I wanted a map to frame and hang in my living room. I like being able to reference places on the news as well as having a reference for conversations that involve traveling. (For some reason I have those conversations a lot.) But I also wanted something that DIDN'T look like it belongs in a 5th-grade social studies classroom. This map is perfect for that. It's very pleasing to the eye and feels more like a "grown up" map than most of the ones I've seen that use different solid colors to separate the states. It's also very nice to have the bordering parts of Canada and Mexico visible.