Massachusetts History & Stereotypes Explained

Added: 2026-05-04

[00:00:00]Massachusetts, the Bay State. You probably know them for Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox, MIT, Harvard, Boston Cream Pie, Clam Chowder, Dunkin Donuts, Plymouth Rock, Cape Cod, Witch Trials, Goodwill Hunting, and the list goes on.

[00:00:15]It's in the New England region, has 14 counties and over 7 million people who are called base stators or more famously mass holes. The state's name comes from the Massachusetts tribe, and it means near the great hill. In this video, I talk about the history of the state, how the counties are, and maybe a few stereotypes here and there. So, let's just get into it.

[00:00:35]It all started with glaciers melting around 10,000 B.CE. Soon after, the Paleo Indians moved in. Over time, they started farming, fishing, made canoes, developed social systems, formed tribes, and lived everywhere from Cape Cod to the Birkshars. So, we take a big time skip now to the early 1500s when the first European explorers arrived. And then this happened. Hey, so the diseases the Europeans brought with them killed up to 90% of the coastal indigenous people, leaving their villages empty of population.

[00:01:09]In 1620, the pilgrims, a group of separatists who were escaping persecution by King James I, landed on what's now the Province Town Harbor and eventually settled in one of those empty villages and called it Plymouth. But living there was tough for them and around half of them died because of cold, starvation and diseases. They then negotiated a peace treaty with the Wanog tribe and with the help of Esquanto, a native who spoke English, they learned basic survival skills. They became buddies and in 1621 they threw a 3-day feast together which nowadays you call it Thanksgiving.

[00:01:44]Around 9 years later, another group called Puritans show up. They too wanted to get away from the king and were looking for a place to start a new life.

[00:01:52]They settled and soon established the Massachusetts Bay Colony via their royal charter which let them choose governors and run the colony themselves and they made Boston the capital. In 1675, Metacum known as King Philip started a massive uprising because for years the English took their lands and destroyed their hunting grounds. The uprising was brutal. King Philip was killed, towns got burned, thousands died, and in the end, the English won. In the upcoming years, the British started passing laws that limited their trace to Britain and taxed the hell out of them. But the colonists pretty much ignored the king.

[00:02:28]He then merged all of the New England colonies into one giant colony, calling it the Dominion of New England, which was ruled by a single governor called Edmund Andros.

[00:02:39]In the year 1688, England had a revolution. King James II was thrown away and got replaced by William and Mary who were joint monarchs. When the news of the revolution reached Boston, the colonists went to Andros, arrested his ass, and sent him back to England.

[00:02:55]By 1691, the new monarchs decided they should be the ones who appoint the new governor. And it was around this time that the Salem witch trials happened.

[00:03:03]And it was over something stupid like this. Bad weather, bad harvest this year. It's because of her. She's a witch. What? No. Can a man just accuse someone of witchcraft and hang her like good old times anymore? Gez, what happened to our values?

[00:03:18]In 1764, Britain started to heavily tax the colony. They sent tax collectors, but the pissed-off colonists harassed them and eventually boycotted British goods. A few years later, some British soldiers killed five colonists, and the hatred between the two groups grew deeper. In response to unfair British policies in 1773, a group of colonists in disguise boarded three British ships and dumped about 92,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor. So Britain closed the Boston Harbor and revoked Massachusetts self-government which backfired and soon the colonists started to fight against them. They won some battles, lost some, but eventually during the siege of Boston under the command of George Washington, the British were forced to evacuate and sail away from Boston. And to this day, they celebrate that day in Suffach County. In 1780, John Adams drafted their constitution and 8 years later, Massachusetts became a state.

[00:04:15]From then on, Massachusetts became the manufacturing capital of the US with many of its towns becoming manufacturing hubs. At the beginning of the 19th century, they had some setbacks because of the embargo act and the war of 1812, but the restrictions only made them stronger since they had to make their own things. Massachusetts, especially Boston, was big on abolitionism before it was cool. In 1855, they were the first state to ban school segregation.

[00:04:43]Of course, it was largely ignored, but we appreciate the gesture. During the Civil War, their factories helped with building weapons and over 150,000 soldiers were sent over.

