Why People Love New England
The dream of small towns, stone walls, covered bridges, country stores, and town greens are just some of the reasons why people love New England. What’s yours?
By Mel Allen|Aug 08 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanWhy do so many people feel homesick for New England — even if they’ve never set foot here? Yankee‘s longtime editor Mel Allen responds to a common reader sentiment and the question it poses in this brief examination of why people love New England.
Photo Credit : Stacy Hetrick (User submitted)
Why People Love New England
A few weeks ago, a reader named Dawn Rigoni left this comment on one of my online columns: “… I’m one of those people who is ‘homesick for New England’ even though I’ve never lived there. I’ve dreamed of living in Vermont ever since I was little, even though I’ve never been; my favorite school librarian moved away to Weathersfield, Vermont, when I was a child and sent me a postcard, and ever since, I’ve felt that my heart belongs to a place I’ve never set foot in … Please know how fortunate you are to live in such a beautiful corner of the world!“
I’ve heard this often in my years here at Yankee — letters and calls from distant places from people who feel they belong to a region they’ve never seen. It’s as though they have a memory in their hearts of New England. Now I don’t imagine that in that yearning they consider negotiating a rotary in Boston, or crawling along Storrow Drive at 5 p.m., or shoveling out after a nor’easter, or even working in the garden with blackflies swarming in May. I think they dream of small towns, stone walls, beacons of light, seas pounding on rocks, pine trees and maples, sugar shacks, town meetings, country stores, rolling hills, and town greens — all those markers that tell us where we are when we’re here.
I don’t think New Englanders feel this way about distant places — at least none I know. Oh, every winter, especially during a cold snap, or when spring takes forever to bloom, I hear friends talking about sunny climes and tropical breezes — but that’s escape talk, fleeting and understandable, not a bone-deep feeling like the one my correspondent, Dawn, describes.
I wonder how many of us who live here take New England for granted. It’s the easiest thing to do, like looking at the face of a loved one so often that you no longer really see it. This is what happened in the ’60s and ’70s, and even into the ’80s, when some of the most cherished and historic houses in various towns and cities in New England fell to wrecking balls. In their place rose condo complexes, parking lots, home developments, and department stores. We forgot how lovely those faces were.
Yankee travels to some of the most beautiful places in the region, all of which were preserved by people who never forgot to see. We’re lucky — among the luckiest people anywhere. I hope one day Dawn Rigoni gets to see for herself.
What’s your answer for why people love New England? Let us know in the comments — we love reading them.
This post was first published in 2009 and has been updated.
SEE MORE:
The Most Beautiful Places in Maine
75 Classic New England Foods
10 Prettiest Coastal Towns in New England
Prettiest Fall Foliage Villages in Vermont
Dearest Mel,
I am touched by your understanding of people like me, and infinitely pleased to know that you do, indeed, appreciate and hope to preserve the beauty and history of your home. I am looking forward to the Yankee issue you’ve mentioned containing photographs of the ‘most beautiful places in the region;’ this will be a true source of comfort to me, and most certainly a motivation towards realizing my dream of discovering New England for myself sooner rather than later.
With warm regards, Dawn
Hello Mel;
My name is Richard Ward and I was born in 1936 and raised in Lawrence Massachusetts.
My second wife, who I met here in 1981 in Baltimore, Maryland and I live in the ourskirts of Baltimore.
By the time 1958 came alone I was married and the father of three daughters and one son.
To support my family, I took on a job as a tractor trailer driver.
The company that I worked for manufactured paper products.
Our products were delivered to woolen and paper mills all over New England.
I remember the first time I drove up that long hill in Dublin in front of your Yankee office.
I had a heavy load on and I had to down shift to the lowest gear that I could use.
One of our customers was across the street on the street opposite your office.
Being a photographer, it was a pleasure and delight to be able to drive during the four seasons in the Mount Monadnock area.
I had detoured while driving through Dublin one day and ventured to the state park.
I noticed that visitors could climb the mountain by way of three methods.
I noticed a sign that read that folks could climb the mountain on foot by taking the white dot trail.
This climb was for people that climbed and were unassisted by any ropes or other climbing gear.
The other two climbing methods meant that you had to have climbing gear.
As time and many delivery trips went by, I decided to climb the mountain on Labor Day weekend in 1977.
I chose to take my two daughters along and not to tell them where we were going to go and what we were going to do.
As we drove closer to the Dublin area MT. Monadnock came into view.
I pointed to the mountain and said to them, “See that mountain?” ” We are going to climb it”
They didn’t say anything about the mountain, but I’m sure they were wondering how we were going to climb it.
We arrived at the state park and I surprised to see so many other visitors.
They too had the same purpose-to climb the mountain.
This are so many incidents that happened that day to describe and I would be all day writing this story.
We started out with water and peanut butter and jelly on crackers.
I had noticed that my daughters chose to eat most of the crackers on our climb.
I warned them that they should save some for the clinb down.
On the way up we were able to enjoy natural spring water that came trickling down from above.
After two hours of slipping and sliding, we made it to the top.
It was a beautiful sunny day and we could see for miles.
My daughters chose to lie dawm while I took photos of climbers and the surrounding area.
After we enjoyed the view my reminder my daughters not to get to comfortable.
“We have a two hour climb back down” I reminded them.
They sat up rested and we started back down.
Nothing to eat or drink until we arrived at the spring along the trail.
Two hours later we were back at our car.
To prevent starvation, for me and my my girls, I had packed our charcoal grille, three T-bone steaks and a complete salad.
