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I love how people come in here just to say silly things like "no comparison" and "hands down" about the west being more beautiful than the east. According to this thread, there is a comparison... some people like the east better. What makes your opinion more valid than anyone else's?
The OP is simply looking for people that do find the east more beautiful, they didn't ask for people who don't to come tell them how wrong they are....
I was going only with the northeast, as I know it much better than the southeast. I feel like I cannot show the best of an area I don't know as well.
Does anyone from the southeast want to contribute pics of their own region?
It's not your job. I was merely pointing out that a few were comparing the NE to the entire west coast and mountain states + Hawaii. If that's the case, we should consider everything from Maine to the Florida Keys, Pennsylvania, Eastern Kentucky and maybe Puerto Rico.
As Xander_Crews and a couple of others have pointed out, it's not a contest.
It's not your job. I was merely pointing out that a few were comparing the NE to the entire west coast and mountain states + Hawaii. If that's the case, we should consider everything from Maine to the Florida Keys, Pennsylvania, Eastern Kentucky and maybe Puerto Rico.
As Xander_Crews and a couple of others have pointed out, it's not a contest.
I will say that even though the west has a lot more scenic beauty and diversity, the east is still a much more livable and naturally fertile place. The east has many times more greenery and farmland.
The west is mostly very arid, land-locked and has extremes of temperature and elevation. This is why the population of the west is heavily concentrated exactly where you would expect it to be. More than 60% of the population is close to the pacific coast and the rest of the west - a HUGE area - is pretty sparse.
So, overall it is fantastic for trips and vacations, but not as much for living and habitation.
PA is very pretty but I actually think NC is the prettiest state on the east coast.
To the OP, I think both coasts are beautiful but the California coastline is really something else, it is, IMO, the prettiest coast in the entire world.
NC has two spectacular edges... the mountains on its western border and the coast/outer banks on its eastern edge... but in between is a massive stretch of unremarkable "blah".
PA has nothing as spectacular... but is more consistently beautiful/interesting across the state.
I will assume that "the east" is the entire eastern half of the lower 48, not just the east coast. That being said I think the east overall is more beautiful, as much larger parts of it are scenic or tranquil. The west has small areas of extreme beauty, and large swaths of land are arid, lacking vegetation and barren. I live in the southeastern state of Tennessee, and I think our green mountains are stunningly beautiful. I recently traveled to northern Michigan and visited a lake town that was very beautiful. The Mississippi and Ohio valleys are beautiful, as are the Carolina beaches, Gulf coast beaches etc. The eastern states have more historically interesting cities like Savannah, Charleston, St Augustine or Boston up north. Don't get me wrong I enjoy traveling out west, and yes there are some awesome sights out there, no denying that places like Colorado, Montana and Arizona have some really beautiful places. Colorado may even be the prettiest state in the lower 48. I just don't prefer the arid landscape, so this southeasterner is happy in the warm humid and green place he is in. That should make all those people in Phoenix sick of eastern transplants happy, as unless I am forced to move for my job I plan to stay here in the land of humidity and greenery.
I've travelled abroad and have had people take knocks at America to which I would respond "We have Hawaii". Seriously Hawaii is that much of a game changer. Nothing compares to the Aloha spirit with so much unparalleled beauty in the land and the culture.
The west does not get Alaska or Hawaii here, they are far from the lower 48. Alaska and Hawaii put together beat both the east and west halves of the lower 48, hands down.
I think there are different types of beauty. I think the most obvious is what you see in more dramatic settings like the coast of Oregon, Yosemite, the desert canyons, majestic views of mountain tops from urban areas, etc. While these types of settings exist all across the US, I think there's a greater concentration of them in the Western US. The diversity of these sights are seemingly more diverse out West as well due to so many different climates being in close proximity to one another.
The less obvious beauty that I see as I get older is the lush, rolling greenery of the east coast. The sunset over the Atlantic, the barrier islands of the Carolina's, the gorgeous/crystal clear water of the Adirondacks, the rolling hills of the Delaware Valley. To me, there's an unsaid natural health to this less dramatic (but equally beautiful) landscape with a feel of plentiful water and dense greenery. As I get older, I find I prefer this beauty.
Disclaimer: I recognize there is more/less dramatic beauty in both the East and West. FL has some pretty distinct beauty, alongside many other places. Also, the Pacific NW has lots of beautiful rolling hills and lush greenery. I was just speaking from my own experience.
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