As party of the 2022 Liberty Forum, superstar activist Dennis Pratt surveyed FSP movers on the best regions for various interests for the Meet the Regions panel. I did not see his presentation, but lots of questions on this sub focus on where things are in the state. I'll give my views on where things are concentrated. With that said, you can move anywhere in New Hampshire and experience more freedom in your everyday life. Guns, home education, running for office, using crypto, minding your business, etc, are all better here than anywhere else. Yes, we still have work to do on decrim, but we are a
Project.
Here's a stylized map of how the regions are usually presented:
https://www.fsp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/NH-regions-map-2-sized-1.png North Country - most rural and least population density. Defined by White Mountains to the south and Quebec to the north. Porcfest held in Lancaster in June. Lots of great skiing at Loon, Cannon, Bretton Woods, etc. Best hiking and outdoor activities. Off grid areas.
Lakes - most seasonal, at least historically. Many summer homes around Lake Winnipesaukee and other lakes. After living here year round for two years, will people go back to New York, etc.? Great view of the mountains. Good cultural & food scene in summer. Funspot is the best arcade in the world.
Upper Valley - rural with woods, lakes and farms. Off grid areas. Dartmouth (ivy league college) and associated intellectual areas. Bardo Farm supplies food and education. Grafton town/county has limited zoning rules.
Monadnock - Keene - liberal college town with concentration of "out-of-system" agorists, voluntaryists, and civil disobedience, surround by rural areas. Home of the Shire Free Church and the Crypto 6.
Merrimack Valley - urban and suburban defined by lambda λ shape of Interstate 93 from state capitol Concord to largest city Manchester (20 minutes) to Massachusetts border at Salem, NH (20 minutes), and Route 3 from Manchester to 2nd largest city Nashua (20 minutes) also on the Mass border. Will generally have "the most" of things not involving skiing or water. Suburban feel around cities with more rural at the edges. "In-system" activists looking to change laws are concentrated here. Manchester airport. Closest to Boston for commuting.
Seacost / Freecoast - upscale urban and suburban defined by 19 miles of Atlantic seashore. Portsmouth, Dover and Rochester along Maine border. Active community with lots of young families. Best food and quality of cultural activities, but also the most liberal politics. Also has commuters into Boston metro.
Other movers, please chime in if you disagree with my thoughts.
This is my first write up. I read the rules and looked up how to format--I hope did everything correctly. Today is the 9th anniversary of Stacey Burns’s murder. Stacey was a 41-year-old mother of 5 and a school nurse living in Wolfeboro, NH. Situated on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee, Wolfeboro’s population more than triples in size during the summer when the tourists come to town. The large summer crowds belie the small-town nature of Wolfeboro, where many residents feel safe leaving their doors unlocked—or did, until the murder.
On Sunday, May 10, 2009—Mother’s Day—her 15-year-old son went to wake her up and found her bloody body in bed. Stacey had been stabbed repeatedly in the face and some sources say she had cuts elsewhere, as well. Who could have done this to her? Was it her abusive ex-husband, Ed? Her ex-boyfriend, Jim Vittum? Or someone else entirely?
The Husband: Stacey and Ed Burns married in 1992. Ed was a merchant marine who spent months away at sea. As their family grew, so did the tension between them. Friends and people close to the family, such as their live-in babysitter, describe Ed as controlling, as someone critical of how well Stacey cared for the children when he was at sea. He found her parenting “substandard” and would interrogate their live-in babysitter about Stacey and the kids’ actions during his time away. According to a 2012 newspaper article:
Details in court documents revealed the man had threatened to cut off parts of his wife’s body, demanded intercourse, burned her clothes as well as her cosmetics and made derogatory remarks about her in front of others. She described the incidents of “rage and cruelty” to have worsened in the previous few years as Edward “drank more and more,” according to court records. She also cited an incident in July of 2007 where Edward woke her at 4 a. m. and stood over her saying, “Death before divorce.”
The court granted Stacey a restraining order in August of 2007 and she filed for divorce in September. By the end of December, 2008, their divorce was finalized, though Ed violated the settlement over money. They were due back in court on Monday, 5/11 due to this child support dispute.
The Boyfriend: Stacey Burns knew Jim Vittum the way folks in a small town, with children attending the same schools, do. She got to know Vittum—a divorced father of two—better when attending her son Michael’s hockey games. They soon became involved romantically, though Stacey saw their relationship as “friends with benefits” and Jim wanted more commitment. In an interview with 20/20, Jim claims that by three months into their friendship, they were both in love. They dated on and off with Stacey breaking up with Jim a few weeks before her murder. Despite the breakup, they remained friendly.
Stacey’s Last Days On Friday, 5/8, Stacey saw Ed when he gathered their three youngest daughters for the weekend. The two oldest children, teenagers Shannon and Michael, were staying in Wolfeboro with Stacey. Though Stacey was nervous about their upcoming court hearing, it appears there were no arguments at the children’s hand off.
That evening, Stacey had a dinner date with someone local. When they returned to Stacey’s house, Jim Vittum was waiting and the two men had a confrontation. Vittum felt she should not be dating so soon after their breakup. The next day (Saturday, 5/9), wanting to make sure Jim understood their romantic relationship was truly over, Stacey went to see Jim. In an interview with 20/20, one of her friends claims: “Stacey had decided to go see Jim that afternoon and to break it off. . .And I know that she did."
On the evening of Saturday, 5/9, the teens had a sleepover. At some point, Jim Vittum arrived and stayed to watch a movie with Stacey and the six teens. Vittum claims he left around 11 PM and the teens confirmed this timeline. Meanwhile, Ed Burns was at a party in Boston and produced video to prove his presence. For the record, Wolfeboro, NH to Boston, MA is about a 2 hour ride.
Vittum and Stacey had plans the next morning to meet up with their daughters at a lacrosse game. When Stacey and Shannon did not show up, he drove to their house to find an ambulance and multiple police cruisers. The teens were sitting on the stairs and Shannon broke the news: “Jim, Mom’s dead.”
Items of Note There is no love lost between Ed and Jim:
Burns’ Husband Denied Restraining Order Against Former Boyfriend After Stacey’s death, Ed moved into their home to raise the kids. However, it seems as though at some point they children went to live with their mother’s side(?):
Updates on the Kids Other Suspects? In the main stories I have been able to access, Ed Burns and Jim Vittum are listed as the most likely suspects. However, other theories have been floated on local message boards. Some seem to think the ex girlfriend of her Friday night date murdered her, while others think Ed’s lawyers hired someone to kill her and were involved with another murder the previous year. If you would like to explore this rabbit hole, check out:
Suspicious Death in Wolfeboro Duke Southard: Murder in a Small Town Topix Wolfeboro forum One Year Later thread Topix Wolfeboro forum response to Vittum’s Fox Interview Please note I have not had time to read every post in this forum or blog, so please share if you find information I’ve missed (such as whether the kids really did end up with the Keane family and if so, when and why). Note how often Vittum and Vittum’s ex, Jamie, post in some of these forums.
Sources Unfortunately, many of the news stories I read or viewed about the case years ago are no longer showing up in my searches. Here are some I could still access:
WMUR Coverage of Today’s Anniversary Boston Fox Station Article from 2014 – Sadly, the video footage originally available is missing. When I first saw this footage, I felt Vittum was sketchy.
Foster’s Daily Democrat from 2012 20/20 Feature from 2011 – this video only contains the first part. I cannot find a complete video anywhere.
Summary article of 20/20 Feature Edited to fix spacing