We ate like a king and queens.
It was an enjoyable adventure climbing that mountain and still today we reminisce about that day.
Yes, I miss new England and every chance I get, we travel back.
Uor next visit will be Labor Day to enjoy the Hampton Beach Sea Food Festival in Hampton, New Hampshire.
Thanks for allowing me to tell my story about New England-
Richard
Thanks, Richard
Wow, Richard and Dawn both of you expressed eloquently your feelings about New England. Richard, anyone who has taken the first climb up Monandock with children will share similar memories. The mountain combines accessibility and “relative” ease with beauty and vistas. I bet your daughters will remember those steaks for the rest of their lives.Dawn the issue we are planiing that photo essay for is the March/April 2010 issue. (we do things far in advance to take advantage of our seasons. But hopefully every issue will bring you a sense of being here.
I was been born in Boston and later migrated to Los Angeles having married a Californian. Some 12 years and two daughters later, my husband (being California born) would always tell us how much nicer California was and how they did everything better. Well, after a few years, he began to tell everyone how much he loved NE and how much better it was than CA. So I guess that just about says it all.
I am an Army Brat, my Dad spent 20+ yrs as a Soldier. I’ve lived up & down te East coast, but NE has always been my home. Princeton, MA by Mt Wachusett. I have very fond memories of my childhood there. long summer nights lietening to the breeze whispering thru the leaves at night. Beautiful winter days after a fresh snow, falling leaves in many colors int he fall. Many, many drives & hikes just enjoying Nature. There is NO better place than NE !
My affection for New England and in particular for Maine comes because it reminds me of where I grew up. I live in New Jersey but from the age of four to the age of sixteen I lived in Seattle, Washington State. I always thought I would go back but that never happened. Maine has the same rocky coast that I remember as a boy in Washington, and the deep evergreen woods, lakes and rivers. Maine even has salmon albeit landlocks and not chinooks. The differences are that Maine has fewer people, tougher winters and lower mountains but the similarities are greater than the differences in my book. My affecton for Maine increased when my daugher went to the University of Maine (Orono). As I see it the Northeast and Northwest corners of this country are among the loveliest places in America. I’ve been fortunate enough to see both and I’m happy that at least Maine is close by. With luck my wife and I hope to retire there.
I was born in Northampton and my family left Mass for Florida when I was two. I didn’t get back to NE until I was 28. I don’t know how to explain it any other way except it just grabs you. I felt an immediate connection with everything and everyone as soon as I got there. It was great seeing the old family home. I went with a friend whose grandfather still lived there and knew my family. we sat on his front porch, drank brandy to keep warm and talked about home and family. Our families were owners of the Draper Motel if anyone remembers that place. Whew! Before my time. Mt. Greylock was spectacular. I went back a few years later to inquire about some property and stayed in Lee Mass with a friend in a huge house at the bottom of October mt. I vowed to come back someday. I now have a friend in Conn. and I can work with her in the summers if I want. “I’m getting closer to my home.” as in the song by Grand Funk Railroad.(aging myself here). thank you for letting me comment on the best place on earth.
Dawn, I lived in the south all my life. I am 48 yrs old. Like you I have always been drawn to New England. This is my happy place. I live in CT now following my dreams I moved here. I know this is where I will spend the rest of my life. I am here now with my son, and its more beautiful than you can imagine. If you want to live in a place that feeds your soul, this is it. Its everything you imagine and described and more.
Thank you for sharing
I was raised in Texas but I am dreaming of a life in Massachusetts. Everything about New England is just glorious.
Born & raised in Trumbull, Connecticut. But with my parents being born in Nova Scotia and a paternal grandmother who came a from a large family near Billerica, Massachusetts, I spent most of my childhood and teen years visiting through most of New England, especially along the coast of Maine. It is still one of my favorite places. My wife if from Iowa and fell in love with Maine when I brought her there not long after we were married…..and that love of New England extends you our daughters. We have lived for 29 years in Columbus, Ohio, but would go back to Maine and New England for good if the situation is right.
I was born in Vermont (Brattleboro), grew up in New Hampshire, went to college in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and then fell in love with a man from Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Cincinnati. The relationship didn’t last forever, and I’m still here, adrift in the Midwest. I miss New England every single day and would move back tomorrow if I could find a job opportunity or win the lottery. I will always be a New Englander.
giving you a heads up Dawn Rigoni, New England, especially VT gets nasty cold. You might want want to think about that before moving here
not winter
Noho is a great town
I was born in Webster Mass but raised in the North Grosvenordale/Putnam Connecticut area….I joined the Air Force at 17 and served 23 plus years….I am now living in the Pensacola Florida but miss New England especially during the Fall season..
I was born in Hill,N.H. in 1934, lived in Tilton and Franklin N>H until I was 9 then moved to N.J with my family. Married and moved to Ga. I went back to N.H. many times as all of my relatives lived there. I left a lot of history in N.H. and Mass. as my maiden name was Dustin related to Hannah Dustin . from the 1600. There are no states that can compare to the New England States.
Ann Hynko Nov.3,2015
I was born in Portsmouth and grew up in Dover. My aunt had a campground in Wells, ME for 40 years. My parents grew up in West Medford. MA so holidays were spent visiting both sides of our family because we were then “from away”.
I married a submariner and moved to CT when I was 30, we moved to South Carolina for two years, what a culture shock!!!
