Manchester, Personal Advice From A Hippo

Added: 12/08/2005

Going against the grain of a state known for conservatism, New Hampshire's capital city Manchester, personal ads show that the state has opened its dating scene a bit with the expansion of more liberal press. Still, how can the stodgy same-old advertisements be freshened up? One newspaper has an advice column for the lovelorn that makes all the difference. And, if you're not careful, may just help you out, too.

Face it: the dating scene in New Hampshire isn't easy. How could it be in a state traditionally known for (and statistically still in the top ten) high rates of both senior citizens and marriage? How could it be easy in a place whose tourist agency attempts to lure outsiders to the beautiful Granite State for wedding ceremonies? "Is anybody out there single?" you may ask yourself. "For goodness sake, I live in Manchester. Personal contact is so difficult. Why?" And perhaps most of all, "Who can I go to for help?"

Finally, there's hope out there for New Hampshire singles, especially those in the capital city Manchester. Personal ads and witty columnists aside, a new voice of reason is causing Manchester sex seekers to pick up the weekly newspaper The Hippo: A columnist (and now local celebrity) named Sherry, comfort in the singles' wilderness of Manchester. Sex, dating and relationships all fall under the advice of this word guru.

The Hippo was a boon to the state of New Hampshire and the city of Manchester. Apart from some good solid writing and fresh advice on nightlife, the Hippo brought both quality personal ads (no longer do Manchester personal perusers have to search the Boston newspapers) and this down-to-earth advice column. The newspaper came in at the tail end of the American weekly boom, in the late 90s finally putting an independent journal in Manchester. Personal ads, of course, are nothing distinctive these days in the country, but a dearth of youth in daily newspapers' pages has been cleared up.

Meanwhile, in Manchester, personal ads alone are not enough. Like it or not, Manchesterites appear to be conservative across the board, with some personal columns garnering only a fraction other such pages across the nation get. The Manchester Union-Leader and the Concord Monitor, two newspapers that cover most of the state in terms of subscriptions, are the only publications with a good supply of personal ads. But these two, too, are relatively unimpressive next to most states'.

And so a solid advice column helps to draw attention, a New Hampshire gap the Hippo has admirably filled, much to the relief of those with mammoth-sized problems of the she-loves-me-she-loves-me-not variety and beyond. The "pinings" column has played host to any number of concerns from cheating to "going back to being friends" to shyness to vacations. For those of you feeling alone, this sensitively written material may be your lifesaver in Manchester.

Personal care is taken to every query published, whether life-or-death super-serious or not. It's good solid advice from a woman who's been there before. From her wise words, it appears as though this columnist is indeed a straight-talker of the type New England is known for. You want to get down to business on questions of relationships? This is the place to come.

A single columnist may not suffice to clear up all your dating needs (after all, where would singles be without the challenges?), but it's nice to know someone's there. Plus, it makes a good read.

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