Which regions of the country and/or cities are most culturally similar to New England?

20 comments

1. None, we’re the best.

   > Low-intensity lifestyles

   What?

   > preppiness

   You ever been to New England?

2. That seems more like a description of a small liberal arts college in Maine than it does New England

3. What’s a low intensity lifestyle? Seems like it’s pretty intense in cities like Boston.

4. Upstate New York is sort of the transition between New England and the Midwest.

5. I’m not sure if a lot of the things you say apply to New England as a whole. The lifestyle is low intensity in places like Vermont, Maine, Western Mass, and New Hampshire, but Eastern Mass, much of Connecticut, and Rhode Island certainly seem pretty intense and fast paced.

   The prepiness thing is only in certain pockets here. I definitely would not consider Coös County or Aroostook County to be particularly preppy haha. I think that only applies to certain towns such as Hanover, Cambridge, Brunswick, etc…

   I do agree with you however that erudition, low political polarization, and cordiality are common themes for us.

   Personally I think the most similar places to New England are the Mid-Atlantic states of New York and New Jersey or the Pacific Northwest.

6. We have employees from 4 regions. West, North East, South and Midwest.

   For sure the Midwest guys mesh with the North East guys the best – both in work and socially.

   West is a mixed bag and South usually has the most difficulty both socially and with work issues.

   But preppiness? That feels like more of a southern thing to me at this point.
   Ivy league schools up here it’s like a race to the bottom when it comes to style. Shitty cars, shitty clothes, and embarrassingly explaining away how you aren’t rich just your grandparents were.

7. I always thought there was some similarity with NorCal. SF being similar to Boston and rural, mountainous areas being fairly similar

8. Annapolis, MD feels the most “like home” to me outside New England.

   Oddly enough the Monterey Peninsula can feel a bit like coastal MA. The Wharf in Monterey, CA gives me Gloucester/Rockport vibes, and Carmel-by-the-Sea feels a bit like Nantucket with better beaches.

9. The traditional Upper South and Mid Atlantic (Maryland, VA, NC and to a lesser extent Tennessee) have some of the same “old aristocracy” (Boston Brahmins and Virginia First Families), deep connection to American history, old and highly regarded universities, and prepiness and sailing within certain circles.

10. Colorado, Washington, and Oregon come to mind.

11. I think your idea of New England is heavily influenced by Norman Rockwell and Gilmore Girls.

12. Preppiness? Maybe on the north shore WASP-y suburbs or something, but not everywhere. And low intensity lifestyle? I feel like we’re the opposite. That would be very much a southern thing more. So many high schools up here are so overly competitive, to get into all the fancy colleges, you have all these big city office jobs, etc.

13. This is the weirdest New England circlejerk I’ve ever read.

14. Certains places in Northern Michigan. Particularly Harbor Springs, Charlevoix, and Petoskey. Water-based lifestyle inundated with preppy rich white people (i.e. my in-laws lol).

    Harbor Springs feels very much like parts of New Hampshire or Maine.

15. Probably New England is the most similar to what you describe.

16. You’re describing a wealthy conservative college town, that’s hardly “New England”.

17. Haha, low intensity and cordiality are not terms that come to mind when I think of New England. You guys have Massholes, for starters.

    I agree that the Mid Atlantic, especially Upstate New York, is the closest to New England. Other than that I’d look at a list of states with L.L. Bean stores and/or large fan bases to determine which areas have the most cultural overlap.

18. Clearly it’s [the South](https://youtu.be/nKcUOUYzDXA)

19. New England is pretty similar to New England

20. I think northern California, Oregon, and Washington has a somewhat similar vibe.