New England Coastal Towns seem to have a hold on people, bringing them back again and again. What’s the big draw? Scroll to see 7 reasons why Coastal New England draws the same people time and time again. (In my dinky opinion, of course 🙂 This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to use my links to purchase certain items, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. I appreciate your support.
It is no secret that New England coastal towns are charming as all get-out and expensive. That said, the same families continue to summer vacation in these quaint New England beach towns.
I can assure you, I did not come from one of these families. Growing up, if I heard people saying they were going to Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, or Cape Cod, I felt like I couldn’t even breathe the same air as them. I figured these were places I would never make it to. Also, I was never one to vacation in the same place every year. The world is so big, I wanted to experience as much of it as possible. Going to the same destination constantly was against everything I stood for. But then…
A year and a half into the COVID pandemic, as a nurse, I needed to get some fresh air, but we didn’t want to fly. I stumbled across what I thought was a “hidden gem”, Newport, Rhode Island, LOL! We also visited Nantucket on that first trip. To say we fell in love is probably an understatement! Two and a half months later, we piled in the car again and spent two weeks lollygagging through Rhode Island, Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Portland, Maine. And now, we keep coming back. In this post, I will tell you why…
This post shares 7 reasons why people visit New England coastal towns again and again.
Planning a New England coastal trip? I put together my favorite summer essentials. These are some of the things I actually pack for Rhode Island, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and Cape Cod. Enjoy!
shop my Coastal new england summer essentials on amazon
7 reasons people visit New England coastal towns:
1. Aesthetic: Harbors, Hydrangeas, and Cedar Shingle Siding
I am all about aesthetics and decor, and coastal New England just has charm. Harbors full of sailboats with the sun setting behind them are just one of the best views! Walking along a boat-filled harbor, or plopping down on a bench, slurping chowder while watching boats is one of my happy places. The bustling hydrangeas lining cedar shingle-covered cottages whisk me away into a fairytale and warm my heart. I could wander about and literally never be bored with looking at it all. To say that this aesthetic is all there is would be untrue, but it can be found in New England coastal towns if this is what you’re after.
tip: if YOU WANT that quintassential New England aesthetic slapping you in the face, i’d suggest a stroll down old north wharf on nantucket.
2. Seafood /Food
Okay, so we are total foodies, and we are known to pick our next destination based on food. Don’t we all? We are totally down for fresh seafood any day, making these New England coastal towns food gold for us! The clamshacks are a given, but don’t limit yourself to just those. There are endless breakfast joints, pizza spots, European-inspired restaurants, and fine dining. Honestly, the list goes on, and the possibilities are endless! We are slowly eating our way through these areas and loving every second of it!
Tidbit: Rhode Island has one of the highest concentrations of restaurants per capita in the country, meaning amazing seafood and food options are never far away.
3. Sunsets
So I have a new hobby, sunset chasing 🙂 Coastal New England has the best sunsets I have ever seen, and I have lived in San Diego. We have been taught our whole lives that the East Coast can hang its hat on sunrises and the West Coast can hang its hat on sunsets. Maybe that is true if you’re in the right spots, but in San Diego, they have sunny, clear blue skies daily. In my opinion, you need some clouds to make the sunsets top-notch. Just trust me, plan a few nights on your summer vacation to watch the sunset. You will not be disappointed.
Check out my ranking of sunsets on a past coastal New England trip on Instagram: Hint: These are some of my favorite places to watch the sunset…
4. Summer Hype
I absolutely love the high summer brings. Everyone is happier, healthier, and out and about. I grew up in the Northeast, and I believe that anywhere that experiences winters develops a true appreciation for the warmer months. You never take nice days for granted; rather, you get outside as much as you can. When I was living in San Diego, I loved the weather for sure, but I missed the hype and appreciation of summer that the Northeast boasted. New England coastal towns seem to come alive in the spring and summer and use the winter to recoup from the hype, which I love for them 🙂 It’s like a forever countdown to the next summer and resting up for it. Like The Summer I Turned Pretty, “It was only the summer that mattered.”
5. Nostalgic
This area, particularly Cape Cod, in my opinion, has a very nostalgic feel. It feels like I stepped back into the 90s when life was simpler, and people were outside instead of on devices. The mini golf courses and mom-and-pop ice cream shops remind me of being a kid in the summer months. There is so much more to do than those two things for sure (such as endless beaches, parks, bike/walking trails, museums, etc), but those two are the ones that remind me of my childhood.
Honestly, just the simplicity of going to breakfast, sitting on the beach for half of the day with my nose in a book, snacking in the sun, frolicking down the beach, and hitting an ice cream shop before calling it a day reminds me of simpler times before social media and AI forced half of our creative brain cells into a comatose state. It’s an area of the U.S. that simply brings you back in time.
6. New England Accents
Lob-stah, chow-dah, pah-sley… The New England accents just make me smile. I cannot even help it. They sound like they have business and know everything to me. Like they’re not to be messed with. It literally makes my day to hear really strong ones. I’m a little bummed because I feel like the younger generations have these accents less and less. A local told me that once TV became popular, the accents in the area got to be less, and then social media has made it so most of the younger ones don’t have the accent. That makes me sad because I love it! By the way, if you haven’t seen the Smart Park (Smaht Pahk) commercial from a former Super Bowl, you need to watch it. It’s the best. My husband and I watch it on YouTube over and over sometimes 🙂
7. Nice Locals
I cannot say enough about how nice the locals in the area have been. They are very welcoming and accommodating despite a million tourists all summer long. I love that the younger generation has amazing customer service and communication skills, again reminding me of simpler times when people knew how to talk to one another. They have a close-knit community that supports each other while still being open to new ones joining the ranks. It really is rare, and I think that is a huge reason people come back, for the people and the “all are welcome” vibe they give off. I cannot promise everyone a great experience, but the overwhelming majority in my book have been consistently and notably nicer than any other place I have visited.
That’s a wrap on 7 reasons I think people visit New England coastal towns over and over again.
I hope you found this post helpful. While it is just my personal opinion with zero merit, I hope it can still inspire people to visit this very unique and welcoming part of the country. Thanks so much for reading. Happy Travels 🙂
shop my Coastal new england summer essentials on amazon
This post shares 7 reasons why people visit New England coastal towns again and again.
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