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Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Which region would your prefer more?
Location
Topography/Landscapes
Recreation
Climate
Pace of life/Vibe/energy
Architecture
Food
Urban and Suburban Areas
Culture/Diversity
New England's boundaries are more defined (ME/NH/VT/MA/RI/CT) and the Southwests are more loosely defined; I'll base the comparisons with the Southwest being New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern Nevada
Location: New England- it's close to all the major cities of the Northeast, Boston, NYC, Philly, DC, not to mention Montreal and Quebec.
Topography/ Landscapes: New England. I admit the Southwest is gorgeous and unique, but there is only one landscape, desert. New England has mountains, forests, oceans, rivers, lakes, quaint villages, beaches, etc. It's much more varied.
Recreation: New England- there is just more to do. More cities, more varied landscape provides more outdoor opportunities.
Climate: New England definitely. I prefer having four seasons, not blistering heat year round.
Pace of life/vibe/energy: Definitely New England. I love the vibe of the Northeast.
Architecture: Southwest. I've always liked the southwest style of architecture.
Food: New England. There is a lot more variety of restaurants in my opinion. Particularly in Boston, you can get any type of food you want. When I was in Phoenix it seemed like almost every restaurant was Mexican or an American chain like Cheesecake Factory.
Urban and Suburban Areas: New England hands down. Boston >>>>> Phoenix. Ugghh I hate Phoenix haha.
Culture/Diversity: Southwest, just because of the Mexican influence. New England is pretty white bread outside of Boston.
I'm not much of a judge though, having been in the SW only once. I remember it was extremely HOT in the summer and they had all sorts of creepie crawlies--lizards on the window screens, scorpions, whatever else. I could never live with that because I like being outside.
Location-NE is close to NY. NY is closer if you want to go to Europe. I guess it's kind of off the beaten path though, stuck up here in the corner of the country.
Topography/Landscapes-NE by far. Great long sandy white beaches, most are natural and not crammed with hotels and condos. Gorgeous countryside. Lots of forest. Close to mountains for skiing. Lots of lakes and rivers.
Recreation-see above. You can ride a bike where it's flat, you can ski, sail on ocean or lake, go hiking with very little fear of anything poisonous except for poison ivy-lol.
Climate-Don't know. The SW was terrible in the summer but I think it must be beautiful in winter. NE has a harsh climate--hot humid summers and cold snowy winters.
Pace of life/Vibe/energy--Don't know. You can get hectic in Boston and some other cities or you can get relaxed in the country and small towns. You usually do not get s-l-o-w like in the deep South though and that can be good or bad.
Architecture-NE--every phase of history architecture I can think of from the mid 1600s to the present. You can go to some towns and walk down a street that's picturesque and feels like a hundred or more years ago. The houses are treasured and valued and kept up. Not a lot of tract developments and hardly any HOAs. Old historic buildings in the cities along with the new. Very interesting.
Food-lots of variety in NE. Not over run with chains but has lots of independently owned places that are unique. You can't get great Mexican food here that easily, it does exist but is not widespread. I don't like hot, spicy food anyway. Great pub food, fab fish and chips, great diners, Chinese, Thai, mostly whatever you want. Excellent upscale, excellent mom and pops.
Urban and Suburban Areas-Boston is interesting and clean for a city. Lots to do, loads of history too. Suburbs are often very nice but when you get around Boston they can get snobby. Can get snobby in parts of CT too. When you get to the other states, they're mostly down to earth and the towns are pleasant and walkable.
Culture/Diversity-lots of diversity if you want it. I feel better being among people who have more in common with me for the most part but you can have either one here.
Outside of cultural diversity, New England won each category for me. That said, I love the SW, so I will list some of the attributes of that region I find appealing, even if less so than New England:
>Topography/Landscapes: The red rocks, mountains, high desert and national parks and forests are amazing
>Recreation: Love the hiking there; not a skier, but if I was, the SW wins hands-down over NE
>Climate: Cloudless blue skies on a crisp winter day are invigorating
>Pace of life/Vibe/energy: I'm a high energy guy, but there is something to be said for re-charging the battery now and then in a slower-paced area
>Architecture: Hate the generic sprawl cities, but ABQ, Santa Fe and Taos are architectural gems
>Food: One of my favorite questions: "Red or green sauce?"
>Urban and Suburban Areas: ABQ and Tucson are under-rated
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,743 posts, read 23,798,187 times
Reputation: 14640
A few years ago I would have responded much differently and biasedly sided with New England on just about all of the categories, but I've lived in New England for so long I just feel I've covered every angle of it and I'm growing out of it. I'm a bit of a dreamer and have always loved the natural superlatives of the West, and lived in the Pacific NW for 5 years, but came back here (I was actually quite homesick for New England). Getting older I'm growing less tolerant of winter in New England, too many storms and just ridiculously long and I don't care for the dampness and humidity either. I'd like more abundant sunshine where I can be outdoors more. I've been travelling out to New Mexico and have really caught on to the mythical Land of Enchantment. I've been smitten for it and my partner and I decided we're moving out there in early 2012. So from a different point of view I answer in favor of the Southwest, really looking forward to getting out there.
