A reader sent in this list from yesterday's USA Today on 11 charming New England coastal towns.
- Bar Harbor, Maine
- Camden, Maine
- Kennebunkport, Maine
- Rye, New Hampshire
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- Newburyport, Massachusetts
- Chatham, Massachusetts
- Newport, Rhode Island
- Narragansett, Rhode Island
- Mystic, Connecticut
- Madison, Connecticut
If you could add one town and take one away, which would you do?
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I would like to add Milford,but I would be hesitant to remove any of the other lovely towns.
ReplyDeleteAnother vote for Milford. It’s the town with the longest shoreline in Connecticut. There are many fine beaches and a handsome Green. The Audubon lands at the mouth of the Housatonic (Herman Melville said, “the best tonic is the Housatonic.”), are spectacular.
DeleteRemove Bar Harbor, Maine, and add Marblehead, Massachusetts.
ReplyDeleteRemove Rye, NH, and add Barnstable, MA.
ReplyDeleteGood call!
DeleteDelete Bar Harbor (ruined by the cruise ships) and add Damariscotta
ReplyDeleteRemove Bar Harbor and add Sugar Hill, NH.
ReplyDeleteUmmm ... gentle reminder ... the article was about New England COASTAL towns.
DeleteSugar Hill is pretty, though and btw, it's NH's newest town, incorporated in 1962.
Opps . . . well, in that case, I would add the town of Nantucket, incorporated in 1687. (I would really like to add Monhegan Island but it's not an official town. It is an incorporated "plantation." )
DeleteAnonymous 9/8 7:40, my wife grew up in Barnstable. Though I'm not familiar with Rye, I concur with your endorsement. Lovely village. Her parents moved to Rhode Island years ago, but we've rented houses in Barnstable a few times when we haven't gone to the Vineyard.
ReplyDeleteRemove Bar Harbor and add Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA
ReplyDeleteSecond
DeleteThis existential question has given me pause. What will occur should I suggest deletion of one of these Prep Heaven Annexes? Will all the women immediately cease wearing Lilly and gold Knot earings? Will all the men burn their needlepoint belts and Sankaty-Logo polo shirts? Will all the Volvos registered in the deleted metropolis metamorph into Toyota's? Will all the adolescents presently enconsed at Groton and Emma Willard be called home to attend (sorry I have to type this) high school? Will everyone stop drinking Stormies and Bullshots? Will all the 50-year old Alden loafers be tossed into the garbage? Any what about all the Tennis Players in White? Will they be remanded to Walmart to find suitable rayon replacement exercise/casual wear? These thoughts haunt me to the point where I am unable to participate in this exercise. Oh, the hummanity!
ReplyDeleteMight this be the hummanity that snacks on hummus and drives Hummers?
DeleteWait a minute, I snack on hummus, am I to stop this consumption if I wish to continue to read this?
DeleteAlso isn't it "humanity"? Referencing either the Hindenburg or the WKRP Thanksgiving episode.
DeleteMarblehead would be a superb addition to be sure! Thank you so very much!
ReplyDeleteI love Westerly, Rhode Island!
ReplyDeleteNarragansett is a nice place, but not much of a town. I’m curious what the writers used as their criteria
ReplyDeletePlease remove Bar Harbor. It is the epitome of tackiness. Thanks
ReplyDeleteAmen
Delete+1
Delete+2! We summer on MDI and don't dare go to BH unless to stop at Hannaford's if we must.
DeleteI like how they have a teenager they hire for the summer to direct drivers around the tiny parking lot. :-)
DeleteThe Bar Harbor has a beautiful natural setting
ReplyDeleteMy daughter interned at a New York City magazine the spring semester of her senior year at Sarah Lawrence. Coming up with 'Best of' lists like these were last minute fillers always assigned to the interns, and that to the least experienced. The lists were merely compiled from a brief internet search. No surveys done or any real vetting was given to them. USA Today? Probably even less real effort.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to remove, but I like Newcastle, NH, and Rockport, MA.
ReplyDeleteAgree with the suggestions to remove Bar Harbor... it can be, as my mother once referred to it, "a bit honky tonk." But though, they're very small, would suggest addition of Northeast and Southwest Harbors... can't lose Mt. Desert Isle completely.
ReplyDeleteMaybe add Falmouth MA or Guilford CT and knock off poor Bar Harbor...although my children used to like the "Oceanarium."
ReplyDeleteAdd: Thomaston, ME
ReplyDeleteDitto Thomaston,ME!
DeleteBar Harbor haters can stay in CT and MA and make everyone happy
ReplyDeleteOr maybe stay in one of the lovely, less commercial villages that surround MDI and ferry over when in need of a shot glass or refrigerator magnet.
DeleteI use a Southwest Harbor frig magnet to display my Snob Certificate on my Sub-Zero(tm)
DeleteI'd like to add Rockport MA, Woods Hole MA, Warren RI, and Bristol RI.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely add Wickford, Rhode Island. Charming village with a main street lined with 17th and 18th century antique homes and a harbor facing down the West Passage of Narragansett Bay.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful responses to the question posed.
ReplyDeleteYet, I am left wondering what it is that makes the quintessential New England town. What would the town look like? What would the people be like? Does this quintessential New England town already exist?
I hope some you S.W.N.E. fans will share your thoughts.
Thanks, an S.W.N.E. fan.
For me, it's a vibrant & walkable downtown. Older but well kept homes (cedar shakes are a plus). A working port that is not just filled with pleasure craft. A diverse mix of residents (age, race, class). Someplace to buy fresh seafood, preferably a lobster or clam shack. A good pub doesn't hurt either.
DeleteThat's sounds wonderful. I would love that!
DeleteHonestly Madison isn't charming at all - Essex and Chester are far more charming. Castine is unbelievable
ReplyDeleteHaven't been to Nantucket or Edgartown in decades so don't know whether to suggest. Maybe Vineyard Haven?
ReplyDeleteThis is a crazy list. Rye? Good for surfing, I guess. Mystic? Hmmmmm. Maybe Barnstable and Marblehead lobbied to stay OFF this list......
ReplyDeleteTake off Newport and add Nahant.
ReplyDeleteI would add Watch Hill, RI and take out I don't know what.
ReplyDeleteDelete Newburyport. Add Centerville and/or Osterville.
ReplyDelete