Which state is the most rural? (living, beaches, farm)

[jp646]

Out of the following list, which state do you think of as the most rural in character?

[Alaskapat528]

Maine.

[flyingwriter]

Vermont.

[Bydand]

After living there for 20 years - no doubt in my mind: Maine. Once you leave the populated Southern corner around Portland, there is very little other than rural. Bangor is the biggest city in the Northern 2/3rd of the state and at just over 30,000 people most States would call it a large town not the 3rd largest city in the entire state. Make the drive from Bangor up to Madawaska (any route you want doesn't matter) and tell me there is another New England state that is more rural.

[lammius]

^Indeed. The answer is Maine, without a doubt.

[Boston14]

Upstate New York by far

[Verseau]

Northern Maine has a remarkably low population density, easily making it the least densely populated area of the country east of the Plains. There is a vast unpopulated wilderness here unmatched by the other three states.

However, if you're looking for an *overall* rural feel in the state, the winner has to be Vermont. The state only has one town with more than 20,000 inhabitants. The landscape is dominated by small villages, pastureland, and forested hills and mountains. It has a dramatically low level of industrialization compared to the other states.

[BPerone201]

Vermont.

[jp646]

Originally Posted by Bydand

After living there for 20 years - no doubt in my mind: Maine. Once you leave the populated Southern corner around Portland, there is very little other than rural. Bangor is the biggest city in the Northern 2/3rd of the state and at just over 30,000 people most States would call it a large town not the 3rd largest city in the entire state. Make the drive from Bangor up to Madawaska (any route you want doesn't matter) and tell me there is another New England state that is more rural.

Interesting, I never associated Maine with farms or country. I always thought it was more well-known for its miles and miles of pristine beaches and scenic rocky coastline, rather than "middle of no where" farm towns or rural areas.

[LINative]

First let me say all of these states have a lot of "rural" areas. So I tried to go into detail and narrow them down a bit.

On first glance you might say Maine. But much of northwestern Maine is deeply forested and few people live there. Much of Maine is more "wild" than rural to me. The same could be said for large parts of New York State, especially parts of the Adirondacks, Tug Hill and the Catskills.

To me RURAL is small towns or farms not large wild areas. So after knocking off New York and Maine we are left with New Hampshire and Vermont.

Of the two, I say VERMONT. Simply because while both states are BEAUTIFUL and mostly rural, a chunk of southeastern New Hampshire is being heavily built up. Vermont also seems to fit the classic New England small town stereotype better.