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I come from a beautiful state in the Northeast, and so do people from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, etc. Excuse us if we want to set the record straight on things we enjoy about them.
Honestly, despite the fact that people want to constantly focus on subregions like Mid-Atlantic and New England, it's all one region to most outsiders. There isn't a huge difference in feel between New England and the Mid-Atlantic. The climate is the biggest one.
Your motivation, though, seems like it's more to bash New England than to espouse the virtues of other regions. That's true in other threads as well, not just this one. And if there "isn't a huge difference in feel between New England and the Mid-Atlantic" -- which I disagree with, by the way; even as a kid, I always got a particular feeling when I visited New England -- why do you praise other areas and heap scorn on New England?
I highly doubt most people in the world are concerned with anthocyanins.
To the vast majority of people, you can get fall foliage almost anywhere. New England just markets itself on it because it can't market itself on much else.
I've lived overseas. Not one person knew anything about New England other than sports. Most of which were Canadian anyway, and had their own.
I don't understand what you are talking about here. Only a complete boob would say "all New England has to offer are leaves in the fall". I'm going to assume that you are just being a dyed in the wool homer and that you don't really mean that. New England is easily one of the best regions in the nation to live and/or visit. Did you know that Maine has more coastline than California??
Btw, why were you overseas asking people what they thought of New England? It seems like a weird way to spend time in another part of the world.
Last edited by Mr. Joshua; 08-15-2016 at 06:21 AM..
Later, you argued with someone from NC who made the comment that there is color throughout the state, and that is what I took issue with. I'm not going to address every single post that you made- you clearly don't have the benefit of experiencing NC in the fall firsthand. This is the specific conversation that led to me making a comment in the first place:
Carolina Blue: People around here do not assume that at all. Plenty of Fall foliage to be seen here and some of the grandest views just a short drive away in the mountains. It's very common for folks to day trip up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the colors. Even the local Mets have peak fall foliage maps for that specific reason.
Viral: No fall color in NC except for high elevations. NC is way too warm and tropical for fall color.
Carolina Blue: Nah
Viral: Why deny the truth?
Bryan85: Why do make such an all encompassing statement- as if your opinion were fact?
Viral: It's not opinion, it is fact. NC is a subtropical state.
My remark was to the person speaking of New England- my mistake. I love the NC mountains, and will be heading there for a break from the heat in a couple of weeks.
But here is the thing, those anthocyanins in leaves do not magically disappear when they cross the border into neighboring New York, Quebec and New Brunswick do they? Or nearby Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and Nova Scotia? Or areas on the same latitude like Michigan and Wisconsin?
So I am not even debating whether the falls colors of North Carolina or Georgia or Colorado, etc. are being overlooked when being compared to New England. I am saying that even New England's nearby neighbors are being overlooked despite having similar climate and forests.
And that implies at least some kind of successful marketing and positive stereotyping for New England.
The point is that the percentage of tree species in forests producing anthocyanins is much higher in northern forests, such as in New England, than in southern forests.
There are many locations in the North with great colors. I've already noted that National Geographic picked eastern Holmes County's Amish Country in Ohio as one of the best locations for leaf peeping in the world.
Yet New England, with its high percentage of anthocyanin-producing trees, short and therefore more intense Leaf Turn, excellent topography for leaf peeping with mountains, valleys, etc., and unique architecture, is a special place.
The Adirondack region of New York also is exceptional, and actually does attract a lot of leaf peepers. The Finger Lakes region is great. Michigan's upper peninsula is spectacular.
What is wrong is to say that New England isn't more spectacular than the likes of areas in the South, Texas, CA, etc., that lack the varied palette of colors, and the short, intense Leaf Turn season that characterizes New England.
It took me about 30 seconds on Google to find these articles.
"New England just markets itself on it because it can't market itself on much else" is a patently absurd comment. If you pick up a travel guide to New England, maybe 1 percent of it will be dedicated to fall colors. I've basically been on a vacation in New England for three years and I haven't even scratched the surface of things to see and do, and virtually none of it has had anything to do with trees.
