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I sort of qualify to answer this. I am a Connecticut native who lived in Passaic County and worked in Bergen County for 5 years after college. Came back home because the life in New Jersey, though fun for a young single, was not what I wanted. I can tell you that the most hectic parts of Connecticut are more like western Bergen County or Morris County than Passaic, Hudson or eastern Bergen. That is because Connecticut is pretty far removed from New York City and a lot less densely populated.
Things I miss include great shopping, very easy access to New York, the excitement and energy of the area and the great friends I made when there. What I do not miss is the congestion, pollution, high real estate prices and noise. I also do not miss having an hour or more wait to get a table in even the most mundane of restaurants. Hope this helps, Jay
We are in the process of selling our home in Bergen county to move to Eastern Ct. Since my husband has been working their since the summer, we have spent a good amount of time there. We are THRILLED to be moving to CT.
Things I will not miss about Bergen County:
Having my neighbor's house 10 feet away from my own
The congestion on Rts 17 and 4 at virtually all hours!
The Garden State Plaza (ick)
The accents (which I had fully intended on beating out of my kids if they acquired one
The rat race, keeping up with the jones (on a ridiculous level here in Bergen County, although an element of this exists everywhere, I'm sure)
The long drive to the beach with the kids
The long commute that most of us have
Things we will miss:
Being close to family
Some shopping - although since peapod is up and running, I plan on doing all my shopping online!
Proximity to NYC and sporting events
What we love about CT so far:
People seem reserved, but nice enough. I don't think our neighbors will know our daily comings and goings - or care all that much.
Cheaper daycare!
Proximity to Boston and the beach
Most of the people we've encountered have been over the top helpful in aiding us with our move to CT. There is no way someone would get this kind of service in Northern NJ
Our home has been on the market for 4 months now and I cannot wait for it to sell so I can enjoy some CT living (and put a bid a a great house we found).
Having my neighbor's house 10 feet away from my own
The congestion on Rts 17 and 4 at virtually all hours!
The Garden State Plaza (ick)
The accents (which I had fully intended on beating out of my kids if they acquired one
The rat race, keeping up with the jones (on a ridiculous level here in Bergen County, although an element of this exists everywhere, I'm sure)
The long drive to the beach with the kids
The long commute that most of us have
Things we will miss:
Being close to family
Some shopping - although since peapod is up and running, I plan on doing all my shopping online!
Proximity to NYC and sporting events"
___________________________________________
You must have extremely high expectation about CT or mostly appreciate the sububan sprawl and boredom. Why would anyone consider being closer to Boston a virtue? If you lived "10 ft from your neighbors" , improve your economic circumstances and you could enjoy a greater distance from your neighbors in Northern NJ.
Will your distance to a beach really decrease? If you enjoy the LI Sound vs. an ocean you are correct, otherwise you are increasing your distance to a real beach.
CT or New England accents are horrendous. You had intended to "beat them [NJ accents] out of your kids" . Where the (*&^%!! are you from?
Please, do not move to CT... keep going to Boston.
Having my neighbor's house 10 feet away from my own
The congestion on Rts 17 and 4 at virtually all hours!
The Garden State Plaza (ick)
The accents (which I had fully intended on beating out of my kids if they acquired one
The rat race, keeping up with the jones (on a ridiculous level here in Bergen County, although an element of this exists everywhere, I'm sure)
The long drive to the beach with the kids
The long commute that most of us have
Things we will miss:
Being close to family
Some shopping - although since peapod is up and running, I plan on doing all my shopping online!
Proximity to NYC and sporting events"
___________________________________________
You must have extremely high expectation about CT or mostly appreciate the suburban sprawl and boredom. Why would anyone consider being closer to Boston a virtue? If you lived "10 ft from your neighbors" , improve your economic circumstances and you could enjoy a greater distance from your neighbors in Northern NJ.
Will your distance to a beach really decrease? If you enjoy the LI Sound vs. an ocean you are correct, otherwise you are increasing your distance to a real beach.
CT or New England accents are horrendous. You had intended to "beat them [NJ accents] out of your kids" . Where the (*&^%!! are you from?
Please, do not move to CT... keep going to Boston.
Just a few comments on this post
Connecticut is hardly typical suburban sprawl, since zoning laws are very strict in most towns. Most towns have historic town greens and charming Main streets. Eastern Connecticut is mostly rural, with wineries, museums, bed & breakfasts, historic and scenic byways (route 169) and close proximity to historic peaceful seaports, clean beaches and more- 'Sprawl is non existent'.
The so called real ocean is a short hop away from eastern CT in nearby Rhode Island- and Block Island sound in eastern CT is virtually open ocean.
The greater Hartford area is hardly filled with mindless cookie cutter sub divisions and strip malls and big box stores-- each town has a pretty unique identity- so there is quite a bit of individuality not homogeneity.
Western Connecticut's hills are easily as charming as eastern Connecticut- with much culture and also peace and again 'Mindless sprawl' is unknown.
Connecticut's gold coast may be hectic, but is also filled with wonderfully charming towns that are anything but boring.
