[yearinvermont]

I lived in Vermont for over a year and went on a trip and went through New Hampshire. I thought New Hampshire was really freaky and strange. Manchester was particularly odd. Do people from Vermont consider themselves New Englanders like people from new Hampshire? Or do they think New Hampshire is weird too?

[Biker53]

Of course people in VT and NH (and ME, RI, MA, & CT) are New Englanders. New England is about the most clearly defined region in the nation. Being you are not familiar with New England, know that NY is 100% not New England. The thought would horrify most New Englanders, especially Vermonters being it was NY's aggression against VT in the 1700's that resulted in the Green Mountain Boys fighting them off. VT became an independent republic for 14 years and then joined the US as the 14th State.

VT and NH differ in their approach to taxes and govt but we share a common Northern New England culture beneath those differences. It was NH that orchestrated the settlement of VT. NH is a fine State. It is not weird.

[GeoffD]

Vermont has New York Yankees fans. You could scour the whole state of New Hampshire and you'd have a tough time finding any.

[square peg]

^^ That's kinda true. I grew up in Concord, NH and have lived in the NEK for 30 years. There's quite a Sox / Yanks split here and to a lesser extent, Patriots / Giants. No contest with the Celtics - everyone loves them. And there are just enough Montreal fans to make a Bruins fan's life interesting.

North of the (big) cities in NH and about everywhere in VT folks are just about interchangeable. Most anyone will talk to you. Not all day, but you can feel pretty safe approaching them. It's rare when someone walks past you and doesn't at least say hi. The majority of Maine is no different.

[yearinvermont]

Interesting things I didn't know. Are New Hampshire people more from Boston and Massachusetts? Where are these Massachusetts people from? How come New Yorkers look different than Massachusetters if they are also from England. Vermonters don't really look like New Hampshire people or Massachusetts people. Where are they from?

[nativenewenglander]

NH is the second most Irish state behind Massachusetts. There are also lots of French-Canadians in NH as well, both ethnic groups were the labor base going far back into the 19th century.

[yearinvermont]

Oh okay. We saw a lot of Quebec style buildings in Manchester. Maybe New Hampshire is the most French and Irish state in the world!

[Biker53]

If you don't know someone's ethnicity in New England, absent physical cues or a last name, just say "you look kind of English-Irish-French to me" and you will be right far more often than not. Yes there are enclaves of other groups but those are the dominant ethnicities. It represents my wife and I and all of the cousins on both sides of the family, and most of my friends too.

[yearinvermont]

Okay I see. What background are people from Vermont?

[Biker53]

Originally Posted by yearinvermont

Okay I see. What background are people from Vermont?

The majority are the same English-Irish-French mix as in the rest of New England. I believe French is the largest subset in VT. Each State has a different mix. It is just that those three are the largest ethnicities, with many of us with very deep roots having all three.