[JayCT]

Originally Posted by BogieOrangeman

For many of them going to Rhode Island is a like going to a foreign country let alone Connecticut.

I can't resist: RI is like a foreign country. Jay

[BogieOrangeman]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I can't resist: RI is like a foreign country. Jay

It's funny. I used that line with a family who lives in East Greenwich, RI, and they were horribly offended by it. I guess they figured I was a typical jerk from Mass.

[JiminCT]

"Don't tell me that your husband is one of those Massachusetts "snobs" that think anything south of their state is not New England enough? I don't mean to sound insulting but I have met people like this and get a little annoyed with their attitudes."

Most of them are parochial Ma**holes that think mass stops outside of I-495....
Some of them need to leave south boston or revere...lol.

[ctkanes]

These posts are always interesting. I live in New Britain, and can say that while it is not the best, it is not the worst. It's a much safer place than 10 years ago, and the city is being rebuilt very quickly. It also has some of the most beautiful parks and neighborhoods in the state, and an arts scene second only to Hartford.

I work in Cheshire, and can't stand it. The schools are not as good as everyone says they are. In spite of what real estate agents claim, parenting is the single most important factor in a child's success. I've seen many students fail in Cheshire bc people would rather be friends than parents. I also have a few friends who live in Cheshire who told my wife not to move there because of the elitism of some people.

[Lincolnian]

Having grown up in East Hartford, lived in Tolland for many years and worked as a teacher in both Manchester and Bristol I can say that every place has its pluses and minuses.

JViello, I don't know if you have looked at the data but Bristol has higher average CMT scores than Manchester. Birch Mountain and Highland Park are nice areas in Manchester but so are Chippens Hill, the Martin School District, many parts of Forestville as well as a number of beautiful historic homes on Federal Hill.

Memorial Blvd has nice monuments and some beautiful gardens and there is great interest in redeveloping the 17 acre Centre Mall site on North Main Street.

Bristol has the Clock Museum, Carousel Museum, and many wonderful parks as well as a very good tax base including Lake Compounce and the world headquarters of ESPN.

I live in Forestville and am only 1 1/2 miles from the entrance to I-84. Bristol is a large geographic area with 27 sq miles and it can take 20 minutes to traverse from certain areas ch as Chippens Hill to the highway. However, the same can be said for those neighbors that border that area in Burlington and Farmington as well.

Bristol is very similar to Manchester in many ways. Manchester is a 2nd tier suburb of Hartford and has/is experiencing continued migration outward to less dense areas such as Tolland, Bolton, Hebron and Coventry to name a few as people continue to move out of Hartford and East Hartford into Manchester.

Bristol's geographic isolation and heavy reputation for tradesmen and skilled machinists largely resulted in many people who were born in Bristol continuing to live here as adults. As the trades became less prevalent, and manufacturing jobs shrunk Bristol's children started leaving Bristol for opportunities elsewhere. Recent increases in the number of families in poverty living in Bristol are largely the result of decent social and educational programs combined with a large stock of affordable rental units.

We can't run from our cities and hide in surrounding communities nor should we. I find many more conveniences living in Bristol than when I lived in Tolland. It allows me to spend more time with my family and affords me the opportunity to live in a nice neighborhood and home that would be at least $200,000 more and $3000 more per year in taxes 4 miles down the road in Farmington.