Location: I'm over the whole I-95 Bos-Wash corridor. I use to appreciate NY and Boston a lot , but I just don't find any magic left in them anymore. I'll miss the ocean sure, but I'm looking forward to being closer to places like Colorado, Texas, the Grand Canyon/Northern AZ, and a 2 hour flight to the West Coast from ABQ (long weekends in San Diego or Seattle sound good to me).
Topography/Landscapes: I like the diversity of landscapes and topography in the Southwest, they are so colorful; the russet brown deserted mountains and the alpine green forested mountains at the higher elevations, the red rock mesas, the bosque woodlands and rivers, the deep canyons and chasms in the earth, and the bluest skies I've ever seen anywhere. I love the way the sun light plays the colors of the rocks. The region has so much transition of topography. It's wonderful. I really appreciate the wide open vistas and endless horizons. The land has a spiritual effect. It's just awesome.
Recreation: I'm looking forward to soaking in the geothermal mineral hot springs in NM again, they are awesome. Also can't wait to go hiking in the Sandia and Sangre de Cristo mountains, white water rafting up in Taos, skiing in Taos, hiking the Grand Canyon and discovering all the othe rmagificent National parks in the region.
Climate: More sunshine and drier climate = more time spent outdoors, that's the biggest draw for me in the Southwest. When people think of the climate in the Southwest, they immediately default to the inferno hot summers in Phoenix. There is so much diverse topography there creating many different ranges in climate. The mountains around Flagstaff and Sangre de Cristos in Northern NM get plenty of snowfall, dry powder and great skiing conditions much like Colorado. I think Albuquerque has a pefect four season climate. Nice dry (not humid) hot summers but not too hot as it sits at a higher elevation and cool brisk winters with the potential for warm and balmy days.
Pace of life/Vibe/energy: Had enough of the rat race, I like the laid back, spiritual, live and let live vibe out West. It's a good place to start a new chapter in life.
Architecture: I can't deny New England has a pletora of amazing architecture, but I've been looking at it for most of my life. I really dig the adobe revival architecture in the Southwest. I also love all the public art displays, murals and sculptures commonly found there. Not big on the tract housing developments per se, but I'm sure I'll appreciate the modern comforts.
Food: Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque, and Las Vegas are all big enough to offer a diverse range of cuisine from around the world and specialize in the best Mexican food found anywhere. New Mexican food is awesome, enchiladas with red and green chiles, green chile cheeseburgers, sopapillas, and Huevos Rancheros with red chile sauce, I love the food out there.
Urban and Suburban Areas: Albuquerque is just the right size for me, big enough to have enough selection of all the modern day amenities and a really nice airport. It also has a lot of character with the historic plaza at Old Town and the nostalgic kitschy route 66 and collegiate neighborhood at Nob Hill. I love the plethora of bike trails found all over the city and I'm really looking forward to bike around there. Santa Fe is a very walkable and stimulating city, one of the most creative and artistic places I've seen anywhere. There is plenty of elbow room, not too congested with mountains and open spaces on the periphery of the cities and plenty of parkland within.
Culture/Diversity: The Southwest has a very palpable tri-cultural element of Native America, Hispanic (going back many many generations), and pioneer Anglo. It's intriguing.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 09-10-2011 at 02:19 PM..
^^^ By the sound of it, I think you will love every bit of your upcoming adventure. The fact that you have a partner whom I assume shares your dreams makes it that much more exciting.
After growing up on the east coast, I was also very excited when I moved to Houston many years back - a place very different in terms of pace, culture and temperament and I plunged head first into everything it offered. After many years there, I started to be drawn back east and fortunately have a partner who, although a Texan, loves the northeast as well. We spent those last few months in Texas counting the days to the start of our new life. I can imagine it is similar for you both.
Looking forward to following your move west - I'm sure you'll enjoy every minute.
The only places I've been in the southwest are Las Vegas, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, Navajo Nation and nearby areas. Those are nice spots for a vacation. That's good enough for me for now.
I'll take New England for living, especially the Connecticut suburbs of NYC.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,743 posts, read 23,798,187 times
Reputation: 14640
Quote:
Originally Posted by jm02
^^^ By the sound of it, I think you will love every bit of your upcoming adventure. The fact that you have a partner whom I assume shares your dreams makes it that much more exciting.
After growing up on the east coast, I was also very excited when I moved to Houston many years back - a place very different in terms of pace, culture and temperament and I plunged head first into everything it offered. After many years there, I started to be drawn back east and fortunately have a partner who, although a Texan, loves the northeast as well. We spent those last few months in Texas counting the days to the start of our new life. I can imagine it is similar for you both.
Looking forward to following your move west - I'm sure you'll enjoy every minute.
Thanks
It's really exciting to have a goal in mind. It will definitely be an adventure, and I'm glad I have my partner who is equally excited with me to do it.
I moved once before in my early 20's when I was single out to Seattle. I pulled it off on a much lower budget and more sponteniously when the economy was more stable back in the early 2000's. This time it's taking me a bit more time to get out there as we are being practical and setting a higher budget to live on while making the transitions. Sometimes I get impatient, but I'm confident it will all manifest itself and work out, and indeed I will be loving it. Thanks for sharing your input and experience.
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