We returned to CT for three years then we moved to Northern Virginia. My boys and I go “home” every August and try for at least one other trip a year. My roots are pretty deep, NE will always be home to me!! God’s country!! <3 <3
Don’t be too discouraging Emily..ha ha… I’ve been in NH most of my life; I’ve lived in several other states as well, but NH is home. NH gets quite cold as well, but its not forever. I think if anyone wants to move to the New England area, all I can say is, “Welcome! You’ll love it here!” and I hope Dawn Rigoni has had an opportunity by now to come see how beautiful it is!
Dawn… We share the same soulful longing and dream. You articulated my heart perfectly. I have to share with you that my dream came true, and it came to be in the most unexpected and despairing way. I will be living in New England in 10 more days in a coastal town with 2 lighthouses! I know the universe will bring you there too someday because your soul is meant to be there like mine. Never give up …
I was born and raised in beautiful CT and come from a very long line of New Englanders. After graduating college (also in CT) I moved to a Carribean island for a job opportunity. I got so homesick for my home state I only lasted two years. It is too bad that the state has become so expensive that many people and businesses are leaving.
I was born and raised in Baltimore, MD, but my dad’s company did business in CT, RI and MA. As a result, we visited southern New England frequently when I was a kid, and I fell in love with it. My dad also had a Navy buddy from Enfield, CT with kids around our ages and we took turns visiting each other. Eventually, I got a job that moved me to CT. My first residence was in South Norwalk which didn’t really feel like New England. Fortunately, my job transferred me to beautiful Simsbury, CT, which I loved. I later was relocated to Claremont, NH, which was just a bit too rough and rundown for my taste – poverty everywhere. If I could afford it, I would love to live in Massachusetts on the North Shore.
I originally come from PA and NJ and I always had a yearning for New England even before I ever got there. Having said that, and even though some of the comments mention Connecticut, I never felt that CT was part of the New England culture or little remote Rhode Island. I think Yankee Magazine even had an article entitled “Is Connecticut Really Part of New England?” Massachusetts is New England to me mainly because of its colonial history, but real New England is VT, NH and ME. I now live in Colebrook, NH, transplanted from NJ and it has been one of the best decisions of my life.
I believe CT is one of the Original Thirteen states – making it a part of New England. Windsor CT was settled around or in 1620. There are many old colonial homes in many fine old communities settled around that time. Perhaps you have never seen any of these historic colonial homes in CT that are on the NAtional Registry. Perhaps it would be worth a trip – you’re not that far away.
I think a lot of people think of CT as being the part that borders NY. That part of the state does tend to take on NY characteristics. But the rest of the state (central, northern and eastern), is most certainly stereotypically New England. I was born and raised in central CT and the only times I’ve felt that was when dealing with people from “that” part of the state. 🙂
I am from CT but retired to the south. I love going back for visits and I also, will be buried there. Yes, CT is very much a part of New England. There are covered bridges there and white church steeples and beautiful foliage in the fall. Isn’t that all a part of what NE is all about? CT also has a scenic shoreline and the inhabitants all would be would be offended when hearing someone doesn’t think CT isn’t a part of New England. CT is where New England begins for some and ends for others. In other words, it’s the front door of New England. It’s not New York.
I am from Rhode Island and it is also very much part of New England, I also agree with the comment that the lower part of CT being a suburb to NYC, but the northern and north eastern parts of CT are very much New England as well. You should visit some of the small costal towns, maybe a coast drive down through sakonnet, Newport, Jamestown, Charlestown, WatchHill…and for CT…Mystic, New London…they are great New England coastal towns.
My mother and father always looked forward for all of their nine children, subscribed yankee magazine when they flew the nest, that was their gift to us after years of growing up with this super magazine…we always looked forward to the next one! They continued this subscription into our adult lives, bless them. To this day we have it and send to those that are wanted and blessed to receive, because they appreciate what is coming their way!
I’m a born and (somewhat) raised New Englander, having moved to Fl at the ripe young age of 13…I still have family in Ma, Me, Vt ‘n NH that I visit every couple’a yrs. There is nothing like going “home”. It’s a place my soul yearns for, my heart loves and my inner batteries are recharged and rejuvenated. As a mother, the feelings I experienced to see my young children playing in the same places I did as a child, enjoying and experiencing those memorable places only found in NE filled my mother’s heart to the point of busrsting with sheer joy ‘n pleasure. I totally understand those that have never set foot in any of these northern states to feel the lure ‘n pull to “go”, b/c once you’ve been, it’s in your heart, soul ‘n mind forever….and BTW, Woodstock, Vt is my go to “heaven on earth place”…
My husband wants to move South when we retire. I told him to enjoy it. I am staying in New England and will visit him every so often!!!!! Every bit a New Englander at heart and can never imagine living anywhere else.
… Acceptance … – that’s one of the main things I’d want, wherever I’d live. Would I feel acceptance in New England ? I don’t think so. I’ve been there several times, and I’ve met many folks from there. Many seem stuffy, pushy, or overly-competitive. I don’t need that in my life. Plus, the cost of living there is too high – even the cost of visiting is too high … Beautiful place ? No doubt … Accepting ? I don’t think so …
Ouch!
