[dnbnv]

Originally Posted by wavehunter007

dnbnv,

but I don't know where you would get the idea the are dirty or unswimable. In fact, Long Island Sound east of New Haven (toward the open sea) is much cleaner than other estuarys like Delaware Bay or the Cheasapeak Bay.

Also, being from the mid-West, I'am sure you have not been to many beaches (lol), but if you looking for the typical crashing surf of an open ocean beach in Connecticut - you'll have to go to Rhode Island. This is no big deal, ten's of thousands of CT people do each year. The beachs along the Rhode Island coast are among the best on the East Coast - clear, crashing surf, and no cities to pollute them. If you like to swim in the ocean I would not go north of Rhode Island, the waters off Mass and New Hampshire are very cold (brrrrr).

Also, if your considering southeast Connecticut and are a mid-West snow fan you will be dissapointed big time, snowfall is light, and melts quick.

No more feet of mid-West snow.

Good Luck.

Again, I apologize for the dirty beach/water implication...it was something that I was told and read and have never had first hand experience with a CT beach.

I have been in the waters off the Cape and in NH and agree that the water is very chilly! Although I am a mid-westerner, if I take a vacation...it is to the ocean. Been to the beaches of the Bahamas, Italy, FL, NH, MA, and TX. All very different. Not a fan of large snowfalls, but don't get discouraged either. I think everyone should get a least one good snow covering a year (especially around Christmas). A white Christmas is magical.

Bottom line is that I have made up my mind that I want to move to CT. I have been sold!! Now it's time for job searching!!!

Thank you all for your input.

[skytrekker]

dnbnv

we all thank you here -and so does the department of economic development-that does not pay me.

Good luck and welcome

[Penny Pickles]

You can't go wrong with any of the communities along the CT River from Middletown and south. HAddam, Higganum, Chester, Deep River, Essex, although East Haddam has the swing bridge to deal with which can add to commuting time. (depending where in EH you live and where you commute to)All of the school systems in the area, including Middletown, are good.

Middletown schools often gets a bad rap because of the diversity and sampling of urban students. If your children are good students they will get a great education there. Many, many Wesleyan professors have sent their children there over the years while the percentage of Middletown residents sending their students to the parochial schools has dropped or remained steady. There is no "flight" from MPS which will be opening a brand new HS in 2009.

BTW - I once read a graduate survey from a shoreline town that gets remarkable test scores. The students wrote about the lack of diversity and how it was difficult for them to meld with the international community that was in their university. The MHS community celebrates and honors economic, cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity. Students from that high school remark about how well prepared they were for the larger world.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by dnbnv

Bottom line is that I have made up my mind that I want to move to CT. I have been sold!! Now it's time for job searching!!!

dnbnv - That is great and welcome to Connecticut. I hope it works out for you here. Keep us informed and if you have any questions, let us know. Jay

[dnbnv]

OK, I do have another question and I hope this is not taken completely the wrong way, as it is a general question and not implying that I think or have heard this.

In this area of CT (the lower CT River region) I notice that the population in most of the towns and communities are smaller. I currently live in a city of 37,000 and have lived in larger metropolitan cities.

My question is: Are the local residents generally welcoming to out of towners/out of staters when one is relocating to the area? Again, please don't take this the wrong way.

The reason I ask is that the community that I live in now, although not very small, is very small town minded. Most residents are born and raised locals and 'appear' to be welcoming but it is a community that really caters to the people that grew up here. Without getting into examples....it is something that I would want to steer away from without moving to a larger city. I do prefer the small town/community with amenities not too far away. Although we are very outgoing and friendly, we also value our privacy.

This general area of the nation (East Coast) has always seemed to incorporate the 'melting pot' motto that our country was built on. I love to meet people of different ethnic backgrounds, educational levels, religious beliefs, etc. and have lived in very conservative and most recently non-diverse areas. I am looking for the opposite.

What do you think? Again, my experience in CT was ALWAYS pleasant and I have met some very nice locals that were very accommodating.

[dnbnv]

Originally Posted by JayCT

dnbnv - That is great and welcome to Connecticut. I hope it works out for you here. Keep us informed and if you have any questions, let us know. Jay

Thank you Jay...I will.

