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I grew up in NC but relocated to greater Boston about a year ago and consider myself an outsider to the region lacking a homer bias.
1 - Maine. I really dig Portland Maine and the Maine coast. Maine also is most similar to NC culturally so I feel at home there.
2 - Rhode Island. I ended up settling in providence after first living in mass outside of Boston. I like that providence is cheaper than Boston, hipper, more laid back, less pretentious, etc. I also like how close you are to Newport and Rhode Island beaches from anywhere in the state.
3 - Vermont. Burlington is nice, beautiful scenery and close to Montreal.
4 - New Hampshire. Beautiful state, I like that it's so independent minded, Portsmouth is nice. Wish it had a larger city than Manchester though.
5 - Massachusetts - Boston is beautiful and has many positives but is overrated when cost of living comes into play. Also, Massachusetts is totally an over regulated nanny state as others have said.
6 - Connecticut - new haven is cool and there's some nice coastal areas but that's about it.
1) RI. Best beaches. Awesome mansions in Newport. And Providence is the best big city in NE after Boston (no, I don't count Portland, ME as a 'big city').
2) NH. Excellent mountains, decent beaches, nice small city in Manchester, best state motto in the country.
3) MA. Boston is great, Newburyport is lovely, and the Cape and Islands have a really unique identity in the northeast.
4) ME. The interior is kind of iffy in parts (it gets rather white trashy in places), but the SE corner as well as Down East are both spectacular.
5) VT. Not an enormous fan. Passable mountains, decent lake in Champlain... but a total socialist playground.
6) CT. Eastern NY State.
I think about this sometimes and it's an extremely difficult decision. I love every one of the New England states, all of which might be in my top 10 if I were to rank all the U.S. states. I've always thought it was the best region, though California (which I'd consider its own region) and maybe the Pacific Northwest (which I haven't seen enough of to really judge) can compete.
I'll take a stab at it. Rankings extremely subject to change!
1. Massachusetts. No contest here, really. It's the only state where you can find pretty much everything New England has to offer, plus a very important thing none of the other states can offer: a major American city in Boston.
2. Rhode Island. Loved it so much that I moved there. It's the Ocean State; that alone guarantees a high ranking. But it also has the region's consensus Second City, Providence; a more varied entertainment and food scene than any of the other states save Massachusetts; and density, for which it gets low marks from some but I happen to like.
This is where it gets tough.
3. Vermont. I'd argue it's the most unique of the six. Part of that is because of its lack of a coastline, but it's also because of a very Vermont culture, which you can feel in any of a good number of small towns. The scenery is spectacular, too.
4. Maine. Tough to argue with so much resort-town goodness along the coast, and Portland punches way, way, way above its weight for a city of its size.
5. Connecticut. Absolutely New England's most underrated state. I'm still going to put it at No. 5, though. It is really New England, and it gets points in my book for housing New York's most affluent suburbs (which are so desirable precisely because they're New England).
6. New Hampshire. The Seacoast is great and the state in general is very pretty, but I rank it down because I think it compares unfavorably with Vermont. It does a lot of the same things as its neighbor, and it does them well, but not quite so well.
1) Massachusetts: Best beaches, okay mountains, fun cities
2) New Hampshire: Best Mountains, some beaches, no real cities, but not sales tax
3) Maine: Stunning Coastline, good mountains, Portland is nice.
3) Vermont: No beaches, decent mountains, Burlington and Cows
5) Rhode Island: No mountains, Providence is a nice city, warmest beaches, but also less of everything.
1) Massachusetts: Best beaches, okay mountains, fun cities
2) New Hampshire: Best Mountains, some beaches, no real cities, but not sales tax
3) Maine: Stunning Coastline, good mountains, Portland is nice.
3) Vermont: No beaches, decent mountains, Burlington and Cows
5) Rhode Island: No mountains, Providence is a nice city, warmest beaches, but also less of everything.
My favorite region and I have lived in 3 of the 6 states.
Here is my Ranking
1. New Hampshire, Had to pick my current home as #1, hell that's why I moved there. Have been here for 8 years and love it. To me it offers the best access (southern NH) to all of the best things (in my opinion) that new England has to offer. In under an hour I can be in Portsmouth, Boston, Southern Maine beaches, White mountains, Lakes Region, etc. It is a well run state with lots of personal freedoms, No sales tax, no income tax and a balanced budget! Yes the property taxes can run high in some towns, but its about on par with what most people in CT pay and they get to pay sales and income taxes too.
2. Maine, Maine is probably the state I have spent the least amount of time in. However I know I would like it based on the few trips I have made. Portland is a great little seaport city, The Western Mountain ranges offer some great hiking and recreational opportunities, Sebago/Long lake is great. Cost of living is not too bad.
3. Massachusetts, Lived in Boston for six years, great city, endless opportunities and things to do. Massachusetts definitely has a lot to offer, Boston, Cape Cod, Berkshires, Great sports teams, Great education and job opportunities, it really does have everything New England has to offer in one state. Unfortunately its corrupt beyond belief and is one of the biggest nanny states. The roads are horrendous and the cost of living is limited.
4. Vermont, I love Vermont, I spent a lot of time here growing up, the scenery in Vermont, the skiing, the snowmobiling and the quintessential New England of Vermont has a small place in my heart. Its too bad its overrun by liberals and hipsters. It is fairly far from a lot of amenities I need being in my earning years (airports/jobs/stores/cities) that's why its lower on the list. (great place to retire to tho!)
5. Rhode Island, Rhode island has some great beaches, Growing up in CT we exclusively went to them as CT has garbage beaches. Providence is a fun city and there is decent access to the water/cape cod and Boston. Unfortunately RI is a poorly run state with high unemployment, higher crime, terrible roads and terrible accents. Additionally it is far from Northern New England which is a negative for me.
6. Connecticut, My home state, Unfortunately I cannot say much good about it. Its run like crap and offers very little in the way of cool cities or nature. Its just a big suburb to me. You dont get what you pay for in CT. The first thing people say when asked whats good about CT is that it is in a great central location. But I dont buy it, being 2-3 hours from stuff is too far to make it great.
1-Massachusetts
2-Vermont
3-Maine
4-Rhode Island
5-Connecticut
6-New Hampshire
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