While about 20 percent of Dartmouth's faculty reside in the Town of Hanover, many more have to commute to the College -- usually for financial reasons.
Almost all of the professors who spoke with The Dartmouth said they have heard some of their colleagues complain about high prices in the town.
"Housing in Hanover is very expensive," Director of Human Services Roger Brock said. "I would think that you'd find that the majority -- especially of the young faculty -- couldn't afford to live in Hanover, just like most employees of the College couldn't afford to live here."
According to a survey of local real estate guides, prospective home owners could buy bigger houses and significantly larger plots of land in surrounding areas for the same prices as the homes in Hanover.
English Professor Peter Cosgrove is buying a house in Lyme, "partly because the size house we were looking for would not have been available on my salary in Hanover," he said.
History Professor Peggy Darrow lives in Vershire, Vt., about 26 miles away from Hanover.
Darrow said she was researching homes "at the top of the market" during the mid-1980s, a time when prices in Hanover rose drastically.
She said she could not afford to live in Hanover, but wanted land around her home and "didn't want a village house."
She said her commute usually takes between 30 and 40 minutes, but she has spent up to an hour-and-a-half in the car during bad weather.
Far from the social scene
Faculty members have mixed reactions about living outside of the College town.
While some simply do not want to live here, many said they would find living here advantageous for themselves and their students.
"For faculty and student interaction, [living far away] becomes more difficult," Darrow said. "And it makes it more difficult to participate in evening events, or to do things spontaneously."
While her department tries to accommodate her needs by scheduling her classes in the late morning or afternoon, Darrow said her long commute makes it hard to actively participate in the College's community.
Psychology Professor Catherine Cramer, who lives in Lyme, said she finds it harder to arrange social events for her students.
In the past, she invited her freshman advisees to her house for dinner. However, it became too much of a hassle.
"I remember the last time I tried that it was an enormous challenge to have them find transportation," she said. But she added she is "not sure how eager students are" to socialize with their professors in that manner.
Cosgrove said he does not think that student-faculty relations are affected by the fact that many faculty members live outside of Hanover. "I live fairly close, and I spend a lot of time in my office, so students can come by any time."
He said he does not believe the inability of many faculty to live in Hanover has been a major problem. "Most people say you can live outside Hanover, and it will still be quite convenient," he said.
Many faculty members who are also parents said they would like their children educated in the Hanover school district, but only residents of Hanover and Norwich, Vt. can attend the schools.
Cosgrove said faculty members see the Hanover schools as an attractive option for educating their children.
"Hanover High School is the most desirable school in the area, and the only people who are guaranteed access live in Hanover and Norwich," Cosgrove said.
Earth Sciences Professor Eric Miller chose to buy a home in Norwich in 1993, because it was "really just a function of what was available in the housing market at the time." He said the school system was also a consideration.
Miller said the many professors who also live in Norwich do not mind the short commute, as they can still participate in events at the College and invite students to their homes.
"I know that many of my colleagues who live in Norwich often have students out to their homes," he said. "We have department gatherings out that way, and certainly it's very easy to come back on the evenings and weekends."
Advantages far and near
Many professors see advantages to living outside of town.
Darrow said a positive aspect of living far from Hanover is that she is able to separate her work and home lives.
"The social interactions I have with my neighbors are not shop talk, and I'm not re-living Dartmouth all the time," she said.
Psychology Professor Rogers Elliott said he likes living in Norwich because "there's sort of a small-town feel to the place that is attractive."
Physics and Astronomy Professor James LaBelle chose to live in East Thetford, Vt., rather than Hanover -- but for different reasons from most professors.
"My reason is not strictly financial," he said. "It's also the desire to live in a community with a little bit more of a broader economic background of some people, rather than such an affluent community."
He said having neighbors of different economic backgrounds "is kind of enriching."
The College has attempted to make housing in Hanover more accessible with its Grasse Road housing complex, according to Real Estate Sales and Leasing Manager Susan Weider. Grasse Road is a development designed to provide affordable housing for faculty, she said.
Director of Real Estate Paul Olsen said the College has sold about 35 houses in the complex during the past eight years.
Information Resources employee Melanie Norton decided to live on Grasse Road when she moved out of her Hanover apartment because she "liked the location, the houses were attractive, it was affordable and I had a child in the Hanover school," she said.
Norton chose one of the College's available designs for a home and made some small changes before the house was built.
