New England (this is what ‘old England’ should look like!)
Rhode Island, DolceLoca
You have noticed that this site features lots of beautiful art, to inspire how England could look, if there was no litter, no vape shops, no multi-storey car parks and no massive ugly shopping centres!
What’s interesting is that despite the USA sometimes representing the worst of ‘urban sprawl’, the six states of New England are so beautiful, they kind of look like England should look, if councils and town planners had some vision!
Most of these states were founded by pilgrims who left England (that’s why you’ll find cities and towns called Plymouth, Boston etc). The six states of New England (which is on the northeast corner of the USA, near New York) are:
- Vermont
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
These (rather affluent) states are home to quiet roads, pretty white churches, lovely little main streets, maple trees, village greens, clean villages and community shops. Interestingly, the folks here tend to be quite liberal in their beliefs.
So unlike Texas (which supports the death penalty but has higher crime), here locals vote against it, and have lower crime rates.
Compare this with England: a traffic-logged country with litter strewn on streets and in rivers, noise and drunks on the street, and you have to drive to get to a supermarket or any other shop:
Today, the real England sometimes feels like 50 million people, driving around a motorway forever. Paul Kingsnorth
In New England (which feels more like old England), locals still meet up for coffee in local shops, and browse independent bookstores. People walk to the organic farmers’ market, to find pumpkins in autumn, to make soup and pie!
The Sunrise Guide is a coupon book in Maine, that is a great idea we could use. Each year, it produces tips on green living, with discount codes for small green shops and services. The books sell themselves (they pay for themselves in no time). And schools and non-profits can buy them on a sell-or-return basis, to raise local funds.
Main’s green campaigner Amara Ifeji says her favourite place is Chick Hill. Which in autumn foliage, ‘kind of looks like a Bob Ross painting’.
Life Moves Slower in New England
Maine, DolceLoca
At the coast, small harbours have little boats that bob along, and there are preserved lighthouses where people can take in the history and sea air.
There are hundreds of miles of public footpaths, and vast belts of protected woodland like Vermont’s Green Mountain National Forest.
The architecture in New England is stunning. From colonial mansions to red brick townhouses, the churches all have white steeples, within walkable communities.
Inspired by Georgian English buildings, the simple detail is also found in meeting houses (Quakers had a strong influence here, which still remains in the simple yet beautiful building styles).
Summer brings music at local bandstands, and historic inns offer comfy beds, good coffee and home-cooked food. Old mills have been turned into artisan bakeries or artist studios. And streets keep their small-scale scale, so people walk, meet and chat. These towns have not lost their souls.
