[Mikecg123]

I live in and am from Connecticut and I find it to be quite lovely with plenty of natural along with architectural beauty. I would never leave the Northeast/New England. Any activity you desire can be found within a couple hours. It has been wonderful growing up being able to take day trips to NYC, Boston, and even southern coastal Maine. Metro North is especially convenient for getting into NYC and brings you to the spectacular Grand Central Terminal which is a trip in itself. In the summer spending time in the beach towns of Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode island. (I will admit our beaches are not the best) but there are many lovely historic coastal towns and It's interesting seeing LI across the sound. As well as the White Mountains in New Hampshire. New haven is a couple towns south of me and offers a Mini NYC like feel with great food and stunning architecture in the downtown/Yale district. There are great trails all around, scenic drives and hidden dirt roads with beautiful homes/estates/farms tucked away on them. The casinos are also large and beautiful and frequently feature major performers/musicians. The cities have become fairly to severely blighted since there heydays, but If you're comfortable with them offer a great culturally experience with little markets/stores operated by immigrants. I especially like the Polish markets in New Britain. Connecticut is excellent if you want the New England feel without being to far from cities like northern New England. Not to mention its progressive politics including gay marriage legalization and marijuana decriminalization. To all who complain I say move to Oklahoma or many of the other desolate, close minded states and then reevaluate what exactly it was you were complaining about. Also, I love the climate and history.

[JayCT]

I do not think people dislike Connecticut as so much as that people like to complain. They think the grass is greener somewhere else when in fact they do not realize what a great state we have. No where is perfect but I truly believe Connecticut ocmes closer than most other states. Jay

[NYisontop]

As Jay said, people live to complain.

I don't think they have seen or spent significant time in much of the rest of the country, and don't appreciate all of the options available to them.

[Stylo]

Connecticut is definitely an upper percentile state as far as good places to live. There's a reason it's so expensive.

I do agree that people like to complain for the sake of complaining.

[FILF]

I speak from the heart when I say I hate Connecticut. The taxes suck, gun laws suck, they made a law back in 1986 that was supposed to open up some parks for recreational vehicles which never happened, we have so many laws that even the law makers and police don't know what they are, no death penalty anymore, and not to mention the weather sucks. I can probably think of many more reasons but I'll stop at this point.

Sitting here waiting for the die hards to start the flame war!

[jp03]

Originally Posted by FILF

I speak from the heart when I say I hate Connecticut. The taxes suck, gun laws suck, they made a law back in 1986 that was supposed to open up some parks for recreational vehicles which never happened, we have so many laws that even the law makers and police don't know what they are, no death penalty anymore, and not to mention the weather sucks. I can probably think of many more reasons but I'll stop at this point.

Sitting here waiting for the die hards to start the flame war!

Cost of Living does completely suck.... other than that ...been there done that. Grass is greener. New England is safer, has better schools, has a great variety of weather. Not saying its perfect but.... If you hate it why not leave? I don't get that.

[FILF]

Originally Posted by jp03

Cost of Living does completely suck.... other than that ...been there done that. Grass is greener. New England is safer, has better schools, has a great variety of weather. Not saying its perfect but.... If you hate it why not leave? I don't get that.

I would be gone yesterday if my wife would let us move. I also have a mother with cancer and my mother-in-law just lost her husband this year from a stroke. I'm out as soon as possible but we definitely aren't retiring in this state. I've lived in Texas and Florida before coming back up here and I know the grass is greener for me. Besides you never hear anyone say when I retire I'm moving up North!

[ishabad]

I like to Complain but in honesty we have a great state. The only thing I don't like is no major cities in the state but NYC and Boston aren't too far so Its okay.

[eschaton]

I'm not a forum regular, but as a person who has been posting here, and largely lived in the state up through my early 20s, I'll give my two cents.

I don't like Connecticut because I don't like suburban living. I don't want to be somewhere where I'm dependent on a car. I don't want to be somewhere where if I buy a house I'm forced to have a front lawn. I like cities due to their older architecture and walkability.

Connecticut's cities just suck, by and large, because everyone who wants a city moves to NYC or Boston once they get out of high school or college. Bridgeport and Hartford aren't quite as bad as people make out on this forum (my mother lived in the North End of Bridgeport after I graduated from High School for some years), but they offer nearly nothing in terms of an interesting urban experience. Stamford is improving, but there's too little historic structure left, and way too many parking lots in downtown still.

New Haven is the closest to what I'd want in the city. Around half of it is nice. But when I look at what the real estate prices are - that I'd need to pay $250,000 for a decent-size condo (I have a wife and two kids now) and $500,000 for a cheap house in Wooster Square or East Rock, I just think there's no circumstance under which moving back would be worth it. I bought my house here in Pittsburgh for $53,000. I put a lot of work into it, and could sell it for $200,000 now and buy something like this if I wanted to. That is NOT IN THE GHETTO!

[jp03]

Originally Posted by FILF

I would be gone yesterday if my wife would let us move. I also have a mother with cancer and my mother-in-law just lost her husband this year from a stroke. I'm out as soon as possible but we definitely aren't retiring in this state. I've lived in Texas and Florida before coming back up here and I know the grass is greener for me. Besides you never hear anyone say when I retire I'm moving up North!

Good luck when you do..do alot of research, I wouldn't live in Texas or Florida if they were the last 2 states on the map. I DO admit retiring in CT is tough...hard to swallow the taxes when the income stops coming in. A shame really , other than that we live in the best part of the country. I moved south twice..hated it both times.