Readers write about the best places to live in New England:

Tomaston, CT, and Bethel, Maine

I have two candidates, Tomaston Ct and Bethel Maine. I nominate both for the same reasons they are picture post card examples of friendly small towns. Tomaston even has an opera house!
John, no community given

Walpole, MA
Walpole has a strong community spirit, lots of older neighborhoods with modest to spectacular homes on tree-lined streets and people who have never left town to help give this southwest Boston suburb strong community roots.  The downtown has three "village greens," with lots of community activities throughout the year, including a tree- lighting ceremony during the holidays and concerts on the common in the summer.  The downtown also has several restaurants, a quilt shop, antique stores, a yarn shop, Joe's Barber Shop, an independent pharmacy and other stores that lend a small-town feel.  With that said, there's room for improvement as there are too many empty storefronts and still not enough interesting things to do.  Bird Park and Adams Farm are beautiful and lend plenty of open spaces for recreation. In East Walpole, there's almost a village-like feel with as its industrial roots led to close knit neighborhoods and a sleepy "downtown" that looks more like a small New Hampshire center.  Walpole also has two community swimming pools. The taxes in Walpole are high and generic residential development is creeping in, but Walpole still has enough charm and spirit to make it a nice place to live. Plus, it's easily commutable to Boston, MA, and Providence, RI!
JB, Walpole, MA