[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by Rukh

lol... CT's COL is far higher than those other states so that's kind of a moot point. Not to mention that a person living in poverty down in Florida is better off than somebody living just above the poverty line in CT since they don't have to worry about freezing to death during winter and have more opportunities.

This would seem obvious if you weren't stuck in a liberal echo chamber which insulates youu from the fact that Connecticutters are suffering while you fat cats just get richer.

Wow, mental gymnastics ahoy! Look at almost ancillary measure of poverty and CT is much lower than national averages, and drastically lower than states like FL, AL, TX, even OK. Truth is that COL is dependent on regional income, not vice versa. It's now almost a hardset rule that housing will take up nearly a third of household income almost the world over these days. If housing prices are lower that's because people by far in an area make less money. Its supply and demand. Sure there are a couple other factors (price floors by way of restrictive zoning namely) but if housing in one area is more expensive is because people are able and willing to pay for it.

As for the rich getting richer at our expense, that's happening all over the country, and in much worse ways than in CT. CT and the megapolis is one of the few regions with decent up ward economic mobility. You can thank Reagan and the Birchers for this lovely reality we face as a society.

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by HumpDay

*

Just a curious question, but do you think CT will eventually turn itself around. Will alot of people want to move to CT again? Will it boom once more?

*

I don't think so for far too many reasons to list and it's unfortunate. At best we may become a bigger bedroom community for NYC, but that's dependent on improved transportation in the state.

Specifically, the New Haven - Springfield commuter line, but to make Hartford a viable commute to NYC the train would have to be 90 mins or less, and I don't think that will happen at least with current technology. Perhaps some break thru will happen to change this.

IMO CT fizzled out about 1992. I was just starting college, so I wasn't really engaged in the job market at the time, but a lot of people were moving to CT for jobs from other areas of the country.
IMO this job migration was happening from about 1984-1992. In my high school alone we had kids move to CT from at least 20 other states.

Older adults would probably say something similar happened in the 1960's-1980's with factory jobs and insurance jobs in CT being easily available.

[Lalalally]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

I don't think so for far too many reasons to list and it's unfortunate. At best we may become a bigger bedroom community for NYC, but that's dependent on improved transportation in the state.

Specifically, the New Haven - Springfield commuter line, but to make Hartford a viable commute to NYC the train would have to be 90 mins or less, and I don't think that will happen at least with current technology. Perhaps some break thru will happen to change this.

IMO CT fizzled out about 1992. I was just starting college, so I wasn't really engaged in the job market at the time, but a lot of people were moving to CT for jobs from other areas of the country.
IMO this job migration was happening from about 1984-1992. In my high school alone we had kids move to CT from at least 20 other states.

Older adults would probably say something similar happened in the 1960's-1980's with factory jobs and insurance jobs in CT being easily available.

I would put it a little bit later than that... We moved to CT in 1995, and at that time some pretty awesome things were happening here, and CT offered -- by leaps and bounds -- so much more for a young couple like we were at the time, beyond what our home state could offer us. Fast forward a few years -- I'd say early 2000 -- is when we got our first sense that we might be standing on shaky ground. Surprisingly though, immediately following 9/11, I started to feel a little more confident again in our decision to call this place home for our family and things seemed to improve and stabilize. IMO Sh**#t really only hit fan (for good?? -- hopefully not) sometime mid 2009. Can't say I've been confident or comfortable here ever since...

[just_because]

Originally Posted by basehead617

Yeah but in Newton, you get to live right outside...... yep.. Boston, rather than Hartford.

Plus the T (even the subway, not commuter rail) goes all the way out there.

And Newton schools are some of the best in the U.S.

I totally get that. I'm certainly not saying that I would expect them to cost the same, however the price difference is staggering. There is certainly a lot more money around Boston but I have also seen a lot of parents both with high paying jobs in the boston area really struggle to live in towns with decent schools - huge mortgages and major compromise in housing size/quality. They work crazy hours and often have big commutes and struggle with childcare all so that they can live in a town with lower crime, a good reputation and most importantly, good schools.

And, as I said, many of these people under-utilize Boston, working and playing in the suburbs (e.g. 128 tech corridor). Like with most busy families, weekends are used for kids sports and catching up on life's essentials and being with friends and family. For many of these people, eating out and shopping are more likely to be done in Chestnut Hill, Wellesley or wherever than in Boston. 30 years ago the area revolved around Boston but now there are many more attractions, shopping, healthcare options, restaurants, etc in the suburbs than before and I think it's fair to say that families like this have less draw into town. Obviously I'm not saying people like this never set foot in Boston - as it has the museums, sports, etc.

