New Jersey vs Virginia vs Maryland vs Delaware vs North Carolina
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Flip NJ and VA and I’ll agree with this list and the spacing.
I agree.
1) New Jersey (You have NYC, Philadelphia, Atlantic Beaches and Pocono Mountains all within one hour or so and NJ is not just the meadowlands (which is what most people see. It has some beautiful suburban towns and great smaller towns like Princeton).
2) Virginia (A nice state and its impressive how much NOVA has grown. I think it relies a lot on DC whereas NJ has BOTH NYC and PHL and also more Atlantic beach towns/communities that are more accessible. Why I place, VA at 2.)
3) Maryland (Also a nice state, but VA is pulling ahead, but Baltimore is a nice city, and MD has tons of potential. I really like the Bethesda - Frederick Corridor and Annapolis).
4) North Carolina (I think it has some growing pains currently and real estate is becoming expensive in its populated cities and I dislike how its urban centers are not close to the coast). The main reason I like the East Coast, is to be close to well the coast, and North Carolina's major cities are for the most part several hours away from Atlantic beaches much more so than the others.
5) Delaware (It really is too small to compare to these much larger states, although Northern Delaware is very nice overall).
I feel like Delaware and Rhode Island are the two most fair comparisons, I think Delaware is a bit too small to be included in this fairly. Although Northern Delaware punches pretty high, just as parts of Rhode Island do for the size.
Last edited by rowhomecity; 03-01-2021 at 11:40 PM..
Man, I’m just not really interested in any of these.
I might put VA and MD as tied for first if I’m in the DC suburbs, but frankly I think the COL is too high for what you get there.
So I’ll revise the list like so:
1: NC. I’m not wild about the Carolinas - I always thought I would like them far more than I do. However, NC has cool spots in Asheville and along the coast. The mountainous areas are a nice break from much of the east coast which generally always feels overcrowded and claustrophobic.
2: VA. Like the Carolinas, VA is a places I always thought would seduce and charm me, but it just doesn’t. Something about it feels humorless. Aside from the aforementioned DC burbs, I never found any of the other cities all that charming, though I wish I had been able to visit Virginia Beach. Most of the state looks kinda the same as every other part of the state.
3. Maryland...I guess? Nothing about Maryland struck me as particularly good or awful. It just kind of exists. The western part is a lot more mountainous than I had expected. I find it kind of unremarkable, though.
4. Delaware...I guess? Like MD, it’s pretty unremarkable. I’ve been there and scarcely remember it.
5. NJ. It’s a weird place. I can see it being your template for suburban living if you’re from there, but I found the roads kind of weirdly laid out. It felt to me like suburbs before anybody had figured out suburbs. Also, the further away I can be from NYC - perhaps my least fav place on the planet, and DEFINITELY my least fav in the US, the better. NJ is probably a bottom 5 of places I’d ever want to live, along with places like Oklahoma, Indiana, and Louisiana.
Man, I’m just not really interested in any of these.
I might put VA and MD as tied for first if I’m in the DC suburbs, but frankly I think the COL is too high for what you get there.
So I’ll revise the list like so:
1: NC. I’m not wild about the Carolinas - I always thought I would like them far more than I do. However, NC has cool spots in Asheville and along the coast. The mountainous areas are a nice break from much of the east coast which generally always feels overcrowded and claustrophobic.
2: VA. Like the Carolinas, VA is a places I always thought would seduce and charm me, but it just doesn’t. Something about it feels humorless. Aside from the aforementioned DC burbs, I never found any of the other cities all that charming, though I wish I had been able to visit Virginia Beach. Most of the state looks kinda the same as every other part of the state.
3. Maryland...I guess? Nothing about Maryland struck me as particularly good or awful. It just kind of exists. The western part is a lot more mountainous than I had expected. I find it kind of unremarkable, though.
4. Delaware...I guess? Like MD, it’s pretty unremarkable. I’ve been there and scarcely remember it.
5. NJ. It’s a weird place. I can see it being your template for suburban living if you’re from there, but I found the roads kind of weirdly laid out. It felt to me like suburbs before anybody had figured out suburbs. Also, the further away I can be from NYC - perhaps my least fav place on the planet, and DEFINITELY my least fav in the US, the better. NJ is probably a bottom 5 of places I’d ever want to live, along with places like Oklahoma, Indiana, and Louisiana.
I’m more of an out west kinda guy, I suppose. Putting winters aside, NE Ohio, WV, and Florida are basically the only places east of the Mississippi I particularly like. Chicago, too, but like NE Ohio, that’s not even an entire state. Somewhere on here there was a question about top 10 states I’d like to be in, and it was pretty dominated by four corners states, Cali, and Texas...but not even the per of Texas I’m in right now! Lol
I could live in any of them, and have actually (Virginia, Maryland and Delaware). Overall, Virginia appeals to me most because of its natural beauty and variety as well as its numerous historical sites. As for cities--I find Richmond especially attractive.
In Maryland I think a great a place to live would be one of the residential neighborhoods near the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore. I've visited most of the big cities in the USA and Canada and few urban places in America can compare to the Inner Harbor--it's truly spectacular.
I've travelled widely in North Carolina but don't know the state that well. The cities I found most attractive were Asheville, Wilmington, and Charlotte--in that order.
I lived in Delaware for over six years and went to high school in Dover. The Dover of my youth (a LONG time ago) was about as perfect (it seemed to me then) as small-town America could be. It was peaceful, refined, historic and prosperous. In fact, The Green on State Street in downtown Dover remains the most beautiful small urban space I've ever seen. Rehoboth Beach, Delaware is also the perfect beach town--far nicer than most other beach towns I've visited
As nice as all of these states are, I still prefer Philadelphia where I live now. Overall the East Coast from Pennsylvania to North Carolina is, to me, the garden spot of this country!
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