How did immigrants adapt to life in New Hampshire?
Once they arrived in New Hampshire and got settled with somewhere to live and jobs,
immigrants still had to adapt to life in their new country. Often, immigrants found it easier to live in neighborhoods where other immigrants from their
native country lived. These neighborhoods became known as ethnic communities, which were groups of people who have common interests, traditions, or needs all based on a common national
heritage.
Many times, the people in these communities were related to one another, as families tended to
emigrate to America and settle together. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins could move together to a neighborhood or community where others from their country lived. Sometimes entire villages from Europe would resettle in a neighborhood of a New Hampshire town or city.
Neighborhoods where many immigrants from one country settled sometimes became known by the name of their native country. For example, for many years a section of Epping was known as “Little Italy” because so many Italians lived there.