I’m a Texan but in my younger years I taught elementary school. I moved to NH where I taught for 13 years. Lived in the country in a stage way house (between Boston and the NH ski areas) and LOVED living in small small towns and teaching there! Always heard New Englanders were unfriendly-NOT! We got stuck in the mud during mud season and an older man stopped to pull us out. Accepted no money. We made him an apple pie and took it by. Wonderful places to see, relish, explore. There is NOTHING like a NH autumn-spotting the FIRST red/orange leaf along side a country road that’s lined by stone walls, chipmunks peeking out between the stones or sitting on top, apples ripe in orchards that you can pick!, wonderful foods, HISTORY–surrounded by it! I lived in a very cold 1600 two story home in the middle of a rye field. I’m back in Texas but have dear friends in NH. Returned to Texas because the NH winters were too long and cold but have fond memories of being in 3 days during a nor’easter when living a yr. in Maine on the coast. After the storm we got our cross country skis out and into our Subaru and went skiing on a gold course. WOW!I”ve lived in other places but am so glad I had a chance to live in wonderful, beautiful New England! Special!!!
Born, raised and educated in Mass and NH, I relocated to Florida when I was thirty eight. Had a great career, met my wife and met some wonderful friends there. But oh, the heat, the flat land, the unfriendly wildlife, agh! So, retired at 67, packed up all our pets and belongings and moved back home at last! We got married in New Hampshire ( after 20 years together ) and are gloriously happy to live in a small town close to the State Capital, Concord. Ocean, lakes, mountains, , history, sea shore, fields, green, colors galore, snow … all the beauty that New England has to offer..in our back yard! Warm, wonderful, open, loving people! I know this is New England, but it feels like heaven! So good to be home!
In a word; New England is ‘Charming’. NE fosters the feeling of simple living. The lack of Billboards, wide scale fast food chains, and wall to wall town to town shopping malls forces people to find enjoyment in Handmade, home made goods and services. NE never sold out to the corporate facade that makes up so much of the US. One can drive on back dirt roads for hours without signage and when folks meet face to face they actually look at one another giving a nod or a ‘have a good day’. NE is socially what we wish the rest of society were… unobstructed with distractions and falsities.
I have commented before, and always say how much I miss NE. I was born and raised in Ct. and it will always be home to me..I have lived in Maryland for the last 50 years, but went home many times. When I see pictures of the beauty in all of NE, it makes me want to cry. I have been abroad and loved the countries I visited, but there is no place like New England. I am old now and doubt I will get to move back, but, I will be buried there.
Oh I miss it! I, too, have been in Maryland for nearly half a century. Always, thought I would end up in my beloved Berkshires. However, 2 adult children and 4 young grandchildren in Maryland,will keep us here. When we were up to Massachusetts this past fall, I swear I never saw a prettier place in all of my travels. The sun was out, the weather gorgeous. I think that is half of it…..there are many gray days in New England but when the sun comes out, everyone is out and loving it. The world is aglow.
My uncle lives in the Berkshires. He old me once the hills wrap around you…he would never move. I do miss my hills and sigh every time I return.
Both my parents were born and raised in Vermont, and it has always been my heart home even though I grew up in Connecticut. I lived in Md. for 38 years after I left Ct. for the Air Force when I was 21. I missed it every day until I was able to move back to eastern Mass. a couple of years ago. I will never leave again!
We escaped to Florida as well, only because of the snow and cold but we both miss the Sunday rides in N.H., VT., Me. and Ma. To the coast along the ocean, small shops and restaurants to enjoy along the way. Sunday rides in Florida are not the same and never will compare. My husband has a bike and that was his thing to ride all the back roads going many wonderful miles especially route 100. Guess we can all change locations but our heart is still in N.E.
Born in Massachusetts, my ancestors go back the first settlers of the state. I have lived in the eastern, western and central parts of Massachusetts and now am fortunate to live on Cape Cod. The Vietnam War took my family and I to the western Pacific for a few years. On the way, we lived in Florida and Colorado. Shortly thereafter, we were back in Massachusetts with one of our daughters having been born in Japan. We lived in Maine when our daughters were young and truly enjoyed the lakes, woods, mountains and culture of that great state. The daughter born at an army hospital in outside Tokyo now lives in Maine with a view of Harraseekett Harbor. Our other daughter has homes in Boston and Vermont. As a kid, my parents had a summer camp in New Hampshire. I cannot imagine living anywhere else, although Ireland tends to beckon. New England is our home and we will never leave, though. It is one of the more special places in the United States. It really has it all!
I was lucky enough to grow up in Connecticut but my family made the mistake of moving to South Florida. I can’t begin to tell you how much I hate it down here. You don’t realize how important it is to love where you live until it is taken from you. My husband and I took a trip up to CT and MA a few years ago and the moment I stepped outside of Bradley’s Airport and inhaled that first breath of New England air, I started crying. I finally felt after all those years of living where I don’t feel like I belong that I could breath and that I was home. I don’t know which New England state we will end up in but I do know that I am counting the minutes till I can finally say I am home.
I live in Indiana now. I was fortunate enough to live in New Hampshire for a few years back in early 2000s. We have lived several places before and since but I miss living there. It is my favorite place to live. I have always told my husband that I am retiring to New Hampshire or somewhere in New England. The Midwest just doesn’t cut it for me! My daughter goes to a college in Connecticut. It is her first year and she already told me that she isn’t moving back here with us. Indiana is flat and boring! I don’t blame her!
My mother’s family came over on the Mayflower…so I guess we were meant to be in New England! I was born in Gardiner, Maine — correctly pronounced “Gahd-nah” — and it wasn’t until I moved to California many years ago that I realized that New England was a true gem not to be equaled anyway on earth. Oh yes, I’ve traveled to France, Italy, Sweden and numerous places, but whenever I see a photo of red, orange and gold fall foliage…or bite into a lobster claw…or smell a boiled dinner cooking…or dream about a Thanksgiving table laden with stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, then I realize that growing up in New England was one of life’s greatest moments. Ayuh!
