I made it driving all the way from Nevada to New Hampshire! So far everything is awesome. Weather is exciting, I love my new job at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, and the people here take “fantastic” to a whole new level. You will actually get a few doctoring stories from me this year, as my free time prospects are quite good and I’m finding that radiology is much more “doctor-like” than previously anticipated (to my surprise, I will be sporting a white coat, pager, and likely even a stethoscope.)

I’m learning a thing or two about moisture and real weather. This week, we had beautiful sunny days in the 70-80s, punctuated by an electrical fire on the freeway, flash flood warning, violent thunderstorms, and brief power outages. (In Reno, we had four seasons, but it was just the demo version.) The little Christmas village on the welcome sign is promising. Having lived in Montreal before, I understand the concept of snow, but it’s the New England houses that I believe will make it a magical winter when the time inevitably comes.

I’m also discovering a sense of camaraderie that never existed in larger cities. One of my colleagues who lives in my apartment complex asked me if I needed anything, and I half-jokingly mentioned a vacuum before my stuff arrives, which he told me I could pick up anytime. Well, I didn’t go get it, but this morning I found it left on my doorstep with a note saying he’ll get it back sometime next week and wishing me luck with my move! It totally made my day to have such thoughtful friends in this very trusting neighborhood! (Out west, people are generally friendly but things have totally been stolen from our garage when we left the door open unattended.)

If you’re thinking about moving to New Hampshire for any reason at all,  stay tuned for updates about life here from a west-coaster perspective.