What makes the Northeast unique…

Every region of the country has their own quirks and differences based on the culture and topography of the area. It has been fun and interesting figure out some of the things that makes New England what it is.

• Out here, Dunkin Donuts is king, not Starbucks. They are literally everywhere out here, it’s pretty amusing.
• The accent. Actually, most of the people I’ve met don’t have any discernible accent. But there are some, particularly the Boston accent (think Car Talk or Tom Silva on This Old House) that are quite distinct.
• Wicked. Up here, this word isn’t solely used for evil people, but is more often used as an adjective similar to the word very. So you could say ‘It is wicked hot out today!’ or, ‘that was a wicked climb!’ (which could have positive or negative connotations, I’m not sure if there is a way to tell). Also, ‘That was a wicked game, I loved it!’
• Drug stores: I’m not sure if the population of the north east is continuously in need of prescription drugs to stay alive, or if there is something else these stores have that makes them so popular; but there is a glut of these stores around here. Where I am currently, there are at least three Walgreens, Rite-Aid’s, and CVS stores here. Some right across the intersection from each other. It’s odd.
• Drivers are more aggressive. If there is any way to get past someone who is stopped, they will take it. And they expect you to do it as well, so it has created confusion when I haven’t gone.
• Toll Roads: It seems that all the major interstate highways around here are toll roads. I guess its their way of paying for road maintenance. Thankfully, my car has a toll transponder on it, so I don’t have to worry about always having change with me. The system actually seems pretty efficient, so I don’t think it will be too bad when the new I-5 bridge from Portland to Vancouver is built with tolls. The problem will be more convincing people to go along with it. It’s a logical way to pay for it, charge the people who use it.
• Topography: New Hampshire is known as the Granite State, and for good reason. The igneous rock is everywhere! In the NW we have rocks, but it is mostly basalt and volcanic, and, smaller. That’s something that strikes me out here, the huge uninterrupted rocks out here. I climbed a mountain at Acadia National Park yesterday, and the top was almost one huge continuous rock. Quite different from Oregon. Maine and New Hampshire are defined by extensive glaciation from the last ice age, but instead of creating fjords as in Norway or Alaska, it was a large continuous ice sheet, so it pretty much ground everything down, and you have these long narrow lakes and streams, and then the mountains, and long bays with numerous islands.

I’m sure there is more I am not remembering at the moment.

I am at the two month mark of being out here, I have about one month left to go. It has been fun to see everything out here, and there is a lot more I’d like to fit in before I head back, but I am ready to come back to Oregon.

Advertisement