How is New England culturally different from the rest of the northeast today? (move, to eat)
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The differences are exagerrated. I am from outside Boston and if I compared to a guy from NYC, Philly or Baltimore it isn't much of a difference to go on about. But compare me to a rural farmboy 50 miles out and it is. It's an urban/rural divide. Boswash has it's own thing going on and rural areas whether in Maine, NH, NY, PA or MD are kinda a more local flavor.
Pennsylvania is much more conservative than New York State.
I acknowledged that New York is more liberal, but in comparing rural areas of both states Upstate NY is more politically balanced, whereas Central PA is decidedly conservative (although the most conservative areas are definitely the least populous--they don't possess nearly as much of the state's population as reputation suggests).
This is sort of a simplistic and broadbrushing view, but To me, a lot of Vermont was a mixture of either the wealthy out-of-towners in the colleges or vacation homeowners or, they were very low income natives. They were very protective of their state and definitely did not like the people who were moving in. When I first got to Vermont, I heard "flatlander" regularly. Vermont is expensive and takes a certain personality to 'fit in' or 'stick-it-out' for want of a better term. The slower pace, economic disparity and other stuff mentioned gave it a different dynamic than PA, in my opinion. Both of them have their highs and lows. I had a lot of enjoyable times in both states. Vermont had more in common with Maine than it did its neighbor New Hampshire to me, also . . .
The differences are exagerrated. I am from outside Boston and if I compared to a guy from NYC, Philly or Baltimore it isn't much of a difference to go on about. But compare me to a rural farmboy 50 miles out and it is. It's an urban/rural divide. Boswash has it's own thing going on and rural areas whether in Maine, NH, NY, PA or MD are kinda a more local flavor.
Its exaggerated but sometimes even small differences are still noticeable.
For instance when I am driving on a Connecticut highway, the Connecticut cities will have a certain look to them that seems different. I cannot exactly pin down what it is that is different but there is a difference.
On the other hand, small towns in Pennsylvania also look different to me. Not a big difference but there is something that is different.
Unfortunately, however, this seems to be based on a lack of sophisticated knowledge regarding more localized accents/cultures in other parts of the country.
I think there is a view among many New Englanders, in my experience, that anything outside of New England has "Southern culture," which is rather odd.
I think images strongly drive popular perception, but at the very least, Southern New England (e.g., MA, CT and RI) and the Mid-Atlantic (e.g., NY, NJ, PA, DE and MD) are very similar and comparable in many ways.
Yeah, I agree the difference between Northern and Southern New England is pretty big. IMO, MA, CT and RI have more in common with the I-95 megalopolis peers (Eastern PA, NJ, Albany) than with largely rural VT, NH and Me. Both areas are a dense clusters of old, midsized industrial cities with modern suburban sprawl. Both regions are generally a comfortable drive from NYC (+/- 3 hours) with Philly or Boston (as close or closer). These cities also seem to have more population spill over from people priced out of the big costal cities.
IMO, Western PA/Western Upstate NY (Syr, Roch, Buff) have a semi-mid-western feel and aren't as densely population and don't have the proximity to Bos-NYC-Philly. Northern NE is kind of its own thing.
That's why I said in general. But pretty much all of Ct and western and central ma is 3 hours. Worcester and Providence are about 3+ hrs to the NYC city limits. Yeah, Boston is closer to 4 hrs. But it is at the far end of southern NE.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Originally Posted by iAMtheVVALRUS
Good luck trying to get from Boston to New York in 3hrs...
It's a 215 mile drive. You'd have to drive at a constant 72 mi/hr the entire way.....
Through Connecticut at 72mph on those highways? Yeah I don't think so either. There's always traffic in CT. Average Boston - NYC roadtrip was about 4 - and closer 4.5 hours in my experience, and I'm not a slow driver.
Yeah, I agree the difference between Northern and Southern New England is pretty big. IMO, MA, CT and RI have more in common with the I-95 megalopolis peers (Eastern PA, NJ, Albany) than with largely rural VT, NH and Me. Both areas are a dense clusters of old, midsized industrial cities with modern suburban sprawl. Both regions are generally a comfortable drive from NYC (+/- 3 hours) with Philly or Boston (as close or closer). These cities also seem to have more population spill over from people priced out of the big costal cities.
IMO, Western PA/Western Upstate NY (Syr, Roch, Buff) have a semi-mid-western feel and aren't as densely population and don't have the proximity to Bos-NYC-Philly. Northern NE is kind of its own thing.
Ironically, the most dense municipality in Upstate NY is Kenmore, a suburb adjacent to Buffalo.
Albany is a good 2 hours or so from I-95 as well, but it does have an older urban feel.
Yeah, I agree the difference between Northern and Southern New England is pretty big. IMO, MA, CT and RI have more in common with the I-95 megalopolis peers (Eastern PA, NJ, Albany) than with largely rural VT, NH and Me. Both areas are a dense clusters of old, midsized industrial cities with modern suburban sprawl. Both regions are generally a comfortable drive from NYC (+/- 3 hours) with Philly or Boston (as close or closer). These cities also seem to have more population spill over from people priced out of the big costal cities.
IMO, Western PA/Western Upstate NY (Syr, Roch, Buff) have a semi-mid-western feel and aren't as densely population and don't have the proximity to Bos-NYC-Philly. Northern NE is kind of its own thing.
Good post.
I am glad you mentioned semi-Midwestern feel. Because there are some differences to be sure. For instance, if you look at a satellite view of the farmland in western Pennsylvania and New York you will see farmland mixed with forests and wood lots. Now move over to central Illinois and the forests have largely disappeared, except near streams. Also the fields in Illinois seem to be larger and straighter.
Regarding northern New England as it own region, from a natural point of view, it would extend into New York State. The wild backwoods of northern Maine for instance are very similar to the Adirondacks of New York for instance. The map below shows it stretching from near Lake Ontario all the way to New Brunswick.
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