The system in one paragraph
Wildcat Transit is UNH's own bus service, run by the university. Students ride free with their UNH ID. The routes that matter for housing: Route 5 to Newmarket, Route 3 to Dover, and Route 4 to Portsmouth, plus the free Campus Connector loop around campus itself. Schedules and live maps are on UNH's transportation site — always check the current timetable, since service levels get adjusted year to year.
What each town looks like car-free
Durham: you won't need the bus
Live in Durham and transit is mostly irrelevant — the point of Durham is walking. From Main Street you're a minute or two on foot from academic buildings, and the Campus Connector covers rainy-day laziness. This is the zero-logistics option, and it's priced accordingly.
Newmarket: the best bus-commute value
Newmarket is the classic car-free compromise: a real downtown with restaurants and a music venue, noticeably easier rents, and Route 5 running to campus in roughly 15–20 minutes. The trade: you live by the timetable — evening and weekend service is thinner, so check the current schedule against your class and work hours before you sign.
Madbury: every car fits — and there's a bus anyway
Madbury is a 5–10 minute drive to campus, and it's the one town where the whole house can bring cars — parking isn't rationed the way it is in Durham. You don't even need one: our Route 108 house has a Wildcat Transit stop right at the property, free with your UNH ID. You trade the walk for more house, more parking, and more space per dollar.
Dover and Portsmouth: possible, but plan it
Both have Wildcat routes and lots of young-professional energy, but they're real commutes (20–40 minutes) and service reductions hit lower-ridership runs first. If your life is on campus, closer is better.
Practical tips
- Check the last bus, not the first. The morning commute always works; it's the 9pm lab or closing shift that strands people.
- Winter matters. A 15-minute walk to a bus stop is different in January. Look at where the stop actually is relative to the house.
- Bikes fill the gaps. Durham and Newmarket are both bikeable to campus in decent weather, and buses carry bike racks.
- The Downeaster is your escape hatch — Boston or Portland from the on-campus Amtrak station for weekends, no car needed.
How we'd choose
No car, campus-centered life: Durham if the budget allows, Newmarket if you want your money to go further — and Madbury works car-free too, with the bus at the door of our Route 108 house. Group with cars: Madbury fits them all, and its space-per-dollar is hard to beat. Either way, tell us how you're getting to class and we'll tell you which of our properties actually fits that life.