Massachusetts

As you said, it's a nasty, crime-ridden hell hole.

I used to live in a nasty, crime-ridden hell hole of a neighborhood when I was a poor student. Now, with "gentrification" and the "urban young families" I'd need close to a half a million bucks (not happening) to buy an apartment in my old ratty building, which looks absolutely high end and fancy-pants now. I go by that old neighborhood every now and again and I see a mother with a stroller where some guy got stabbed back in the day, and an old guy walking a little dog where that drive by happened...and oh, I remember the day when that apartment...and that apartment... and that apartment got burgled, and so-and-so got jumped in the foyer getting his mail...! But nowadays, it's all nice and landscaped and clean and swept and pretty amazing. Children are playing in the little park where the heroin deals used to go down.

Money changes everything.

As for MA and CT fitting into the size of TX Cadillac, the population density of those two tiny states (around ten million) is nothing to sneeze at, even with recent migrations. Add in VT, NH and little ole RI and that's three million more. And WAY less drive time than someone going from one corner of TX to the other..!