For me, going to New England (which means Mass(esp Cape Cod) Maine, Vt, NH) every four years is what I like most. You think about it those other 3 years like you think about Christmas 364 days a year. Living in the mid-west among a large group of Amish I have that special feeling about the soul of people within their “culture”…yes, there is a cultural in New England that is difficult to put in to words but every 4th year I try to find those words.
Just because there is not another place like it!! Each New England State has it’s own unique things and quirks its known for. The beauty alone is enough, the people are interesting and I have found reserved sometimes but friendly. It’s been a few years since I was there, my husband was ill and passed away but I am making plans to come back. I always felt I was home whether I was in Mass. Vermont or Maine…I carry N. E. in my heart and always will.
I was exactly like Dawn. I was born & raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and had longed to visit New England as long as I can remember. I was mesmerized by the quaint, shingled Cape Cod cottages, the long expanses of sand dunes covered with swaying grass, the lighthouses from Portland Head Light to Chatham Light and yes, even the scenes of beaches covered in snow.
Having been a lover of history all my life, there is no better place in the U.S. to trod in the footsteps of those who came before us. There is a unique mixture of regal and rustic in an antique, center entrance colonial house. It was always my dream to live in one.
I finally visited New England in 2014 when I traveled to Boston for my niece’s college graduation. I think I was in Boston for 5 minutes before the thought, “I have to live here” became cemented in my mind. It wasn’t a pipe dream, it was just a fact. Two years later, my husband and I were closing escrow on an 1850s farmhouse 30 miles south of Boston, in a town I learned only after moving here, that my 9x great grandfather helped found. I never knew I had ancestral connections to New England but maybe that explains my constant longing to be here. I’ve lived here a year now, made it through my first New England winter, which included a week with sub zero temps and 3 nor’easters within a month. I still wouldn’t change a thing. I’m grateful beyond words for the life we have here. The beautiful towns covered in snow at Christmas time are like a living post card, and driving up route 2 through NW Mass into Vermont in October is a breathtaking kaleidoscope of color that one will never forget. And the first green after a long winter….clearly I could go on and on.
I wish I’d moved here years ago. It’s the best decision I ever made.
Just try living 34 endless winters here, when all you do is try to stay warm. Cold house, freezing car going to work and coming home – doesn’t matter the time of day, shoveling at 4 am to go to work throughout the winter, a huge berm from the plows AFTER shoveling that you have to shovel again -backbreaking. Cold that gets into your bones, 5 months of bare trees like skeletons on the land, and brown snow for 2 months. Waiting, waiting for a summer that’s a wisp, gone before it came
I have had the fortunate luck to spend much of this summer working in every state in New England, mostly centered around New Hampshire and Maine. There is something special about the small towns and the coast of New England that is not matched anywhere else in the US. This coming from someone who lives along Lake Michigan in Northwest Lower Michigan and has traveled extensively across the entire US. Maybe its as other comments that have stated, not being overrun by corporate america, a throwback to a simpler time. Maybe its because it is everything I love about where I live only grander.
Even though I now live in South Texas, I will always be a Yankee and love New England. I was born and raised in western Massachusetts, and every one of my ancestral lines arrived in New England between 1627-1670. My parents are buried in a beautiful old cemetery in South Hadley along with my father’s ancestors from the 1700’s and the rest are buried just a few miles up the road in the Old Hadley Cemetery. I tear-up just at the thought. Lots of lineage papers to complete. New England is so beautiful and so historic, and I do miss it. (Well, I don’t miss the slush that melts and refreezes overnight and that kind of thing.) But there’s something about New England that captures your memories, spirit and soul forever.
I was able to get my own taste of New England a few years ago on a Fall foliage tour, but that wasn’t enough. I loved every minute of it. I’ve kept up with this subscription ever since. There are so many places I want to see again.
We traveled all over New England on vacation for years. We loved it all, but Vermont particularly spoke to us, and we decided that when we retired we would move there. To be perfectly honest, I never thought we would move. I had lived in Texas more than half my life, and my husband was a native Texan. We called the move “The Dream.” And it came true! At retirement we moved to Vermont and visited around until we came to Brattleboro (which we had visited before and loved), and it felt like home. We’ve been here five years now and will never leave. I don’t believe we’ve ever been happier.
New England is definitely unique. Now displaced, I was born and bred a Yankee (Conn., Maine and Mass.). Whenever I see pictures of that beautiful area, I can remember the smells: fall leaves, snow (yes, you can smell snow), spring, the clean air of summer, cooking aromas unique to New England. The various smells of the holidays. History surrounds you. The grit of a Yankee who grew up in four seasons exposed to extreme weather. I will always love New England.
I have lived in New England my whole life and love it. The mountains and rivers and lakes. I would never want to live anywhere else. I grew up in Massachusetts abd have lived in New Hampshire for over 30 years now and still discover some place new every year. I love to vacation in my own state and just explore. Have been to the top of Maine along the coast into New Brunswick and to the top of New Hampshire into Quebec I would recommend visiting the Connecticut lakes to anyone! Next trip up into the lakes and mountains id Maine.
DON’T LEAVE OUT SQUAM LAKES IN N.H. ONE OF THE BEST.
