I think OP missed some significant parts of Boston:

"There's history on every corner of Boston—especially Acorn Street. It's one of the most photographed places in the city, as it gives visitors a taste of old England. The brick buildings, cobblestones, and lanterns all are reminiscent of the most charming parts of Britain."

https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/acorn-street-boston-royalty-free-image-1645118841.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:*

Might want to go back and try again!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking a stab at solving OP's problem (without buying her a plane ticket)

The 44 Best U.S. Cities to Visit That Look Just Like Europe
https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/g4384/american-towns-that-look-like-europe/

Not OP, but this is great!

And on the list are Old Town Alexandria, Washington DC and…. Boston!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You went to the wrong place. Salem is not very nice. And the drive from Boston to Salem is very depressing. Next time head out west from Boston to Concord etc.

OP here. Yes, Salem was so sad. Halloween vibe was very limited. And the drive Boston-Salem was depressing too. Salem was overcrowded too.

Oh man. This makes me sad. I always pictured Salem to be amazing at Halloween.

Ignore the op it is amazing

It is, they do this huge street festival with tons of costumed actors and booths selling witches hats. It's fun. I have a friend who got married up there in October and I thought the towns north of Boston looked like something out of a picture book.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. All good comments. I had unreasonable expectations and I didn’t find the Boston area as charming as many said it would be. In Boston I went to Beacon Hill (looks just like Georgetown) and North End (depressing Baltimore like vibe of an old and once thriving European neighborhood). Gloucester and Rockport in MA looked depressing. Just sad. Weather was great so I guess New England is just not my style.

On a different note - any places in the US that look like Europe? Any part of Europe - it doesn’t matter what part of Europe at this point.

umm the nasty communist housing in Berlin? that sort of Europe? we relocated to Milwaukee - the Eastside is pretty European as is Wauwatosa, the public museum has these adorable recreations of the village homes that the European immigrants who settled the city came from that have original donated artifacts. I think you'd like it and the fall is gorgeous here, there's also a genuine old European church on Marquette grounds. If you really want a European vibe- hit up quebec for old times and Montreal for contemporary Europe. Yikes or drive to those brand new apartments that all look eerily the same in nova/gaitherberg. They remind me of the housing new housing estates in Surrey, some of them even look like the horrid colorful apartments in Vienna on the modern side of the Danube.

OP, I'm not quite sure what to say about your disappointment in NE-well I do agree some of it is tired looking, but there is so much natural beauty especially in fall. It doesn't look European-it looks colonial.

There is a bavarian looking city in Georgia called Helena? I saw it on tv but wasn't paying attention. Maybe that would be a place you'd enjoy.

Anonymous wrote:Have you been to America? This whole country is a s-hole. And yes, New England is the best of it. Which tells you something.

And yet millions of people risk their lives every year to get here. Sigh, those poor people.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. All good comments. I had unreasonable expectations and I didn’t find the Boston area as charming as many said it would be. In Boston I went to Beacon Hill (looks just like Georgetown) and North End (depressing Baltimore like vibe of an old and once thriving European neighborhood). Gloucester and Rockport in MA looked depressing. Just sad. Weather was great so I guess New England is just not my style.

On a different note - any places in the US that look like Europe? Any part of Europe - it doesn’t matter what part of Europe at this point.

You need to go to Cape Ann before Labor Day. After that, things change significantly, especially Rockport.

Gloucester is depressing. It's an industrial fishing village (that was for a long time the port of choice for most US heroin importers) desperately trying to revitalize. Not sure why you would think to go there in the fall. I grew up there and love its grittiness, but I wouldn't tell anyone to visit there outside Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You went to the wrong place. Salem is not very nice. And the drive from Boston to Salem is very depressing. Next time head out west from Boston to Concord etc.

OP here. Yes, Salem was so sad. Halloween vibe was very limited. And the drive Boston-Salem was depressing too. Salem was overcrowded too.

Oh man. This makes me sad. I always pictured Salem to be amazing at Halloween.

Ignore the op it is amazing

Anonymous wrote:OP is depressing. I’ve never heard of such close mindedness.

Seriously? I have hundreds of examples of a bigger close mindedness. OP sounds depressed though. PP you must have not been around much

Anonymous wrote:Taking a stab at solving OP's problem (without buying her a plane ticket)

The 44 Best U.S. Cities to Visit That Look Just Like Europe
https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/g4384/american-towns-that-look-like-europe/

Not OP, but this is great!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For more of a New England feel, try Burlington, VT and the Berkshires.

Not op but which town in the Berkshires are nice?

When people say the berkshires are nice they are almost always talking about Lenox. Or maybe Amherst. Northampton is also nice, maybe great Barrington, maybe Sturbridge but those aren’t all berkshires proper.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was depressing about it?

PP here.. i just re-read your post.

You know that NE is really really really old, right? It's going to be "tired". They are not going to have new fangled buildings in their downtowns.

Also, it's the fall. It's cold up there. There aren't going to be too many festivals outside.

What were you expecting, exactly?

Like any region there are parts of NE that are tired and rundown. Where exactly did you go to that you felt it was depressing?

OP here. I don’t mind old architecture. I love it! I was expecting for Boston and other towns to look more like European cities in Germany/Austria/Switzerland. It was depressing.

Montreal might be more of what you seek.

Or New Orleans or old San Juan. There are parts of New England that might look a bit like rural England, I guess. But I’m guessing that’s not what you think of as Europe.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was depressing about it?

PP here.. i just re-read your post.

You know that NE is really really really old, right? It's going to be "tired". They are not going to have new fangled buildings in their downtowns.

Also, it's the fall. It's cold up there. There aren't going to be too many festivals outside.

What were you expecting, exactly?

Like any region there are parts of NE that are tired and rundown. Where exactly did you go to that you felt it was depressing?

OP here. I don’t mind old architecture. I love it! I was expecting for Boston and other towns to look more like European cities in Germany/Austria/Switzerland. It was depressing.

Montreal might be more of what you seek.

OP is depressing. I’ve never heard of such close mindedness.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you been to America? This whole country is a s-hole. And yes, New England is the best of it. Which tells you something.

You must a Trump believer. America is not a s-hole. I was in Vermont last weekend and it was beautiful. Maybe it is just you who is old and tired op

Hah! I am old and tired but far from a Trump believer. In fact, I think the Trumpiest parts of America are the crapiest. I happen to love NE but recognize that parts of it do have ugly sprawling strip malls too. OP clearly didn’t go to the quaintest parts of Boston and missed the cute NE towns that many people have noted.