Honestly, what a ridiculous thing to say. Adjusted for area, there are probably more sights to see here than anywhere else in America. Today I went to Plymouth for the first time. You know, the place where the Pilgrims landed? All the leaves were green. Every one of them. There were still tourists. How was that even possible?!
I've been following this thread for the past week and have found it so frustrating, but I haven't seen fit to weigh in yet for whatever reason. First off, it's based on a completely false premise. Nobody thinks "New England is the only place with fall foliage." They think New England has the greatest concentration of it of any region, which others have shown is true. Also, nobody thinks there's some magic wall at New York's eastern border that prevents scientific principles from holding true on the western side. Astoundingly, a lot of people here don't seem to fully grasp this very, very simple concept, but "New England" is an artificial geographic distinction invented by people, as is "New York" or "Utah" or "Outer Mongolia" or whatever. Of course there are good fall colors in Upstate New York! It's essentially the same thing as New England! The fact that the Adirondacks look great in the fall proves, not disproves, that New England is a worthy destination for fall foliage.
I'm not a mind reader (yet!), but I'm pretty sure I have you figured out by virtue of your comments in this and other threads. I think you've lived many years in Upstate New York, right next to New England, and all this time you've been hearing "New England is so great" and "oh, the barns!" and "it's like the trees are on fire!" and "OMG, I literally can't even with the charm!" And you think, That's not fair, why doesn't anyone talk about where I live in those terms? You take day trips over to New England, and you think, This is basically the same thing!, which of course it is, because remember, there's no magic wall. And that fills you with irrational hate for New England.
I understand this because I also grew up just outside of New England and heard the same stuff and felt the same envy, but I reacted to it in a different way: I visited as much as I could, then I moved here.
Exactly, and it ignores the fact that the Adirondack region is heavily promoted for fall colors.
Reading the above report, I do wonder if Leaf Turn is longer and therefore less intense in the Adirondack region than in New England.
Why would this be the case?
Perhaps because of the Adirondack's closer proximity to Lake Ontario. In the autumn, the Great Lakes become a giant heater moderating the temperatures of the surrounding region. This certainly is a factor in northeast Ohio, especially in areas closer to Lake Erie. This is just a guess on my part.
It would be interesting to see how long Leaf Turn lasts in different regions of the country.
I don't understand what you are talking about here. Only a complete boob would say "all New England has to offer are leaves in the fall". I'm going to assume that you are just being a dyed in the wool homer and that you don't really mean that. New England is easily one of the best regions in the nation to live and/or visit. Did you know that Maine has more coastline than California??
Btw, why were you overseas asking people what they thought of New England? It seems like a weird way to spend time in another part of the world.
When America was discussed, not sought out, they only cared for select parts. You think I specifically asked?
This thread was started because I've read a few threads about this topic and wondered what was so great about New England's fall foliage because the rest of the Northeast is pretty great for it too.
Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. Two of which are famous for granite. One of which for the coast. All of which for hiking and fall foliage. I enjoy all three very much. All I am doing is raising awareness for other areas. There are a lot of trends on this website when you snoop around enough and then you raise a question as to why.
I do think other than those factors, most people don't know much about those states. Maine is picked on sometimes for being in the middle of nowhere. One night out several years ago I remember my friend met this group of guys that were acting like pricks at the bar around here and he asked where they were from, they said "Maine!". My friend asked "yeah? what do you do up in Maine, **** caribou?"
Last edited by NomadHere; 08-15-2016 at 09:20 AM..
Your motivation, though, seems like it's more to bash New England than to espouse the virtues of other regions. That's true in other threads as well, not just this one. And if there "isn't a huge difference in feel between New England and the Mid-Atlantic" -- which I disagree with, by the way; even as a kid, I always got a particular feeling when I visited New England -- why do you praise other areas and heap scorn on New England?
I'm just raising points and discussion. Basically what this website is for. Look around, you'll find a lot more people with an agenda around here than you realize. I am no different, and neither are you.
My remark was to the person speaking of New England- my mistake. I love the NC mountains, and will be heading there for a break from the heat in a couple of weeks.
I wasn't sure which comment yours was in response to, I was just taking issue with Viral's snappy retort to your statement, as he thought it was about NC. Enjoy your trip.
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