I was born and raised in Maine. Now live in Oregon……desperately longing for New England every single day……The Oregon area I live in has 2seasons…..wet and chilly and boiling hot and dry. No sun ,nor lovely snow from Nov thru May…..never a rainy day or afternoon thundershower all thru the hot dry summer. I am 86 years old and can’t go back now but I get so homesick for anything New England……fall foliage,even mud time in Marchor a really good snowstorm,Baked Bean suppers and strawberry festivals…..Whoopie pies……Nothing compares to New England.????????????❄️
I was born and raised in Washington State but my father was raised in Pepperell MA and my husband’s mother was raised in Lawrence MA. A couple of years ago we took a two week driving trip through New England to see where they were raised and to visit cousins. We were surprised how diverse the two places were even though they are relatively close together. I fell in love with Vermont and hope to return for an extended stay. I especially enjoy your photo essays of New England.
At the end of March I am moving to Maine from MN, NC, NM, NY. I have always longed to live in New England, painted New England style folk art as a was of “getting there” before I could make it happen. Now I have. Yankee has helped me through all the doubts and farewells, the angst of moving and uprooting, but New England is where I belong, I know it. Can’t wait to get there.
Born and raised about 20 minutes from where I live now in MA. There is a pride in New Englanders that does not exist in many other places. In my travels, when someone asks me where I’m from, I am proud to say, “Boston” or “Massachusetts.” Every winter is like a notch on our belt. As if to say, “We made it through. We’re going to be OK for a couple months.” Probably, but to a much higher degree, how our ancestors felt when they settled this land. Conversely, every summer is like a non-stop party. We only get it for 3 months so when you’re driving down the highway in July, everybody has their windows down and their smiles ear to ear.
I think you need to be somewhat of a homebody to really love living in New England. I was born in New England but moved to Florida for 11 years but I am back in New England again, And don’t want to be here waiting for a warm day to go to a park, beach or somewhere outside….
I am from a tropical clime which is beautiful but i don’t miss it one bit. I’ve always been in love wth New England and southern Europe. And no even in the dead of winter i don’t take it for granted. It is beautiful year round. Only southern France and Italy can compete for the time i have left.
I am also one of those dreamers. I went to Boston, The Cape, Newport, etc. on my honeymoon in 2011 and felt like I had gone home for the first time in my life. I’m a Southern California native and have never been “happy” here. Now I’m a happy person, I just never truly loved my surroundings. I went back to Boston and back to Plymouth last January to see how I fared in winter and throughout my 5 quick days there, the weather they were experiencing was close to identical to our SoCal weather during those same days. So I wasn’t able to test the waters on if I could handle living there year round. I took two friends on a two week New England road trip in June and they loved it but don’t long for it like I do. I’ll be going to Vermont in a couple of weeks. I’m dying to see all you mentioned above: covered bridges, country stores, farmers markets. I think you wrote your article about me, because that’s exactly how I feel about New England. I wonder if it’s family history? Maybe there’s some connection…
This comment really made me homesick. I spent my first 15 years on the coast of Maine, and the next 15 in the Boston area. My parents are from Maine, their parents are from Maine, and their parents’ parents are from Maine…gotta go back to the 1700’s to find some ancestors from Massachusetts or New York. I’ve explored every nook and cranny of New England, and even ventured further into eastern mid/upstate New York (deserves to be an honorary member of New England), Quebec, and maritime Canada. Such a wonderful region.
I moved to California at the age of 30 and while natural beauty abounds, I never felt at home there and was left with a deep longing. I’ve since moved to Oregon which I describe as “if California and New England shook hands and came to an agreement.” This is a fantastic place to live, but gosh darnit, that hole in my soul from having left my homeland won’t seem to go away.
Especially when the summer starts showing its face, my mind is so regularly drifting away to Dennisport MA, Jamestown RI, Kent CT, Burlington VT, Franconia NH, Camden ME…
I was born and raised in Connecticut and I never gave NE a second thought until after I spent 4 years down south while in the military. It was then that I realized how much I missed NE and I also realized the only good things about places not in NE….are the roads that lead to NE!
I was born and raised in Kansas, I told my husband 39 years ago that I did not want to live my whole life in Kansas. Now with grandkids here it would be hard to leave. I am a tour director and my favorite tour is New England Fall foliage tours. Everytime I fly into Boston, I feel like I’m coming home. After doing tours here for a while, I started discovering I had ancestral connections around Boston, the old state house, Joy street, Gallops Island, the Granary burial ground, the Old Ship meeting house in Hingham, a Mayflower ancestor, and possibly much more. I LOVE New England and will be there in a few days to start my Fall tours.
I was born in Portsmouth, NH and grew up on the Seacoast region. I moved away in my late 20s to Texas and then to California. I’ve been gone nearly 10 years now. I never thought much about New England when I lived there. I suppose it was the effect of living in the bubble, I knew nothing else and wasn’t particularly interested in it’s places or history. But a funny thing happened when I moved out of state. My interest and love for New England grew enormously! I mean look at me, I’m reading Yankee Magazine as I sit in LA for crying out loud. I wrapped that regional identity around myself and let it be known, no I’m not a “Texan” or “Californian”, I’m a New Englander and always will be wherever I am. I’ve been back many times over the years but never in Autumn. I will be there next month and I’m ashamed to admit I feel like a damn tourist planning out a leef peeping route in the state I spent the first 28 years of my life in (NH). For shame! Now if I can only convince my California born wife to move back. The way LA is headed, I feel like we won’t have a choice soon. To those New Englanders back home, don’t take it for granted. I’ve lived and traveled all over the country and although it took me leaving to realize it, New England is truly the best. Just keep that quiet so the rest of the country doesn’t wanna move there. 😉
I have lived in New England my entire 82 year (and counting) life. I have witnessed a lot of changes and must admit not all of them are positive. I live in Mystic CT and it gets more touristy every year. We also have two of the largest casinos in the nation near by.
