New England is made up of six smallish states: Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
The territory is small, but the terrain varies greatly, and
the weather varies from state to state: Vermont and New Hampshire and Maine get
snow in October and November sometimes.
There are other subtle differences too. I swear, when Partner and I drive over the
border from Rhode Island into Connecticut, I can see a difference: Connecticut
is more rural, and woodsier, and wetter. What happened? Did Rhode Island
farmers do something that Connecticut farmers didn’t do? Or is it just my
colorful imagination?
Maine is different from the rest of the New England states
too. Portland aspires to be a hipster / cosmopolitan destination, but the state
itself is – as Parter said recently – “Tennessee North.” It’s visibly poor and
rural. No wonder it elects Republican senators to Congress.
And then there are Vermont and New Hampshire.
Vermont feels liberal and free. I love it
there. I love the breeziness of Burlington, and the wind off Lake Champlain. I
loved the time we spent in Bennington. I loved Rutland.
New Hampshire? Meh. It’s dull and conservative.
When you drive north into Vermont, it feels as if you’ve
entered a different country. (It was a different country, for a couple of years there.) When you
pass from Massachusetts to New Hampshire, it feels like – hmm – like you’ve never left Massachusetts. You really haven’t gone anywhere.
Vermont is different. Vermont is independent. It’s strange,
and funny, and determined to be so.
New Hampshire is dull and New Englandish. It’s got all the
things you expect it to have.
Vermont is independent and hippyish. It wants to be different. It has all the things that New Hampshire has
– mountains and lakes and forests – but they’re more interesting, somehow.
Kids: if you have a choice between New Hampshire and
Vermont, visit Vermont. Eat some ice cream. Have some cheese.
And tell the Vermonters that I sent you.
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