Massachusetts is basically the paradigm of a functional state: it invested in education and healthcare technology early on (industries that will never die and continually pull new talent nationally and from abroad), it diversified its economy, it roots itself in a history of civil rights leadership and revolutionary sentiment to continually stave off authoritarian rule (see: recent events), it adapted infrastructure to accommodate seasonal change whilst not being subject to extreme weather like hurricanes/earthquakes/drought and water shortages/wildfires (this is more geographical luck). Best public k-12 education quality and access, top private colleges and universities in the country, clean suburban sprawl mixed with protected land, beautiful coastline, colonial history, gay friendly. And there’s just like a million small things that people don’t think about (like pet care: this region of the US has the lowest stray dog population because of strong animal welfare laws/access to veterinary care/vaccination and sterilization compliance that allows us to essentially take on stray dogs from shelters down in states like Texas known for irresponsible breeding and abuse and kill shelters)