32. Connecticut

We may have come to the segment of the list where I don’t have much to say of the states here. It’s not that they’re bad really in any way, but I have a hard time pinpointing what makes them special. Connecticut is one of these states.

Connecticut I feel like suffers from really having a lack of identity unlike the other states in the Northeast. Like I really struggle to name one thing that truly screams “Connecticut”. The state is rich with history going back to some of the oldest moments of what our nation would eventually become, and that is really cool (I would be remiss to mention that my ancestry on my grandmother’s side goes back to the first governor of the New Haven Colony!). At the same time it didn’t have some of the most influential settlements that are in New York, Massachusetts, or Pennsylvania. And now, much of the state acts as a part of the New York City metro area without standing out on it’s own.

Hartford, Connecticut

As far as scenery goes, it, like all other New England states, is very pretty. It is incredible how most of these states never gave up their “colony” feel, and you can really get a sense while your there of how old the civilization is. Outside of the cities, it doesn’t give up it’s wooded-ness, and it was a delightful drive through despite the traffic. The cities themselves though, I’ve heard aren’t the best. I’m not really itching to see Hartford or anything.

Ultimately, this state was another hard placement on the list. But when there are so many great states yet to come, I can’t really see a state like Connecticut much higher.