What order would you rank the States of New England? (home, job market)
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I feel Massachusetts be number 1: Due to it's size, middle of the road taxes, balance of expensive & inexpensive places to live, great place to experience the outdoors from the woods to the beaches, good economy, good number of jobs, adequate infrastructure, and artsy communities.
Second be New Hampshire with Maine in a close 3rd. New Hampshire due to it's low cost of living, the White Mountains, Franconia Notch, higher education opportunities, beaches, the woods, good place to bike & run, and Portsmouth.
Maine is a large state with good job opportunities and a great escape to the outdoors. Winters are a bit too brutal for me in Maine and too far away from Boston. Summer and early fall are my favorite seasons in Maine.
Vermont be fourth never been heard it's beautiful.
Conneticut be fifth due to its poor infrastructure, unstable job market, high taxes, high cost of living, and limited activities to do.
Rhode Island would be at the bottom outside of Narragansett, Block Island, Westerly, Bristol County, and parts of Providence. Not a fan of Rhode Island too congested it is a good place to visit.
For a myriad of reasons including natural environment, culture/town-city life, personal experiences, negatives, et al., I would order them this way in terms of where I would be happiest to settle.
1. Maine - Coastal land/seascapes, interior wilderness, classic seaside towns, unpretentious. Natives are the most insular and provincial, though.
2. Vermont - The most overall pleasant place in the land. Cozy. The values of freedom and live-and-let-live attitudes live with a tolerance of counterculture (for the most part). A bit of resentment of outsiders and an inferiority complex in some native Vermonters, but that comes with the territory.
3. New Hampshire - Stark, high, beautiful. Conservative enough to take seriously and make for an interesting socio-political climate, but not the reproachful traditionalism found in Southern or Midwest conservatism.
4. Rhode Island - Gets a lot of flack, but if you desperately want to live within reach of the ocean, it is impossible not to in RI. If you have money, it can be paradise. Providence, from what I have heard, has a lot of character. This can be both good and bad. Block Island is a jewel.
5. Connecticut - The most underrated which is unfortunate since it has a slice of everything that makes New England great (except for a vast mountainous interior) in a small area. Really the most versatile New England state and within decently easy reach of everything the region has to offer. The biggest downsides are the southwestern fringe (Fairfield County) which has all the negatives (and positives) of being in the NYC metro area. There is actually "real" Connecticut there, but plenty of sprawl and uptight commuters with the upward mobility fetish. Also, the cities are fairly blighted, at least in parts.
6. Massachusetts - Massachusetts is the most polarizing. Boston is undoubtedly a great city in terms of history, character, and culture. On the downside, it is the most regulated nanny state in New England. Also, as a native NYer, I respect Boston immensely despite the rivalry, but he hard part is the grating anti-NY attitude you have to put up with from some people. Western Mass is really a great part of the state, too. The Berkshires reminds me a lot of the adjacent parts of New York State. Some of the funniest and most laid back people I have ever met (and I live in New Mexico, the capital of laid back) have been from Mass.
Overall, I love New England. And I believe the region that comprises New England, New York, and Pennsylvania rivals and/or exceeds any territory of equivalent size west of the Mississippi for breadth and diversity of landscape beauty, architecture, history, and culture.
I'm a native New Englander and have been to all six New England states, but only lived in CT. So, I'll give my opinion.
1. Massachusetts. Offers pretty much everything that New England has to offer, whether it's urban or rural living. The state has a very diverse landscape and selection of cities and towns, from the Cape to the Berkshires to the Boston metro area. The economy is also good and there are areas of the state that are not too expensive, particularly in central/western MA. It's also a deep blue state, which I like.
2. Connecticut. Overall, CT is a well balanced state in terms of urban vs. suburban vs. rural lifestyle offerings. There is no big city, however. Every metropolitan area is small and things in general are compact. Although the state is currently going through difficult economic times, there are still many, many well off families and high paying jobs for a state that has no big cities. The state is small and has limited activities, but at least there are beaches, hiking forests and quaint cities and towns all over the place. It's also a pretty diverse state, racially. And the climate is the best in New England, because it's not as cold as northern New England.
3. Maine. A beautiful state with very limited job opportunities. Overall, Maine is a poor state with higher obesity rates, etc. More common with what you see in the deep South. The coast is beautiful and so is the interior. It's a big state for New England standards and is a nice vacation destination. However, since it's positioned on the eastern end of the time zone, it gets dark extra early AND has severe winters. But I still love Maine. And some parts of Maine are actually fairly cheap to live in.
4. New Hampshire. Another beautiful state with very limited job opportunities and a rather high cost of living. I feel like NH has been a little ruined by Boston people though.
5. Vermont. Very beautiful and very rural. Almost no good job opportunities, though. The only metro area is Burlington, which is an extra small metro area. VT is another vacation destination.
6. Rhode Island. Nothing against RI, but it's just way too small to offer a lot. The coast is very nice though, and Newport. Providence has some stuff going for it in terms of activities and food. The rest of the state is nothing special though. RI also has very limited job opportunities.
In terms of how I'd enjoy living there:
1-Massachusetts
2-Connecticut
3-Vermont
4-Maine
5-New Hampshire
6-Rhode Island
I agree though that they should be one state of 15 million people. That would still make New England #5 in the nation. Of course, that would hand the Senate to the GOP for ever. So maybe we can unite New England when Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming become one state and North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska do the same.
I could see Mass and CT as one State. Maybe CT could finally be better managed and turned around. Then Fairfield County cold become part of NY. Then New London County can become part of Rhode Island. The rest of the State taken in by Mass. New Hampshire and Maine combine. Vermont becomes part of NY.
It should all be one state. It's not the 1700's anymore. They're all more alike than they are different, especially in comparison to other parts of the US.
Call it all New England or Massachusetts.
This post is the New England Version of Goodwins Law.
Those kinds of people don't realize how big New England is, Maine is about as large than West Virginia and Maryland Combined.
1. Maine is like pure New England to me because it's mostly wilderness with nice tiny towns. Boating is huge and the food is delicious. The only downside is the winter.
2. New Hampshire has no income tax and the roads are pristine! Overall it's a beautiful state like Maine
3. Connecticut is home to me but the state has gone downhill. Taxes are becoming out of control, jobs are fleeing to larger markets such as NYC and Boston, and the infrastructure is outdated. I do however love the mix of urban, suburban, and rural. It's also convenient to be in between Boston and NYC. Our medium sized cities (Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, etc) offer a lot of small daily activities but it's nothing extremely special which is a good thing because traffic is light except rush hour. Our beaches aren't excessively crowded either which I like. Thank god our coast isn't like Cape Cod.
4. Vermont is quiet which I like but there's not a lot to do except if you're into skiing or snowboarding. No "city" even though Burlington is as big as most suburbs in CT.
5. Rhode Island is number 5 because I hate Massachusetts so I want it to be last LOL
6. Massachusetts is a great example of a nanny state and its too overcrowded. Boston is overrated and everything is centered around it.
Maine and New Hampshire are my top for the freedom. Mass is only on top because I feel there is so much to do in Mass, it's cheap compared to living in CT, it's a beautiful state, it has Boston, and it has the Irish.
I don't think I mind a Maine winter.
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