As for 'New England's' accents being 'horrendous' I know of few Connecticut people with this 'type of accent'- they are virtually non existent in Connecticut. Perhaps in Rhode Island and central to eastern Mass and Maine you will pick up the classic eastern New England 'accent' that does vary from state to state- 'Boston Brahman' is different then 'down east Maine'- but both have their intrinsic charms. While in Providence you may hear a slightly different take on what you hear in Massachusetts.
Last edited by skytrekker; 12-13-2007 at 05:23 PM..
Having my neighbor's house 10 feet away from my own
The congestion on Rts 17 and 4 at virtually all hours!
The Garden State Plaza (ick)
The accents (which I had fully intended on beating out of my kids if they acquired one
The rat race, keeping up with the jones (on a ridiculous level here in Bergen County, although an element of this exists everywhere, I'm sure)
The long drive to the beach with the kids
The long commute that most of us have
Things we will miss:
Being close to family
Some shopping - although since peapod is up and running, I plan on doing all my shopping online!
Proximity to NYC and sporting events"
___________________________________________
You must have extremely high expectation about CT or mostly appreciate the sububan sprawl and boredom. Why would anyone consider being closer to Boston a virtue? If you lived "10 ft from your neighbors" , improve your economic circumstances and you could enjoy a greater distance from your neighbors in Northern NJ.
Will your distance to a beach really decrease? If you enjoy the LI Sound vs. an ocean you are correct, otherwise you are increasing your distance to a real beach.
CT or New England accents are horrendous. You had intended to "beat them [NJ accents] out of your kids" . Where the (*&^%!! are you from?
Please, do not move to CT... keep going to Boston.
Clearly, you are unfamiliar with Northern New Jersey. As for "improving our economic situation and you could enjoy a greater distance from you neighbors", our economic situation has nothing to do with why our neighbors are so close (and our situation is just fine, by the way). Bergen County has very quaint towns, but even million dollar homes are packed close together. It's the price we pay for living in an affluent walkable town with alot of resources.
In reference to "beating the accents out of my kids", did you not see the , or do you not understand it? I'd take a New England accent any day over the harsh accents of North Jersey (which both my parents incidentally have).
Where I live in Northern Bergen County, it's over an hour to a decent beach, and usually closer to 2 with traffic. Rhode Island beaches are more beautiful and will be 45 minutes away. And the Sound beaches in Madison are great for small children - no big waves.
As for boredom - we are certainly looking for a slower paced lifestyle. And I just prefer Boston over NYC.
The intent of my initial post was to share with the OP my experience. Of course everyone is is going to have different personal preferences. And call me an optimist, but we are going to love CT!!!!
___________________________________________
You must have extremely high expectation about CT or mostly appreciate the sububan sprawl and boredom. Why would anyone consider being closer to Boston a virtue? If you lived "10 ft from your neighbors" , improve your economic circumstances and you could enjoy a greater distance from your neighbors in Northern NJ.
Will your distance to a beach really decrease? If you enjoy the LI Sound vs. an ocean you are correct, otherwise you are increasing your distance to a real beach.
CT or New England accents are horrendous. You had intended to "beat them [NJ accents] out of your kids" . Where the (*&^%!! are you from?
Please, do not move to CT... keep going to Boston.
Wow. Who peed in your Muselix this morning?
To the OP - please don't let this one embittered CT resident's opinion in any way influence or shadow your own opinion and preference for the area. CT is a beautiful mix of old and new, tight spaces and wide open pastures. The population is very diverse and there's a little bit of everything - all within an hour or two drive in any direction.
As for an accent... I'm a native and I've never once had anyone mention a "CT accent" or even a regional accent. They only point out when I use the word "wicked"... lol.
To the OP - please don't let this one embittered CT resident's opinion in any way influence or shadow your own opinion and preference for the area. CT is a beautiful mix of old and new, tight spaces and wide open pastures. The population is very diverse and there's a little bit of everything - all within an hour or two drive in any direction.
As for an accent... I'm a native and I've never once had anyone mention a "CT accent" or even a regional accent. They only point out when I use the word "wicked"... lol.
I am not sure that FoodMonger is even from Connecticut. Not sure they have ever been to the state or at least gottn off the highway when paasing through. Jay
As for an accent... I'm a native and I've never once had anyone mention a "CT accent" or even a regional accent. They only point out when I use the word "wicked"... lol.
You must be from eastern CT? Last time I checked no body in my area says "wicked." (I live in western CT) Lol, I do not even know what it means. I know its just something rabid red sox fans are always spewing out of their mouths. Does it perhaps have the same meaning as "mad," like most people I know say? As in it's "mad" hot out or that's a "mad" nice house.
You must be from eastern CT? Last time I checked no body in my area says "wicked."
Yes, it's used in the same context as "it's mad hot out".... "it's wicked hot out"... or... "I saw this wicked nice car on the pike the other night"
It's not universally used nearly as often as it was in the 80's and early 90's (when I was a teen), and I'd agree that it is quite rare to hear it these days.... but every so often, I'll say it, and someone will point out that it's a northeastern thing. :dunno:
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