Which New England state is the best?

[greenforest32]

Best to worst:

1. Vermont
2. Massachusetts
3. Connecticut
4. Rhode Island
5. Maine
6. New Hampshire

[dead0man]

Ignorant American from outside the NorthEast checking in......How can Vermont and NH be on opposite ends?  Aren't they the same state?  Lefties filled with White Guilt and a minor libertarian streak?

[Lambsbread]

1. Massachusetts
2. Maine
3. New Hampshire
4. Vermont
5. Rhode Island
6. Connecticut

[bullmoose88]

Ignorant American from outside the NorthEast checking in......How can Vermont and NH be on opposite ends?  Aren't they the same state?  Lefties filled with White Guilt and a minor libertarian streak?

I'd imagine a significant portion of your state being close (or not close in its entirety) to a pretty major city is a distinguishing factor.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Best how?

[fezzyfestoon]

Never been to Vermont or Maine, unfortunately...despite being able to see both. The people I was visiting refused to take me even though I offered to drive AND pay. But bitterness aside, here's how I see it:

1. (Vermont)
2. Massachusetts
3. New Hampshire
4. Connecticut
5. (Maine)
6. Rhode Island

Obviously my impressions of Maine and Vermont are hypothetical. And my impression of Rhode Island is far from complete. I'd like to see the coast someday rather than Coventry, the most annoying town in America. But I loved all my visits to New England, so 6th isn't a bad thing.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Ignorant American from outside the NorthEast checking in......How can Vermont and NH be on opposite ends?  Aren't they the same state?  Lefties filled with White Guilt and a minor libertarian streak?

It's not a 'minor' libertarian streak in New Hampshire, and there isn't really one any more in Vermont (at least, not on economic issues. Not by a long shot).

[tpfkaw]

Massachusetts = assholes
Rhode Island = bigger assholes, also post-industrial decay
Connecticut = biggest assholes
Vermont = cold, nobody lives there
Maine = inbreeding capitol of the world

Which leaves New Hampshire.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Massachusetts = assholes
Rhode Island = bigger assholes, also post-industrial decay
Connecticut = biggest assholes
Vermont = cold, nobody lives there
Maine = inbreeding capitol of the world

Which leaves New Hampshire.

Serious question: Have you ever actually been to New England?

Vermont being a sparsely-populated rural backwater with a bizarre leftist streak is why it's the best state.

[tpfkaw]

Serious question: Have you ever actually been to New England?

Lo siento, no hablo ingles.  Podria repetir la pregunta en espanol?

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Only if you like freezing your ass off and paying $20 plus ridiculous sales tax for souvenir maple syrup from some weird shifty-eyed guy who speaks in one-word sentences.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Serious question: Have you ever actually been to New England?

Lo siento, no hablo ingles.  Podria repetir la pregunta en espanol?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Only if you like freezing your ass off and paying $20 plus ridiculous sales tax for souvenir maple syrup from some weird shifty-eyed guy who speaks in one-word sentences.

1. Don't be a jackass.

2. Thanks for answering my question. You have not in fact been to Vermont or anywhere else in the area, or if you have you didn't pay any attention to the actual local culture and came out just as content to trade in asinine, childish generalisations and stereotypes as you were going in.

3. The sales tax in Vermont is six per cent. It's not exactly exorbitant.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

MA.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I sadly haven't been to any New England state. However, from a distance, NH arms the best.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Considering my current display name, I have to go with Connecticut.

[memphis]

All more or less the same. Obvious political advantages aside, really could all be one state.

[AndrewTX]

Eh, none of them.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Connecticut: Rich assholes who all work in NYC.
Rhode Island: Lame.
Maine: Evidently has a ton of serial killers, and is cold.
New Hampshire: Like Maine but with less Stephen King.
Vermont: Pretty and nice food, but too isolated.
Massachusetts: Assholes, but lots of history and culture behind it.

I flipped a coin.

[Хahar 🤔]

I'd like to think I'm generally open-minded, but I will confess to being prejudiced against New Englanders.

[opebo]

Comparing American states is like gazing critically into the toilet bowl. 

[Napoleon]

Considering my current display name, I have to go with Connecticut.

Oh baby.

New England is great. Rhode Island is the worst New England state but still not bad by any stretch of the imagination.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Vermont is my favorite.  I went on a mission trip and spent 6 nights in Washington, Chelsea, Montpelier, and Burlington in March 2003 and I fell in love with the state.  The Green mountains were spectacular and breath taking and the people were generally very nice.  We would have taken a drive to Montreal, but that was when President Bush started the invasion of Iraq, so we decided not to cross the border due to safety and security concerns.  I remember going to and ministering in and around a few Southern Baptist churches up there, which is quite rare from what I found.  I would dearly love to go back to Vermont and to New Hampshire, which is close behind Vermont for me.  I would have to put Massachusetts third since I worked 4 weeks in Boston in July-August 2007.  I've only flown over Connecticut and Rhode Island on my way from the Philadelphia airport, so I can't judge them by appearance.  Nor, can I judge Maine as the closest I've been is Portsmouth, NH, which is just a couple miles from the Maine border.

[memphis]

Security risks along the Canadian border? That's a strange concern. Did somebody in the church hear that Montreal is full of French people?

[Cincinnatus]

Security risks along the Canadian border? That's a strange concern. Did somebody in the church hear that Montreal is full of French people?

Security is a big issue here.  We have bridges backed up an hour and a half some days because they'll stop you for checks if they think your behavior is suspicious.  Plus, the coast guard and border patrol are all over the upper and lower Niagara River, as well as Ontario.  It's a way of life when you're near such a busy border crossing.  Of course, if one has Nexus like I do, crossing is quite easy


As to the original OP.  I would have to say that MA is the best New England state.  I tend to vie for states rich in history and culture, and I can't say any of the others match MA.

[Rochambeau jk I'm Hamilton]

I'm obligated to say New Hampshire. (even if i wasn't, it'd still be NH)

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Man, I gotta go up North some time and get me some maple syrup. ANd some pancake mix while I'm at it. Great. Now I'm hungry for pancakes.