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Would you say Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan are more similar to the PNW or New England?
Criteria can be culture, accents, weather, cities, scenery, history, demographics, and overall vibe etc
Definitely New England. No contest really.
Culture? Definitely New England. The upper Midwest and New England have communities that are hundreds of years old. Pacific NW is young by comparsion. Hunting, fishing, farming ... all are well established in New England going back hundreds of years. You get some of that in the Pacific NW, but it isn't as entrenched in the culture.
Accents? No comparison really. The upper Midwest accent is its own thing. As is the Boston accent. As is the Maine accent.
Weather? Definitely New England. Both New England and the upper Midwest have four distinct seasons. The Pacific NW does not. They get two inches of snow in Seattle, and you'd thing it was End of Days. We get two inches of snow in Maine or the UP, and people don't even put on pants. The Midwest tends to have hotter summers and colder winters. Amount of snow? Varies from year to year. Getting snow we measure in feet, not inches, is not unheard of in Maine.
Cities? New England.
Scenery? New England. We have "mountains" in New England. Supposedly But our biggest mountains wouldn't qualify as foothills out West. The Midwest is pretty flat and forested. Much more like New England.
Weather? Definitely New England. Both New England and the upper Midwest have four distinct seasons. The Pacific NW does not. They get two inches of snow in Seattle, and you'd thing it was End of Days. We get two inches of snow in Maine or the UP, and people don't even put on pants. The Midwest tends to have hotter summers and colder winters. Amount of snow? Varies from year to year. Getting snow we measure in feet, not inches, is not unheard of in Maine. .
The PNW is not just the I-5 corridor from PDX to Seattle. If we are going to say the New England States are 5 states. Then we have to compare it to the Pacific Northwest (outside Seattle and PDX) being three states including Idaho.
The weather in the PNW is nothing like New England and Upper Midwest. Mainly because of proximity to the Pacific Ocean and large elevation difference play a much bigger role there. PNW is also at a higher latitude. The northern tip of Maine is the same latitude as Oregon.
Seattle and PDX don’t represent the entire PNW in terms of weather though. Just like Boston doesn’t represent all of New England. Both Seattle and PDX are quite a bit less wet than other areas west of the Cascades.
You mention parts of Maine getting “feet” of snow. The PNW blows both New England and Upper Midwest out of the water for snowfall.
The largest recorded snowfalls in the world are in the PNW with multiple locations recording 1000+ inches (90+ feet) in a winter season. Snowfalls of 600+ inches is not uncommon in both the Cascades and Olympics. The Mountains cover more than 1/3 of the entire land area of the PNW. An area much larger than New England. Unofficially it is believed that parts of the Olympics and North Cascades have received 1500+ inches of snow in a season.
All of these areas are a very short drive from Seattle and PDX.
Eastern WA and Eastern Oregon have much larger variation in temps than the I-5 corridor west of the Cascades. You will find temps in areas of Eastern WA much more similar to what you experience in the Upper Midwest and New England. Hot summers and cold winters are the norm with very little rain. Very distinct 4 seasons is the norm east of the Cascade Range.
I won’t get into Idaho but you will find much of the same.
Last edited by Thealpinist; 08-02-2023 at 11:31 AM..
The PNW is not just the I-5 corridor from PDX to Seattle. If we are going to say the New England States are 5 states. Then we have to compare it to the Pacific Northwest (outside Seattle and PDX) being three states including Idaho.
True enough. And there is a significant difference in climate between places west and east of the Cascades --- but most of the region's population, jobs, etc. are in the Western region. I know Spokane is technically part of the Pacific Northwest, but it has more in common with Montana than the Puget Sound communities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thealpinist
You mention parts of Maine getting “feet” of snow. The PNW blows both New England and Upper Midwest out of the water for snowfall.
The largest recorded snowfalls in the world are in the PNW with multiple locations recording 1000+ inches (90+ feet) in a winter season. Snowfalls of 600+ inches is not uncommon in both the Cascades and Olympics. The Mountains cover more than 1/3 of the entire land area of the PNW. An area much larger than New England. Unofficially it is believed that parts of the Olympics and North Cascades have received 1500+ inches of snow in a season.
True enough. But not many people live in those areas. Most of the Pacific NW's population resides in and around Puget Sound and the Columbia River. Both have extremely mild winters compared to New England or the upper Midwest.
I was living just outside Tacoma during one of the worst winters in decades --- meaning they had 4 inches of snow. Schools closed for days. Power was out for a week. Stores sold out of staples. Nightly news updates were all about the "winter weather crisis." I was working with a bunch of people who had just moved from Wisconsin. They found the whole thing hilarious. I'm pretty sure that's when the term "snowflake" was invented in reference to people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thealpinist
You will find temps in areas of Eastern WA much more similar to what you experience in the Upper Midwest and New England. Hot summers and cold winters are the norm with very little rain. Very distinct 4 seasons is the norm east of the Cascade Range.
Temperature? True. But in terms of moisture, east of the Cascades is nothing like the upper Midwest or New England. We experience droughts, but not regularly. Plenty of rainfall and our yards stay green year round without having to water them. The sky does it for us most of the time.
I can only speak for Minnesota but it is utterly unlike New England. It is more similar to the PNW but isn't really like it either. Not everything has to be like something else.
I can only speak for Minnesota but it is utterly unlike New England. It is more similar to the PNW but isn't really like it either. Not everything has to be like something else.
This thread wasn't really about wanting The upper midwest to be like something else. There's a bunch of threads similar to this.
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Most of the Pacific NW's population resides in and around Puget Sound and the Columbia River. Both have extremely mild winters compared to New England or the upper Midwest. 