[00:04:54]After the war, we had the Great Boston Fire, the invention of telephone, and opening of the first subway system in the US. Sucket, New York. Early 1900s was a time for industry. They all exploded. Not literally, though. This made millions of foreigners to get a one-way ticket to Massachusetts. And that's why the state is so diverse. In 1919, they had a 25 ft high molasses flood.

[00:05:18]During the Great Depression, Massachusetts was hit hard because, you know, people stopped buying things. But everything changed when the World War II began. The factories switched to war production and produced lots of jobs. In 1950s, the rust belt started to creep up on Massachusetts. The textile industry left the state for the south because it was cheaper, and the milltowns basically became ghost towns. And by the 70s, almost all of them left. In the 80s, Massachusetts got its economy around high-tech. They spammed the state with tech companies. This too made a lot of money for them and they called it the Massachusetts miracle. But the miracle was short-lived because by the '90s, lots of those companies collapsed or shrunk. From 1991 to 2007, they worked on replacing the Boston Central Highway, which cost like crazy. In 2004, they were the first state to legalize samesex marriage. In 2006, they got some health insurance which became the model for Obamacare and during the co they helped with cooking up vaccines. Nowadays, it's a heavily blue state and is filled with biotech and medical companies and lots of prestigious colleges. The old mill towns are reviving. It's expensive as hell and there are Dunkin Donuts every 50 ft or so. And yep, that's Massachusetts for you.

[00:06:36]This county is Massachusetts, Florida.

[00:06:38]to attract old people. The prices are crazy in the town of Barnstable, but it has that great Cape vibe and energy.

[00:06:44]Scenery-wise, it's lovely. Here's a picture of a person having a lovely time during the summer. And here's the winter version. Falmouth is one of the biggest towns on the Cape. The population triples in the summer, and so does the traffic. And the winters are peaceful, maybe a bit too peaceful and quiet. Too damn quiet that your thoughts would drive you crazy. Born, the Cape Cod Canal cuts the town in half. But the residents of these three villages that are on the mainland side of the canal will kill you if you tell them that they don't live on the Cape. And Yarmouth is a rich, nice and quiet place. And there is only one thing to eat there. Grul only grured hill folks. It has an artsy wibe and it's filled with yappies, educated people, and gardeners. North of the county feels like Vermont. It's rural and it's filled with working-class people. And South County feels like Connecticut. It's filled with second homes for rich New Yorkers and cultural institutions. Pittsfield is the biggest city in Birkshshire. But still, it's pretty small with a slow pace of life.

[00:07:47]And the folks from there are referred to as the pets. North Adams is a cool little city with some drug problems, not much job opportunities, some pockets of poverty, and young population that wants to get out of there ASAP. Also, they have the mass mocha. Great Bington.

[00:08:02]They're stereotyped as rich, uptight white people who drink way too much wine and all own a sailboat. Some people even refer to it as Borington because there ain't much to do there.

[00:08:14]Bristol County or West Portugal. Taton is an industrial city with a silver smithing history where everyone knows each other and it has lots of places to explore. Fall River was known for its mills. It has lots of interesting architecture and landscapes, and I think it's better than most other depressed mill towns. Hell, I think it's the best depressed milltown in the state. And the place is swarmed with white people who claim they have the best Portuguese food in the nation. New Betford has a drug reputation and is considered dangerous by New England standards, which is another way of saying it's super safe by American standards. They're also mortal enemies with Fall River. And Attalboroough was once known as the jewelry capital of the world.

[00:08:58]Dukes County is made up of 32 islands with Martha's Vineyard being the biggest. Edgartown has a white progressive old money banker navy blazer yacht club vibe to it. Also, it's one of the few island counties in the country, Oakluffs. So, you see, the town of Tisbury used to be a dry town, meaning there was no alcohol sales. So, this focused the bar scene to develop in Oakluffs, making it the crazy party town. And now Okluffs is too drunk and Vineyard Haven doesn't want it.