Just pointing out that it's surprising (at least to me) that more people don't choose to live in vibrant WH rather than suburbs of Boston or NY that are similar in many ways. Obviously many people want to live in WH and pay more for the privilege but the house prices are so relatively low that it's clear that it's not really drawing regionally in a significant way. Although salaries might be slightly lower for some industries, being able to live in the same kind of house with say a 300k mortgage rather than a $800k - 1m+ mortgage over your head seems like it would be an attractive trade-off for more people. And Newton schools vs WH schools is splitting hairs, i think. kind of like the useless and endless debates in the boston area between Wellesley schools vs Belmont schools vs Dover schools, etc, etc.

[cynic1]

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

Actually, mlassoff, I'd love to see poverty rates adjusted for COL differences, but I know of no site or government agency that provides that. It might not affect it tremendously, but one size fits all poverty level definitions are absolute rubbish. I suspect government employees at the BLS would be too lazy to refine it for COL differences.

Try CNN Money .. Personal Finance....you can compare COL between states and cities in those states ... eye opening for sure.

[ram2]

Originally Posted by nep321

That's absolutely ridiculous.

You're in Texas now, which has horrible public schools and the highest work-related death rate in the nation, due to Republican policies. Kansas is also a Republican disaster, as are numerous other Republican states. Likewise, there are successful Democratic states, such as Minnesota, Massachusetts, Washington, Virginia, Ohio, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maryland, etc.

The conservative fantasy that Republican states do better is just that -- a fantasy.

The FACT of the matter is that blue states account for 66% of America's GDP, as well has 12% higher GDP per capita than all red states combined. 8 of the top 10 states with the best public schools are BLUE states. And 9 of the top 10 poorest states in the country are RED states. Blue states have lower obesity, higher educational attainment rates, higher wages and more worker related safety, protections and anti-discrimination laws in place. And property values and appreciation rates are higher in blue states.

Conclusion? Blue states have a higher quality of life and are more desirable to most Americans and foreigners.

Ohio is not a Democratic state.

Detroit has had continuous Democratic leadership since 1962. How has that been working out? The Detroit public schools are awesome!

[cynic1]

Originally Posted by nep321

The conservative policies of states like Texas and Georgia are not sustainable. They do not make investments in education, which is a big deal.

Id put The University of Texas and Georgia Tech over U Conn any day of the week ....never mind UNC- Chapel Hill ... University of Virginia... Clemson...I could go on ... but don't want to fall into the "my school is better than yours " nonsense.

[Springtime129]

I left CT and moved to FL. Even bought a house there. Couldn't get back to CT fast enough! I do have 3 small children though and they were the number one reason I left. If I was single I could have stuck it out but I didn't feel FL was a great place to be with children. Education and healthcare sucked.

My 7 year old broke her tooth while we lived in FL and I called every dentist in the book. NOT ONE called me back. I had to call her old dentist in CT to get an answer. Another time when she was sick I couldn't find a doctor (even her doctor in FL) that had a sick appointment for 2 weeks. Unacceptable.

Of course this might not apply to you especially if you don't have children or they are older, but even when my children are grown I will have no desire to leave Ct.

[AnonChick]

I also lived in Florida once. For a short time. I moved there thinking I'd have the same opportunity for work there as here, but with a warmer climate where I didn't have to own a snow shovel. This was back when there were more employers, than there were employees, and most people with a college degree of any kind could get a job within a month of seeking one out, either in their field or a related field.

No such luck for me at the time. Plus it was summer time in Florida, and I was one of the MANY people living in the state at the time who had just a lousy, loud, obnoxious room air conditioner in the bedroom, leaving the rest of the house a heavy blanket of humidity and cockroaches. So I became upwardly mobile again - moving upward on the USA map right back to Connecticut. If I had to pick between the two states and could afford to live in either without worrying about a job, I'd pick Connecticut *despite* the weather. I'd reject Florida *because* of the weather.

[smackfu]

I figure there are two types of people who move away. People who really dislike their home state, and people who have some other motivation for moving away. The people who really dislike their home state, yeah, they are probably going to think the new place is great, because that's why they moved. The people who have some other motivation, probably don't really feel too strongly either way. Most people don't love or hate their state, they just go along with it.

This applies to pretty much every state, not just CT.