley-rentals/. Craigslist is also an option, though it is not widely used. Most local realtors also have rental properties. There’s also a student-run housing list at http://dartlist.com. Town list-servs are widely used, and can be used to find housing: http://lists.valley.net/lists/info/uppervalley. Dartmouth is on the quarter system, and so the housing availability usually changes with that calendar.
With regard to coffee shops, groceries, etc., most of the big box stores (and regular grocery stores) are in West Lebanon. However, Hanover does have the Co-op, which is a very nice upscale grocery store (http://www.coopfoodstore.com/hanover-store). Hanover itself has a great local coffee shop, The Dirt Cowboy, and a number of restaurants. Lebanon and White River Junction also have a couple of restaurants each.
Realistically, you will very likely want a car (and snow tires) while living in this area as a graduate student.
Hope this is helpful!
