Lifestyle and Leisure
Living in New England
The six states of New England like to view themselves as instrinsically American and pride themselves on their Yankee identity, but in fact the region has a European feel
Indeed, Brits feel at home amongst the green fields and small pretty villages. Kate Baddeley takes a look at life in the six states that make up New England, and at what they have to offer an emigrant looking to relocate stateside.
Think of New England and you can't help but think of quaint white clapboard houses, rolling hills, and autumnal russet foliage all overseen by the wooden church steeple, then there's the fishing boats piled high with lobster, and the lighthouses situated along rugged shorelines. No wonder the British have been emigrating to New England in their droves since the 18th century and earlier. The states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine constitute New England, and each has its own distinctive character.
Boston is the largest of New England's cities and is both the commercial and cultural hub. It has a strong Irish influence, which can be seen in the many Irish pubs peppered across the city. This, coupled with the city's Italian communities and the fact that Rhode Island has a large Portuguese population, contribute to the European feel that New England has.
Brits are attracted to the more sedate version of American life on offer in New England, and feel at home amongst the green fields and familiar town names. "New Englanders are more reserved and less brash than other Americans," explains Derek Wallis, a retired engineer who lived and worked in Boston, New England, for over ten years, "And unlike the rest of the United States you don't have to drive for miles to get to the next town".
Lifestyle
It is true that New England has often been described as 'America with the volume turned down'. The Yankee mentality of hard work, shrewdness and self-reliance is deeply ingrained. New Englanders may be a little more reserved, but they are still friendly and hospitable, and know how to enjoy themselves. New England certainly likes to celebrate and hosts a number of festivals, although apart from a few national holidays, few festivals are shared throughout the entire region. Instead, there is a multitude of local events from rodeos and music festivals to ethnic celebrations and parades. One of the more traditional festivals is the Maine Lobster festival in August, and there are festivals to celebrate the region's famous four seasons, such as the Winter Festival held annually in Jackson, New Hampshire, where skiing, ice sculptures and sleigh rides are part of the entertainment.
Jackie Ennis, executive director of Discover New England, the tourism committee for the six states, is keen to emphasise the benefits of living in lively New England: "Our cities are dynamic and exploding with culture, history, fine dining and great shopping and yet it is always easy to get away from it all and find a wilderness retreat all to yourself".
Take Boston, for example, famous for its vibrant cultural scene. Indeed, the city prides itself on being a high-cultured and sophisticated city; the Boston ballet and classical music scene both have first-class reputations.
Boston is also a sports lover's heaven, and might be your best bet as a new home as it is the only city in New England with major professional sports teams; they have a hockey, baseball and basketball team. Their progress is followed closely in all New England newspapers. The lack of professional teams elsewhere definitely doesn't mean local residents aren't huge sports fans too. Local high school or university teams are central to New England life, especially in the smaller towns, where most people root for their local team. College basketball is particularly competitive, and draws big, animated crowds on match days.
New Englanders also lead a very outdoors lifestyle: fishing, hiking, river rafting, and canoeing are the most popular pursuits, and make good use of New England's many rivers and lakes. The mountains in the north-east receive heavy snow fall most winters and, unsurprisingly, skiing is a huge participant sport. Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont offer probably the best skiing in the eastern half of the USA.
A popular activity for families on weekends or holidays is camping in New England's wilderness areas. Forests and lakes are abundant across much of New England. Two huge forests in the region are the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont and the White Mountain National forest in New Hampshire.
Economy and property
For those who are relocating to the U.S to work in New York's Metropolitan area, Connecticut may be a home well worth considering. In the south western Connecticut counties of Fairfield and New Haven the economy is more closely associated with New York City, many of Connecticut's residents cross the state line each day to work in Manhattan, and more recently, New Yorkers have begun to travel into Connecticut to work in many of the job centres developed in the suburbs. For those looking to work in New England itself the economy revolves around insurance, education, research, tourism and the pulp and paper trade.
Maine is in fact the second-largest paper producing state in the USA, so the lumber trade is an important part of life in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. Equally important, however, are industrial products using New England's educated work force. Two such industries, industrial and commercial machinery (including computers), and electronic and electrical equipment, account for close to half the region's exports.
The economy in New England no longer revolves around the traditional industries of fishing and farming, but diary farming is still important in Vermont, and fishing is still vital in ports such as Gloucester in Massachusetts, and of course lobstering is still in existence in Maine but both industries are rapidly declining. Real estate prices in the six states vary considerably. Predictably, houses in Boston are the priciest; the average price of a house in the city is $265,000. You can see how that sits in the US market if you weigh that up against the average house price overall in the United States: $173,585. A three-bedroom family home in Boston is likely to cost from approximately $485,000. In contrast three-bedroom homes in the state of New Hampshire can be found for $119,000, although of course if you budget affords it you could spend up to $449,000 on a home with a similar number of bedrooms.
Jackie Ennis thinks this is a good to time to be purchasing a home in New England, "Living in New England is remarkable value for money. The weak dollar makes this an ideal time to buy and the cost of living is very low, whilst the quality of living is sky high!"
Education
New England contains some of the oldest and most-renowned educational institutions in the United States, including four of the eight Ivy League colleges and universities: Harvard, Yale, Brown and Dartmouth. Education is considered very important in New England and Boston alone has over 30 colleges and universities, and as a result is a leader in medical research. A larger fraction of New Englanders received a higher education degree than anywhere in the US: 31 per cent of the region's population now holds a college degree.
Boston has become one of the most popular places for British expats to settle. The city is lively and energetic and profits from the strong university presence of close by Harvard. This academic connection has also played a key part in Boston's left-leaning political tradition, and famously spawned the Kennedy clan.
New Haven, Connecticut, is home to Yale, New England's second-oldest university; its architecture and buildings imitate England's Cambridge and Oxford universities. As an upshot of the university, New Haven is home to a profusion of art galleries, upmarket shops and restaurants. At the pre-college level New England is home to many prominent American independent or private schools, however if you can't afford to send your children there don't worry as the public school system is well regarded and funded.
Beaches
Five of the six states have a seacoast and there's a lot of it. It varies form craggy cliffs capes to white sand, from cities to islands and it's all remarkably beautiful. A summer's day on a New England beach provides locals with a host of activities and the sun brings out fishermen, swimmers, sun worshippers, surfers, water-skiers, birdwatchers and boaters.
The Massachusetts beaches, particularly those at Cape Cod, are some of the best known, attracting thousands of visitors with their white sand, towering cliffs and dunes. Because there's so many beaches it is possible to find remote and uncrowded coast.
In Eastern Massachusetts Martha's Vineyard has an array of stunning beaches; that encompass pounding surf on the south side, and calmer shallow waters in the north and east. You will need to become a resident to enjoy the areas best beaches, as many are off limits to tourists, as it is an extremely popular spot for weekenders from the big cities. The islands of Martha's Vineyard are reachable only by ferry or air.
New Hampshire's coast, just 18 miles long, includes many sandy, sun-drenched beaches, and runs between bustling Hampton Beach and picturesque Portsmouth, with many sleepy and less populated beaches in between.
Maine has over 100 miles of excellent beaches at Ogunquit and Cape Elizabeth. Mid-coast Maine serves as an elegant microcosm of the state: charming New England fishing villages with small beaches. This far north, the vast sandy beaches are gone, replaced by the rocky coastline that has helped make Maine famous. The water is often too cold for swimming. All along the New England coastline are islands with their own, often deserted, beaches.
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