From someone who has lived in all the areas you mentioned...NE is one of the most intolerant regions of the country.... sorry but thats just the way I see it.
BTW have lived in Buffalo,VA Beach, Boston, NY, Albany (Work area covered upstate NY, VT and western MASS), Allentown, Fairfax, Detroit, Chicago and soon to be Houston. Temporarily lived in GA, NC, KY, FLA, Korea, Japan, Washington....
NE is the most uptight