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In 2016, every single town in western Rhode Island voted for Donald Trump as well as all of the Connecticut towns situated east of I-395. To deny that this area -- the area in which I grew up, mind you -- is non-conservative is disingenuous at best. Welcome to the Stix!
I never said it wasn't. Just saying that you can't say CT is better than RI just because you personally witnessed more Trump 2016 signs in RI. The facts actually show that he had MORE support in CT than RI. Therefore, your logic would make RI the better state.
Disclaimer: I hate Trump with every ounce of my body. Please go forward and continue hating places that voted for him, as I'll be doing the same. Carry on
I never said it wasn't. Just saying that you can't say CT is better than RI just because you personally witnessed more Trump 2016 signs in RI. The facts actually show that he had MORE support in CT than RI. Therefore, your logic would make RI the better state.
Disclaimer: I hate Trump with every ounce of my body. Please go forward and continue hating places that voted for him, as I'll be doing the same. Carry on
The Hartford area is a pit, moreso even than Providence.
People can reasonably disagree about Hartford itself but the Hartford area has some of the best towns/communities/housing anywhere. Some really choice communities around Hartford, a pretty strong economy/high paying jobs, and much less expensive for what you get than the New York and Boston suburbs. City to city, Providence is much more attractive than Hartford.
I'm a little biased being a CTer, although I've spent a lot of time in the West Warwick and Narragansett areas when my sister lived there. Spent many days at Misquamicut beach as well.
As far as the capital cities go, Providence is more or less part of Bostons CSA region. Hartford is independent of any larger city, unless of course you count Springfield, which by every metric besides city population, is the smaller city.
Providence has a higher population and is growing by an average of 400 people each year. Hartfords population at this time is virtually static, not really going up or down.
Hartford has by far the second best skyline in New England, building wise. The Travelers Tower was the world's tallest building outside of New York City upon completion, a title the Prudential Tower held as well. Providence may, however finally beat Hartford in height with the Hope Point tower.
Hartford has the 40,000 seat Rentschler Field (East Hartford), 16,300 seat XL Center, and a 6,200 seat D&D Park. Providence has the 14,300 seat D&D center, and 20,000 seat Brown Stadium.
The Providence Place Mall is impressive. Hartford unfortunately doesn't have it's Civic Center Mall anymore. Both have convention centers.
Providence rerouted I 195. Opening up precious acres for development. Hartford must contend with replacing it's crumbling I 84 viaduct, possibly going above and beyond to reinvent the entire area.
Both beautiful cities with loads of history that will hopefully attract business/residents in the coming years.
Urban areas: Providence is better than anything in CT. As the previous poster stated, CT has a lot of them, but they can't compete with Providence.
Suburbs, towns, and rural parts: CT is a massive suburb, mostly of NYC, so CT.
Scenery/Recreation: People travel to RI for its coastline. Idk much about either in this regard.
Infrastructure, Highways, & public transit: Tie
Food & Culture: Rhode Island
Economy: Rhode Island...I think
Education: Both have Ivy League colleges, but does RI have anything comparable to UConn?
The better package overall: I'd rather live in RI because Providence seems like more of a real city than anything CT has.
I would say URI. It's the state college system (right?) … like Rutgers for NJ or SUNY for NY.
I agree with everything you say and you make some good points. But because Connecticut does offer more when you really think about it, I keep coming back to this idea that at least some people voted based on stereotypes of the two states. You know that Connecticut is basically a giant wealthy suburb while Rhode Island is primarily seen as a vacation area.
I live in Suffolk County (Long Island and Brooklyn Plantations ), both these states are my neighbors so I really have no skin in the game. But I am still surprised by the lopsided vote.
For instance, I know that Connecticut has areas like Candlewood Lake, Squantz Pond, the Appalachian Trail and the Housatonic river that reminds me of Upstate New York or Pennsylvania. Connecticut has winding rural roads, stone walls, village greens, town commons and the classic white churches and is especially attractive in the fall. While Rhode Island has these things, she simply has less of them. And while not the same as the Rhode Island coastline, Connecticut has an attractive coastline herself.
I am not trying so much to knock Rhode Island but instead to say that I think that Connecticut is underrated.
I am not sure. On a map, it looks like Connecticut is closer to NYC than Rhode Island is to Boston. In fact, it looks like Connecticut is closer to New Jersey than Rhode Island is to Boston. Getting to New Jersey across the Hudson River is another story.
Otherwise, I agree with most of what you say and I am glad you mentioned Connecticut beaches. Connecticut actually has a long and interesting shoreline with sandy and even some rocky beaches. The problem is shoreline access, there are not enough parks along the Sound so many people do not know about it.
Fun fact regarding beaches.
Suffolk County on Long Island was more or less controlled by Connecticut until the 1660s. If the King did not give Suffolk to his younger brother, the Duke of York, then Suffolk, which has over 1,000 miles of shoreline, might still be part of Connecticut. If that was the case, then Connecticut would control most of both sides of the Long Island Sound and ocean beaches areas like Fire Island, the Hamptons and Montauk.
Fishers Island is interesting in where its jurisdiction lies.
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), both these states are my neighbors so I really have no skin in the game. But I am still surprised by the lopsided vote. 