With all that said, I would not live anywhere else. There is a stability and honesty to New England live. There’s the seasons for both the good and the bad. I live on land that has been in my wife’s family since 1654 and am doing my part to make sure it stays in the family. When I look out the window to the river or out the back to the fields and trees turning colors, there’s a sense of peace and serenity in spite of the changes going around me. I wouldn’t change it for anything.
I was born in Newport, RI and have lived here on Aquidneck Island my entire 70 years. Yes, there have been changes. The Naval fleet pulled out in ’73, leaving downtown Newport very deserted. If not for tourism, quaint shops, great restaurants, watering holes aka “bars,” the Ocean Drive, our mansions, fantastic beaches, a winery, and farms, I fear what our Island would become. I am happy tourism evolved to keep Newport from becoming ghosted, so to speak. I love the 4 changes of season, of knowing everyone here for years, the beach is only 4 miles away and so handy -now that I’m retired, we have Salve Regina University, where I graduated, with a program called Circle of Scholars for Senior Citizens, where you can take very interesting classes. We have a few theaters, and occasional celebrity visitors. Hey, Jay Leno has been seen in a local diner and bought a place on the Drive! I’ll be here until my last breath.
Like many of you I was born in Newton, Massachusetts in the early 40s. I loved New England-the hot, sticky Summers and the bone-chilling Nor’easters in the dead of Winter.
It was never my wish to leave New England,
Our family is rooted in the earliest days of Colonial America, which I’m sure plays a part in my deep love and appreciation for the winding, tree-lined country roads dotted with yards of whirligigs flying inexhaustibly in circles, old barn red farmhouses, blasts of brightly-colored leaves in Fall, buckets of MacIntosh apples wafting their sweet fragrance into the air along narrow, winding, country roads…
But, as life would have its surprises for us all, our family ended up in California-the Golden State (?) in 1970.
The boys grew up, went to schools in California and eventually entered the exploding tech world in Portland. Oregon.
My dream of returning to my NE home began to fade as I entered my mid-seventies when I left the smoke and disaster-prone Northern (Remember, Golden State?) California for Southern Idaho where a brief flight whisks me away to what remains of my NewEngland family which has long-since passed-like the ‘Old Man’ into history.
WOW What a love letter to NE in times like these…sigh.
Stay healthy everyone!
And yes, we New Englanders are a “clannish” bunch of people but we are worth getting to know…lol
Born, raised and always lived in NJ, but New England has always been my Narnia. Even as a Yankee fan with an inherited disdain for the Red Sox!
My earliest memory of NE goes back to a summer when I stood in view of the Kennedy compound while my Mom explained that was where the Ambassador lived. So JFK wasn’t yet a household name — over sixty years ago. Now we make it a destination at least one or two times a year. And somehow I’m always renewed. Wishing peace and health to the entire world. But especially New England!
I moved from NJ to NH about 8 months ago. Although I enjoy more freedoms here, my assessment is if you weren’t born here you probably don’t belong here.
I was born in and used to live in Nashua, NH, though my family moved to Florida when I was 7, and we never visited New England again since then. Honestly, I really miss New England. Everything there was amazing. The climate was perfect, the winters were beautiful (and actually cold), and I could really enjoy nature. I really hope to go back someday.
I grew up in Amherst, MA my father was a professor of Latin American Literature and Literary Criticism at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. I do not regret my choice in moving to Florida where my father bought a condo. After all we are Cuban-American and we spent just as much time in Florida as we did in Massachusetts. I don’t miss the blizzards and the snow and having to wake up at 4 am to shovel the drive way just so that my mom could get to school at the private high school that she worked at but from time to time I do miss the smaller things that made New England enjoyable. I miss the flea markets that my parents and I used to visit. Fall foliage and Sunday drives into the country to have picnics. I miss the Mohawk trail with the little towns dotted along the way; the sugar houses and the general stores we used to frequent. Good old fashion Vermont Cheder and a good lobster and steamer dinner. Good old fashion clam chowder with a dollop of sweet butter and lots of pepper chuck full of claim. Drives to the Vanderbilt estate the Breakers in Newport. My great uncles house on the shores of lake Magundicook (I think that’s how it spelt) and his island in the middle riddled with blue berry bushes where we used to row out and pick them during the summer. I miss Camden, Maine and the trips we used to take to the Rockland Lobster festival during the summer. I miss the Trolley Museum in Maine; a railroad museum that for the life of me I can’t remember. I miss the waterfall spilling over the damn at Puffers pond in North Amherst and the swimming hole we used to go to up the street on the Mill River. I remember with joy a restaurant in South Amherst called the Grist Mill that closed many years ago before I moved away. I miss the day trips to Boston I used to take with my friends from UMASS and Durgens Park and I miss Indian pudding. Sure I have a lot of things here in Florida that remind me of New England after all Coconut Grove just south of Miami was first settled by New England Transcendentalists in the 19th century and there are places and people in Key West that have echoes of New England in them. They are beautiful in their own way as was the New England of my youth where I went to school at the Bement school in Old Deerfield, Massachusetts and every memorial day we went to the common at Deerfield Academy to commemorate the memory of the fallen during the Deerfield Massacre of 1704 and I will remember summer afternoons spent with my best friend whose family was polish and we would grill kielbasa in the back yard; Octoberfest and everything that made New England special. Yes I don’t miss the snow but I do miss skiing and sledding and I don’t miss the day to day struggle to live somewhere that turned dark at three pm in the afternoon but I will treasure those special moments I had that did bring me joy. I feel blessed that I got to live in New England. My son has aspirations to go to Harvard Law; God bless him and on my trips to see him I hope to show him all the best of what New England has to offer. Thank you for this opportunity to share my love of New England and God bless.
