[nep321]

One set of grandparents moved to Florida 30 years ago. But my other set of grandparents stayed here in West Hartford (same house since 1974). They are doing great. They own their home outright and live off of stock dividends, pensions and social security. I'm glad they chose to live in retirement in CT, so that we can regularly see them. They never have problems with the winter weather, quite frankly. Other family members help out with shoveling snow.

[Mr_250]

I say good. Another 10k leaving the state would be good. CT is getting too crowded.

[Neil Watkins]

The state is letting them loose?

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by Neil Watkins

The state is letting them loose?

It seems like the posters that start CT bashing threads are usually those that don't have a great command of the English language. I guess they would be loosers<sic>? Just an observation......

[andthentherewere3]

Yes, a lot of loosers on the loose. lol

[nep321]

Conservatives are always quick to point out that the reason why CT lost population is because of "liberal politics." They're pleased to see the state lose population, because to them, it's a way to help advance their conservative agenda. Especially ex-CT residents who are conservative and recently moved to Florida. They love to have a "told you so" attitude about it. The fact is, they're dead WRONG. The irony of it too, is that Florida politicians are certainly not model politicians either, and FL has an additional layer of government (counties).

The reason CT lost population is twofold. One, because of retirees in the baby boomer generation who are choosing to retire in Florida. This is understandable, considering how CT has a high cost of living and taxes Social Security benefits. If you look at the Census median age in each state, CT went from 40.4 to 40.5 while Florida went from 41.1 to 41.5, from 2012 to 2013. In other words, Florida is aging at a significantly faster rate than CT. An alarming rate, actually. Reason number two is job opportunities have been lackluster during 2013 and into 2014. Not to mention, it's just ONE year of data. Next year, CT could gain population again.

Another sad angle at looking at this situation is that so many people choose Florida as the "default" move-to state, when in fact there are numerous other, possibly better states to choose to move to. They're doing it because Florida is all they know and they had a good time on vacation. It's also extremely short sighted when people only look at taxes and cost of housing, yet rarely do they consider the fact that the average wage in FL is a whopping 30% less than it would be in CT. Higher tolls, higher sales tax, higher homeowners and auto insurance certainly don't help either. And they can't deduct nearly as much property and state income tax on their federal returns. So really, what are they gaining?!

Ironically, three of my neighbors in my apartment complex have recently moved here from Florida or Texas. Another ironic thing is all the brand new apartment complexes being built all over Fairfield County, and they're immediately occupied, at a high price, too.

[nep321]

I just made the following post on Facebook lol:

For the first time in decades, CT has lost population; -0.07% to be exact. Conservatives are pleased to hear this, because they think it helps them advance their agenda and assertion that the reason why CT lost population is due to liberal politics. This is completely false. The real reason is because of the baby boomer generation of retirees who are often choosing to move to Florida. During the same period that CT lost population, the median age in Florida went up from 41.1 to 41.5. That's an alarming rate. In CT it only went from 40.4 to 40.5. I mean, people rarely move out of a state because of the politics. Not to mention, Florida politicians don't have a good reputation either. And Florida has county layer government (more government), unlike CT. Give me a break.

[wtby4000]

Thanks Molloy. Soon their will not be anyone left in this liberal state. Will the last persona to leaf Connecticut turn of it's lights?

[nep321]

Originally Posted by wtby4000

Thanks Molloy. Soon their will not be anyone left in this liberal state. Will the last persona to leaf Connecticut turn of it's lights?

Well that's a stupid statement, considering that 51% of CT residents want to stay here.

The population loss has nothing to do with Malloy, but conservatives love to use that as a reason for the loss in population.

[STEVEN 1]

Northeast problems are easy to fix. Create a place where companies want to come and create jobs and lower taxes a bit, that's really all places like New York and Connecticut have to do.