MajorProblem50 t1_j26rmr4 wrote on December 30, 2022 at 1:37 AM

Considering you're from Vegas and Idaho, I suggest you visit all the port towns now that you live right next to the ocean. Massachusetts port towns have a lot of charms with Newburyport being the closest one to you. I would just look on the map and visit the most dense areas right on the coast: Salem, cape cod, Provincetown, Marblehead, Situate, etc.... These places are especially nice in the summer and fall.

History is everywhere in Massachusetts as we are one of the oldest state, even the woods have history.

For nature stuff, I prefer western Mass and Maine over New Hampshire. New Hampshire is kinda touristy and their landscape is full of new monoculture forests due to the whole state being logged at one point. The mountains are nice but it gets old. Maine has more charms and feels closer to nature than NH does, same with western Mass.

With that said, welcome to Mass. Feel free to reach out for recommendations as I've lived close to Haverhill my whole life.

WinsingtonIII t1_j28zie7 wrote on December 30, 2022 at 2:51 PM

I think your recommendation of the old port towns is spot on for someone coming from the mountain west. I love hiking in northern New England myself, and it is beautiful in its own way. But coming from Idaho OP will have had access to some of the most incredible mountain ranges in the world.

The old, historic port towns will be a completely new experience for them. The western part of the US simply does not have much in the way of truly historic, walkable settlements like that. Plus the ocean will be a totally new experience for someone from Nevada and Idaho.