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It is so much more pleasant to travel miles through green trees than the miles of treeless and dusty scrubland, prairies, industrial farms, and brown hills that cover much of the land west of the Mississippi. Despite some states having a reputation of beauty, it doesn't apply everywhere, as there is a lot of barren and ugly landscape when driving in "the west" through places like eastern Colorado and eastern Oregon.
I get this sentiment, but having lived in OR, CO, CA, and WI - for me my three favorite places have been western states. WI is covered in trees but like another poster stated, half the year it's brown and ugly.
I get that half of CO is pretty much Kansas, but this state has such a varied landscape that it keeps things interesting.
Nothing truly beats the beauty of the PNW. Green pretty much year round and I prefer their type of "green" and "woods". The con is constant moisture you can see/feel in the ground, structures, etc. It's just seemingly always around even if it isn't drizzling.
But can't beat picturesque settings of Portland, Seattle, Vancouver.
The seasons keep the trees from getting too boring. It would be a drag if they didn't drastically change their appearance every 3 months or so.
Yes, I agree. And this is why I dislike the Southern California climate so much: it’s so boring and pedestrian that it results in the seasons sort of blending into each other, with the predominant season pretty much being some variation of summer: summer, still summer, summer-lite, and sort-of-summer. Boring and dull, in my opinion. Plus, the dry climate results in a rather barren and scrubby landscape for the most part, so there’s not a whole lot of trees and forests anywhere to add some visual
spice to the landscape (naturally occurring trees, mind you and not the artificial and/or non-native transplant trees). It’s mostly freeways, strip malls, housing developments, and just an overall built environment. Not much left in the way of nature and open land.
But plenty of people choose to live there, so who am I to judge!?!?
I love the trees and couldn't imagine living in a place that didn't have an abundance of trees. I have never seen the appeal of the west (except for PNW). Everything is dirt and rock! Not very colorful or attractive. Plus I am a bit agoraphobic and can't stand the wide open spaces. I find being amongst trees to be my most physically and emotional state.
When I lived in Arizona I would come back to OKC/Norman/Edmond and it seemed really green. Big beautiful trees.
Then, when I lived in Florida/Mississippi/Oregon it seemed completely different when I would come back here.
But while OK seemed less green that wasn't the thing that amazed me. It seemed like the trees were the size of shrubs in the other places I was living. Trees that I remember being tall and stately were kind of short and stumpy.
Now that I've been back here in OK it all seems normal again. But coming in from the desert vs the forest presented two completely different perceptions.
A lot of the eastern forest is plantation monoculture, pretty nearly lifeless. Early settlers cut virtually every tree on level ground, to grow cotton. When a century of that left the soil inert, they sold out to pulp/paper. Nice straight rows of monotonous pines, silent of any other forms of life.
For a little positive PR, they left a strip next to the highway as pretty trees. But 100 yards back, it's a clear-cut eyesore. Mixed, vibrant, healthy forest is mostly on the hillsides. Even "National Forest" is taxpayer-owned leased for pennies to paper corporations to exploit.
I've lived in both situations and prefer the west. The eastern and midwestern forests are like a jungle. I liked it until I knew better and experienced the open forests and far horizons in the west.
My perceptions over 65 years in the midwest is that fewer people are actually going into the eastern forests now compared to the 1970-80 years. Part of that is related to the aging of the Boomers who were more experienced and comfortable in the woods and had organized camping and hiking groups when young. We lived in the suburbs and played in the nearby woods. It was normal. It seems less common now.
We lived in West Texas for a while. West Texas, where, on Monday you can see Wednesday's weather coming; where it is so flat you could stand on a tuna can, look North, and see the back of your head.
We live in the woods, now, where animal life gets right into your lap and the sounds of life never stop. The only time it is truly still is when it snows, and those times are rare, for us. Even then it is only still, not silent. Silence is hard to find.
I have visited 49 states - all except Alaska. There is something I love about every one of them.
I can appreciate heavy tree coverage but I like how the West has the best of both Worlds. I currently live on the Eastern plains of Colorado but when I need to I can just drive 15 minutes and be in a heavily wooded area. In the East you’re just stuck with the same type of scenery.
I think maybe alot people out west don't realize how many trees there are on the east coast. Driving up and down 95, save for the near the Northeastern big cities or South Florida is just a tunnel of trees. I like trees but in all the states out east the view is just endless trees. Anybody else just sort of burnt out from that view? I know some people that need to be near/in forests how about you?
You go west and it's so much more visual, you can see actually see out on some really cool terrain. That's kind of what I like personally.
I disagree. I love trees. I am basically a tree hugger. A big selling point for my rowhome in Philadelphia is that it is on a rare block with a whole little forest across the street. Within the next decade, I am moving farther north to live amongst the northern hardwoods.
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