When I tell people, “I’m from New England,” there’s often a short pause. I can see it in their faces: They’re trying to remember the names of the five states, and which goes where. They might imagine lobster boats, autumnal forests, or snowy ski runs. Some get excited because this region feels so quirky and different from the rest of the country. Others stiffen up because they’ve heard New Englanders are frosty elites or wisecracking thugs who like to pahk tha cah in Hahvahd yahd. More than one stranger has assumed New England is part of Canada.
As a native Vermonter who lives in Rhode Island, I feel New England is a special place — oddly shaped, tucked into the corner of the Northeast, and the only region in the U.S. not named after its location (The South, the Midwest, etc.). The New England accent is actually several different dialects, although visitors may not hear the differences. Locals often balk at the very concept of New England, taking much more pride in their state, county, or town. Around my neighborhood, a popular T-shirt reads, “I Never Leave Rhode Island.” You could spend a lifetime living in one part and never think to drive New England’s best road trip route that tours the region’s gorgeous small towns and charming cities.
So what are New Englanders like? What personality traits bind this loose collection of states together? Once you move beyond the stereotypes of Winslow Homer paintings and South Boston mobsters, Pats fans and Phish heads, I find certain qualities are common across the region. And if any of these sounds familiar, you might fit right in.
You work hard (and play hard)
For starters, living in New England has never been easy. The land is rocky, forests are dense, and weather can be harsh, especially in long, dark winters. Famous early trades included farming, lumberjacking, and whaling — all involving hard physical labor. It says a lot that Pilgrims showed up on New England’s shores and decided this forbidding wilderness was the place to stay, even though half of them starved to death. The Puritans set a precedent for stubbornness that, believe me, survives to this day. Later, New England was a fulcrum of the Industrial Revolution, and many of the hallmark-style villages you’d think to visit started as hardscrabble mill towns…