The Ugly, Good, and Bad of New England – And Hub Pages

Just a ramble today about the ugly, the good, and the bad of New England and Hub Pages – but hoping you’ll find it amusing.

The Ugly:

Saw a hub page from a mid-westerner today ranting about New England and how it ruins everything. I’d link to it but he doesn’t deserve it. The dude has obviously got some huge chip on his shoulder and decided to share it with the world. He lists out 100 items including Dunkin Donuts, Tom Brady, Red Sox – yes, it was undergraduate humor stuff.

That’s one of the major problems with Web 2.0 properties and people that use it like that – it just adds noise to the Internet and no value.

Anyway, this isn’t about hub pages and freedom of speech but I’ll keep on topic about New England. The rant took me down the path of everything to be grateful for the region rather than negatives.

The Good:

A report released recently of best states to live in the U.S. listed all six New England states in the top ten – Vermont was top. Criteria used were percentage of kids that graduated high school, health coverage and a host of other criteria too long to list.

Another recent list by Forbes of the prettiest towns in the USA had three from New England in the top ten. These were: Burlington, Vermont; Rockport, Maine; and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

National Geographic Traveler magazine consistently identifies Cape Cod and Islands, Berkshires and Acadia National Park as top destinations in USA. And… well I could go on but you get the point.

The Bad:

Does that mean everything is right with the region? No, it doesn’t.

I’m continually embarrassed by the actions of our politicians in New England and those that represent us. And despite the affluence of southern New England, making a living is almost impossible in the northern states of New Hampshire and Maine.

I hate that friends and family have to move away to be able to afford to rent or buy a house and Boston cab drivers are so rude. My own personal beef is it remains too cold for too long but not as long as the Mid-west. Sorry couldn’t resist a final dig.

So throw your comments at me I’m thick-skinned I can take it. And I promise to return to writing about things I know something about for my next posts and hope that writers on Hub Pages follow my lead.

But I’m not holding my breath!

Jack Spratt