Living in the Upper Valley

While many Catch Data Systems employees work remotely from locations across the country, those who work at the company headquarters in Lebanon, N.H., have the good fortune of living and working in the beautiful Upper Valley Region.

The Upper Valley encompasses quaint villages, bustling towns, bucolic landscapes, and rugged outdoors on both the New Hampshire and Vermont sides of the Connecticut River.  Towns include Hanover, Lebanon, Lyme, Enfield and Canaan on the New Hampshire side, and Norwich, Hartford, Thetford, Windsor and Hartland in Vermont.  Rich in history and heritage, the area offers an extraordinary mix of culture, world class education, access to top quality healthcare and boundless recreation opportunities.

Outdoor Recreation and Sports

Those who enjoy spending time outdoors will discover a wealth of sporting and recreational activities in The Upper Valley.

In particular, skiers and snowboarders have numerous mountains on which to test their mettle, including Dartmouth Skiway, Okemo, Suicide Six, Whaleback Mountain, and the “Beast of the East,” Killington. Those who prefer summer sports need not lament, as hiking, biking, swimming, sailing, canoeing, and kayaking abound. Autumn is a terrific time to spend a crisp but sunny afternoon picking apples or blueberries at local orchards, or wandering through corn mazes and selecting the perfect pumpkin. And those who enjoy camping will surely find numerous spots to spend a starlit evening telling spooky stories and toasting s’mores by the fire.

Looking for team sports? The Upper Valley has those too. Dartmouth College has more than 30 intercollegiate teams for men and women, including nationally ranked and Ivy-League title-winning teams in soccer, basketball, lacrosse, football, baseball, tennis, and more.

Shopping and Dining

With a healthy mixture of local, home-grown favorites as well as national retailers and restaurants, the Upper Valley’s offers something for every shopping and dining lover. 

The Powerhouse Mall in West Lebanon features the area’s highest concentration of retailers, selling everything from violins and ballet shoes to fly rods and toys.  At Norwich’s famous general store, Dan & Whit’s, you can get the freshest local produce and meats, a pair of mud boots and a bag of fertilizer all in one trip.  And at the four-location Co-op Food Stores, community is the essence as the member-owner stores conscientiously offer great, local foods with sustainability in mind.    

From Chinese and Mexican, to burgers to beer, a number of tantalizing options await diners.   

Education and Healthcare

Two of the things that the Upper Valley does best are provide top-notch educations and quality healthcare.  

The Dresden School District, located in Norwich and Hanover, has the distinction of being the first inter-state school district in the United States.  Its high school, Hanover High School, was recognized by BusinessWeek in 2009 as having the "Best Overall Academic Performance" in New Hampshire.  College students have numerous local colleges to choose from, including both Vermont and New Hampshire community college systems, nearby Colby-Sawyer in New London, N.H., and Plymouth State University.

The most well-known institute of higher education in the Upper Valley is the prestigious Dartmouth College, which attracts some of the brightest students from around the world.  This greatly enhances the quality of life and economy in the area because many of them fall in love with the area and end up staying, and some of the technologies they develop spur start-up companies that call the Upper Valley home.   

Residents also benefit from excellent medical care.  Notably, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health features hundreds of world-class medical professionals at several locations, including its flagship Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, N.H., and locations throughout the state.  DHMC’s Lebanon campus includes the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, one of just 40 Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the U.S., the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth, and the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital.  Additional local hospitals and clinics include the Good Neighbor Health Clinic, Gifford Medical Center, Mt. Ascutney Hospital, Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, and Valley Regional Hospital.

Arts and Culture

The arts and culture scene in The Upper Valley is surprisingly vibrant for a small city in Northern New England. The Montshire Museum of Science is one of the country’s best children’s science museums with over 125 permanent exhibits and Andy’s Place. Valley Quest is an adventurous and creative way to explore and celebrate the community, while learning more about the area’s history and culture.  And Dartmouth College produces a constant stream of plays, music recitals, concerts and art shows.

Venues like Chandler Music Hall, Lebanon Opera House, Tupelo Music Hall, Hopkins Center for the Arts, the Hood Museum of Art, and Northern Stage Company allow visitors to regularly enjoy the work and performances of local artists, musicians and actors, as well as headlining national touring acts.

Getting Around

What’s the benefit of having lots to do if you can’t get around town to enjoy them?  Fortunately, traffic problems are nearly non-existent in the Upper Valley and the Upper Valley is easily accessible by plane, train, coach/bus, or automobile.  

When Money Magazine in 2011 named Hanover as the 6^th best U.S. small city to live in, it cited an average commute of  just 9.4 minutes. Helping keep this commute time low are the free Advance Transit bus system and the area’s year-round well-maintained roads and sidewalks.  

Getting here or getting away is easy too, as options include many different modes of travel.  Dartmouth Coach and Greyhound bus services connect to larger metropolitan areas, while Lebanon Municipal Airport offers numerous daily flights to Boston and New York City area.  Manchester. N.H., Boston and Burlington, Vt., airports are also a short ride away.  For train lovers, the Amtrak Station in White River Junction is a gateway to numerous cities throughout the eastern seaboard.