I’ve lived in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut most of my life and you’ve hit on many of the joys of living in this area! I too miss Durgin Park’s Indian Pudding!
I was born in Boston, grew up in Quincy and have a cottage in Plymouth. I have lived in New York for 62 years but I am still, and always will be, a New Englander.
I cherish the people…..hard working, very pleasant and of course the beauty of Fall. Have spent many wonderful days on Lake Champlain, Stowe, Burlington and many small towns all on route100!!!! Vermont is paradise….
Although I live in south-central Texas — courtesy of my career Air Force husband — I am a Yankee born and bred. Every single one of my progenitor ancestors arrived in the Colonies between 1627-1670. My father’s family, and where I grew up, is Massachusetts; my mother’s family all settled in Connecticut and New Hampshire. I’m so proud of all the ancestors who settled and helped develop this country, and feel so honored to be descended from them. The more I read, the more I am awed by what they went through in every way. Belonging to genealogical societies helps me to understand some of this. Reading Yankee keeps me in touch.
My entire life I’d been homesick for New England, a place I’d never been. And became even more so after I first visited decades ago. The day I moved to a quaint New England town is the day I finally felt I was “home.” It’s such a special place to live. I’ll never live anywhere else again.
I was born in Somerville, raised there as well as Dorchester (9 Ware St) and Stoughton (27 Kenneth Court)…see, even at 64yrs I still know my addresses’. My family moved to Fl when I was 13 for dads job, leaving behind many family member’s ‘n friends scattered all over Ma, Nh, Vt ‘n Me. I return “home” every couple’a yrs to visit and to have my “batteries recharged”. One can never understand that statement, but once I arrive back to the place of my roots, I literally feel a sense of rejuvenation, it’s a real physical feeling I can’t explain. When I see the gas tank in Boston, or The Mather School sitting atop the hill in Dorchester (I attended K-6th gr), the beautiful mountains ablaze in the glorious colors of fall, or covered in white snow, or travel thru one of the many covered bridges, or walk down into Quechee Gorge, or shop in both Vermont Country Stores, or eat at the multiple mom ‘n pop diners (hate chain eateries) or visit ‘n picnic at Acadia Nat Park or walking around Back Bay Boston or shopping at Faneuil Hall ‘n Quincy Market or attending events at the Boston Garden or more importantly watching my (then) children frolic in the same places I did as a child at the family homestead in W. Rutland and having them enjoy the cool summer grass under their feet, chasing after fireflies at night, or seeing a bear up the mountain behind the family homestead. Aaaand then, there’s Woodstock, Vt…God smiled when he created this quintessential NE town. I absolutely adore Woodstock, and call it my “heaven on earth” place. There is just something about that community that calls to me and tugs at my heart strings. Were it not for a husband, 2 adult children and 2 gr’children I would live there and happily die there. Staying at the Woodstock Inn has been on my bucket list for quite sometime, and one of these day’s I will fulfill that dream, instead of just visiting, shopping and eating in Woodstock as I head to Rutland. Yes, I believe New Englander’s tale alot of that beautiful region for granted. Believe me though, this transplanted Yankee will never take NE for granted…the cold, the foliage, the snow, the mountains, the laid back relaxation of small communities, the delicious lobster…I could go on ‘n on. All this and so much more make me love and yearn to return to NE every chance I get. BTW, it’s also the reason I subscribe to Yankee Magazine…it affords me the pleasure of “returning” and “remembering” all of this and soo much more.
Born in Massachusetts & here I remain almost 70 years later, only one move & that was to New Hampshire. I have traveled to Europe & across our Country & even though I don’t think I have experienced deja vu, being of French/ Irish decent I had strong feelings in England, Ireland, & France that I had come home. Most striking was crossing the border into France, I felt such peace, I know this place! But how! Well after this trip I learned thru Ancestry of my deep Roots, so I feel our souls just know. Not having ever traveled in Eastern Europe but given my Grandfather was born in Ukraine , my grief for Ukraine runs very very deep. I do know despite my centuries of extensive Roots in both Western & Eastern Europe, here in New England I have always been home! I do appreciate & love the beauty of our American West, I love Southwestern everything, but I am a Yankee thru & thru. The promise & beauty of our 4 seasons, Fall Fairs, Seaside Summers, Beautiful Mountains, Vintage/Antique Fairs, Country Stores, we have it all! Then as every Horse Lover would attest to that incredible feeling that comes over one when breathing in the fall air while with your horse!
I was born and raised in Miami and still live on the east coast of Florida and I was always envious of those having the opportunity to experience the New England fall season. It wasn’t until I was an older adult that I finally made my first trip to New England to experience fall and have been visiting every October for the last 10+ years. Wearing a coat/gloves/scarf, eating cider donuts & drinking apple cider and finding fall flavored fudge just about everywhere I went was a dream come true and never gets old. I know it’s not going to happen, but I would love to move to New England and experience the seasons year round. People visiting my ocean town often tell me how lucky I am to live where I do, but as the writer of this article said, people take for granted the beauty surrounding the place they call home and often fail to notice all of it until a visitor points it out. I love Florida, but I can’t help to think I am suppose to be calling New England home.