Any tips on job searching? Local website/newspapers? (Monster and CareerBuilders have so many 'national' and placement service ads that it gets grueling sorting through those)

[mels]

I have found evryone in my smaller town to be very welcoming. I grew up in a town with 50K+ people and have lived in some very large cities. I ended up settling in CT in a town with less than 6K people, the smallest community I have ever lived in. All of the neighbors here are nice, brought over welcome baskets, etc. The only problem, at least in my town, is that the neighbors are far enough apart that we don't see them on a day to day basis. However, they do a yearly neighborhood picnic which is nice. I have met most people in my neighborhood while out running or walking my dog rather than relying on seeing them while out in the yard.

Also keep in mind that people around here generally mind their own business. Some people assume because their neighbor isn't all up in their face stopping by for coffee daily it means they are unfriendly.

Lastly, I have found in the small towns if you want to meet people you have to get involved. Book clubs, garden clubs, sports, whatever you are interested in.

[skytrekker]

Those towns on the lower CT river have a pretty enlightened population= sophisticated. Many celebs have lived and currently live there.

I know Max Showalter lived in Chester from 1983 till he died in 2000- he was from the Midwest and fell in love with the town.

The people are friendly to everyone in a reserved kind of way- they warm up slower then Midwesterners, but are very pleasant, decent and worldly.

There is not a redneck, backwards, attitude in these towns- but a highly literate bunch of folks who do their thing- and care not about you doing yours without any kind of judging.

Chester CT Welcome to Chester, CT.
lower CT river valley Connecticut River Valley Tourism - CT River Valley & Connecticut Shoreline Region Travel Tourism Visitor Information Guide
Essex CT Essex, Connecticut, The Best Small Town in America

[Penny Pickles]

Actually, there are even more celebs in the tri-town area. (Morley Safer among them) I have lived on Long Island, in the Hartford area and in Middletown. The lower valley towns are welcoming but those who wrote before me are correct, people do try and respect privacy. At the same time, it doesn't mean they are unfriendly.

The local clubs, churches and other organizations are welcoming to new people. There are many, many activities in town (check the Chesterct website) as well as the websites for the other Lower CT River Towns. If you are looking for a complete diverse experience, then Middletown is your place. It has even shown up on studies as one of the most diverse communities in the country by all measures of such things. The success of Wesleyan University in fostering diversity in its school community (for many, many years) has had a lasting effect on Middletown, along with the various waves of immigrents that have come there and stayed over the years.

I will be moving out-of-state soon and my neighbors will be greatly missed.
Every one of them is friendly with the other and feel comfortable talking without intruding. Over time, we have become very close to four sets of neighbors, and hope that these relationships survive the move.

I know that I am moving to a town where people tend to be in each other's business. (family relocation) I hope to bring some of my CT respect for privacy to the area and not get caught up in some of the melodrama that occurs there often.

[POAlover]

Originally Posted by dnbnv

OK, I do have another question and I hope this is not taken completely the wrong way, as it is a general question and not implying that I think or have heard this.

In this area of CT (the lower CT River region) I notice that the population in most of the towns and communities are smaller. I currently live in a city of 37,000 and have lived in larger metropolitan cities.

My question is: Are the local residents generally welcoming to out of towners/out of staters when one is relocating to the area? Again, please don't take this the wrong way.

The reason I ask is that the community that I live in now, although not very small, is very small town minded. Most residents are born and raised locals and 'appear' to be welcoming but it is a community that really caters to the people that grew up here. Without getting into examples....it is something that I would want to steer away from without moving to a larger city. I do prefer the small town/community with amenities not too far away. Although we are very outgoing and friendly, we also value our privacy.

This general area of the nation (East Coast) has always seemed to incorporate the 'melting pot' motto that our country was built on. I love to meet people of different ethnic backgrounds, educational levels, religious beliefs, etc. and have lived in very conservative and most recently non-diverse areas. I am looking for the opposite.

What do you think? Again, my experience in CT was ALWAYS pleasant and I have met some very nice locals that were very accommodating.

I came from a town north of Middletown which was rather snooty. I absolutely love Haddam/Higganum.
The people here are so nice. Its actually nice to go to the local grocery store and converse with the shoppers and the cashiers.

I've never experienced people honking their car horns because someone was a little slow to go when the light turned green. I think you get the idea.

If you do pick the opposite side of the CT River. Be careful - I'm not sure if its either Middle Haddam or Haddam Neck, BUT the children attend the Haddam/Killingworth School sytem. This means a long school bus commute through East Haddam over the bridge and into Haddam.

Our house is currently on the market as hubby wants to move back *home* to PA.

I've only lived in Haddam/Higganum for four years and can't bare to leave.