[00:09:31]Essex has a rural feeling to it, especially at the central areas. Also, something about the spaghetti and gabagul cuz there are a lot of Italians there. Salem, the city where the 1692 witch trials happened. Now they have turned that into a business. Tourists swarm the place in fall for their Halloween and spooky aesthetics. And also they have this statue which some locals hate. There are two opinions when it comes to Salem. Some say it's one of the liveliest places on the northshore and some say it's where joy goes to die.

[00:10:02]Lawrence is like the 33rd province of Dominican Republic. There are also lots of Puerto Ricans. Based off what people from surrounding areas say about it, Lawrence is a druginfested war zone where people get gunned down and overdose on drugs at the streets every day. But this isn't accurate. Now it's more like it. It's cold, you know. Len is a beautiful and diverse city. It has a bad rap for crime, but it's gotten better over the years. It even has a rhyme sort of thing. Len Len, the city of sin. You never go out the way you came in. What's the way to get to Len?

[00:10:37]Turn it up, turn it down, and turn it in again. Love it. And Haveril is a nifty little place with a big Italian population. And it used to be the shoe city.

[00:10:50]Two words would describe the Franklin County the best. He hipster farms. It's safe, quiet, and there's not much to do.

[00:10:57]Greenfield has been on the verge of greatness for a long time. Like every 10 years or so, people start talking about how great Greenfield is going to be in 10 years. But considering their recent developments, maybe finally it's happening. They're too isolated from any major population centers and it feels sort of out of the way without being too far away from anything. And Montigue is famous for the bookmail.

[00:11:22]Hampton County has a woodsy vibe and is practically run by Dunkin Donuts.

[00:11:27]Springfield is an urban city and many people say that is crimeridden. I mean, yeah, there's some violence and poverty related crimes, but anyone acting like it's an unlivable hell hole is completely out of touch. Wester sees a Springfield as a suburb of Hartford and not even a part of Massachusetts. Chapi is nicknamed as the crossroads of New England because four interstate highways run through it and they always fight with West Springfield over the nickname.

[00:11:53]Holio is the poor man's Springfield which is scary when you think about how Springfield is already the poor man's Springfield. The locals don't want you to think that their city isn't as scary as crimeridden as you'd think. They don't want the rents to go up and Westfield was known as the whip city.

[00:12:09]Don't get the wrong idea. They used to produce whips.

[00:12:15]Northampton is a lively, progressive and safe place. There's a hippie bourgeoa bohemian culture in there with lots of artsy type college students. It's a bit far from everything and it feels like Seattle or Portland on a much smaller scale. Also, there are lots of lesbians.

[00:12:31]The town of Ammerst is all about colleges and schools. East Hampton has gone through a lot of gentrification and it's right next to Northampton. They're similar in many ways, but East Hampton has more of a community. Belchure Town is really in the middle of nowhere and it's surrounded by wilderness. It's very quiet and peaceful, but suddenly it's becoming an area of expensive real estate.

[00:12:57]Middle Sex, it's a pretty big county.

[00:12:59]Cambridge is directly next to Boston.

[00:13:01]It's one of the most liberal cities in the US, even compared to the rest of Massachusetts, which is deep blue already. and it often gets jokingly referred to as the People's Republic of Cambridge. In the space of a few years, it basically became the super expensive estypical yepy theme park everyone thinks of now when Cambridge comes to mind. I say it's a great place to live and start a family. So anyway, the prices and I got to say Cambridge during fall looks freaking sublime. Lel is a diverse blue color former mill city. It's an awesome place, but back in the 80s and 90s, it was notorious for being a place for gang activities and drugs. And to this day, a lot of those bougie town folks think it's an unsafe hell hole.

[00:13:46]Because of their immigrant waves, it's a super diverse place. There are people from all over the world there, especially Cambodians. I mean, yeah, there's a homeless problem, but their Cambodian food is great. Newton, the garden city. It's known for its villages and those large Victorian homes.

[00:14:03]Somerville is immediately north of Boston and is filled with hipsters. And conquered is where the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired and the British lost.

[00:14:16]Nantucket is a gorgeous and very expensive place and it's windy all the damn time. There are two types of people in Nantucket. One, the millionaires or billionaires who go there for vacations.

