I am not sure why your friend had such an impression. The attendings are the best part of neruology at Dartmouth. With one or 2 exceptions, residents are on first name basis with attendings, including the chair. Attendings invite residents to their house for dinner is not at all unusual. When one's on call you "staff" the case directly with attending on call not with other senior residents. In this respect you work closely with attendings and they get to know you well both personally and professionally. When I interviewed a few yrs back, the interactions with the faculty is what attracted me to Dartmouth.
Being a current resident at Dartmouth, I can say that the residents as a whole are very happy to be here. There are certainly some things that we think could be better but "unsatisflied" is definitely not what I would use to describe the group.
With regards to location, it's a very family friendly place. If you are single or want a vibrant party scene or night life, Dartmouth is probably not the place for you. Dartmouth college has a lot of cultural and social activities though and I do know people who met their significant others here.
Hospital also treats residents very well. If you are a resident or fellow, DHMC pay for your and your spouse+ kids's health insurance. Your disability insuance is also covered. Parking is free as well.
Boston is about 2 hours away as is Burlington. Montreal is about 3-4 hours. So it's not that far from civilization. Aside fromHanover, lebanon, there is west lebanon. There is Home depot, best buy, and border. I wouldn't exactly call it secluded.
The residents in the past and present all have been able to secure fellowships of their choice. The attendings are very supportive when it comes to fellowship application and will make calls for you (provided a resident is competent).
I would be happy to answer any questions about the strenghts and weakness of the program if anyone is interested . . .