[00:14:27]And two, Caribbean service workers or people who run the businesses and infrastructure that allows the super rich to vacation there. The people in Nuket drink like crazy mostly during the winter because other than fishing, there isn't jack to do. Then Norfolk, where the infrastructure could be better and the property tax is higher. Weimoth. It's a densely populated place and it's the birthplace of Abigail Adams, one of the early advocates for women's rights. Brooklyn is a wealthy suburb and it's where JFK was born. It's mostly surrounded by Boston, but it's an independent town.

[00:15:03]Quincy is an old industrial city and it should be labeled as Massachusetts Chinatown. Also, it's full of gunners since they ran off the Minute Man. The average Quincy resident is a sweatpants and hoodiew wearing stressed out person who's either coming from buying or going to buy cigarettes.

[00:15:22]Brockton is a working-class city that used to produce a ton of shoes. Also, it's home to the boxing legend Rocky Marciano. Plymouth is a centrist town and it's big. Probably the biggest in Massachusetts. Do you know why Plymouth is so big? They're trying to compensate for their tiny rock. Marshfield is part of the Irish Riviera. It's sort of a retired cop town and it's more workingclass and brawling compared to their neighbor Ducksberry. Middleboro has lots of cranberries and they were once known as the shoe capital of the world. We worm. It's like a little bit of Appalachia in the middle of bunch of waspy suburbs. Any news story that starts with man is going to be wacky and it's totally interchangeable with Florida man. People from Plymouth constantly bash on Ducksberry. It's a stereotype as a place filled with rich, snotty elitists, and some even call it the Luxberry.

[00:16:17]There's plenty going on in Suffukk. So, you have watched these movies and you say to yourself, Boston is filled with white, lower class, racist criminals.

[00:16:26]Well, hold your horses. This is very exaggerated. Not all of them are white.

[00:16:30]The traffic is ridiculous in this city.

[00:16:32]The drivers are aggressive and there really are a crazy number of Dunkin Donuts, but they almost never go out of business because they're necessary.

[00:16:41]Also, in Boston and as a whole in the New England region, the iced coffee demand is completely unaffected by the season. Dyke's iced coffee basically runs through their veins. The people are blunt, straightforward, bordering on, but on a macro level, they're extremely kind and helpful. They just don't deal with BS very well and have no problem expressing their displeasure with someone's ignorant behavior. They're kind of people who will pull you out of a burning car wreck while simultaneously making fun of you for getting in the wreck in the first place. People from Boston are functional and so is their fashion sense. So don't be alarmed if they all dress like each other. They hate New York. But do you know who they hate even more? The slow walkers.

[00:17:24]Especially the ones with a phone in their hands who stop like every 20 seconds. It drives them nuts. They have a racism reputation, but I think they're more tribal. There's relatively little actual dislike of other people and rather a lot of sticking with your own people. There are three types of people you'll come across in Boston. A souy Irish bluecollar worker, a Harvard educated academic, and a workaholic who works like 80 hours a week and makes like 250K. Chelsea is a workingclass densely packed Latino hub with a strong sense of community. Also, it's super convenient to downtown Boston. Ravier used to be a part of Chelsea until 1871, and it has a River Beach, which was the first public beach in the US.

[00:18:10]Worcester is the second most populated city in New England, and it offers you the small town USA vibe. The city has been improving, but still, it's rough around the edges. People from the rest of Massachusetts like to break their balls and in turn they all see the minor cities of the state as annoyances and it has a kind blue color population.

[00:18:29]Fitchburg, it's one of those old New England towns that the tech bros haven't gentrified yet and they still haven't got over the fact that the GE plant left in '98. Lemonster and Fitchburg have a big rivalry. The people from Lemonster make fun of Fishber folks any chance they get. and they think they're better cuz they're more rich, are closer to Route 2, and have better schools.

[00:18:50]Shrewsbury is filled with rich Asians who drive BMWs, and Gardener was known as the chair city, and it's isolated.

[00:18:57]Well, this is it. Thank you for watching.