[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Stylo

I find Branford very laid back.

If you’re comparing it to Stamford or Norwalk, maybe. But it’s very much part of the southern CT rat race where everyone is rushing around. I spent several years living there and loved every minute - but it’s definitely not laid back.

I wasn’t going to say anything, but since you brought it up, I got a good chuckle out of calling Milford laid back. It’s the furthest thing from laid back - I think being in the heart of the northeast jades some opinions.

Now Sherman, Essex, Roxbury, Chester I’d consider laid back. The case can even be made for Old Saybrook.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

If you’re comparing it to Stamford or Norwalk, maybe. But it’s very much part of the southern CT rat race where everyone is rushing around. I spent several years living there and loved every minute - but it’s definitely not laid back.

I wasn’t going to say anything, but since you brought it up, I got a good chuckle out of calling Milford laid back. It’s the furthest thing from laid back - I think being in the heart of the northeast jades some opinions.

Now Sherman, Essex, Roxbury, Chester I’d consider laid back. The case can even be made for Old Saybrook.

Quiet and laid back are different things to me. A lot has to do with the attitudes of the residents, and the feel you get going to the local coffee shop, pizzeria, bakery.

I have lived in quiet, slow places where people tend to be reserved and sometimes a bit stuck up. Not so much laid back.

Granted I never lived in Branford, but it’s the impression I get. I do believe you have to live somewhere to appreciate the character of a place

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Quiet and laid back are different things to me. A lot has to do with the attitudes of the residents, and the feel you get going to the local coffee shop, pizzeria, bakery.

I have lived in quiet, slow places where people tend to be reserved and sometimes a bit stuck up. Not so much laid back.

Granted I never lived in Branford, but it’s the impression I get. I do believe you have to live somewhere to appreciate the character of a place

I view “laid back” as having a slow pace, not many type A personalities, passive, polite drivers, maybe somewhat apathetic. That’s not at all Milford or Branford, IMO.

[wetnewspaper]

Middletown: College town with a blue collar mix- charm/ruralness of lower CT river valley creeps up and makes us feel like an old school city.

[Lalalally]

Originally Posted by Stylo

New Fairfield does feel more aligned to NY counties.

I think it has to do w/ the geography. Sherman is very much the same too -- the lake cuts us off both towns from rest of CT. NF borders Danbury; and Sherman borders NM. And that's it (well except for NF and Sherman bordering each other). There's a local paper out of Dutchess County (or maybe Putnam, really not sure), called the Harlem Valley News, and it includes Sherman and New Fairfield news sections as well. Residents of both towns regularly dine/shop in NY -- Pawling, Patterson, Southeast, etc.
It's funny how that works.

[ashowofhands]

Originally Posted by Lalalally

I think it has to do w/ the geography. Sherman is very much the same too -- the lake cuts us off both towns from rest of CT. NF borders Danbury; and Sherman borders NM. And that's it (well except for bordering each other). There's a local paper out of Dutchess County (or maybe Putnam, really not sure), called the Harlem Valley News, and it includes Sherman and New Fairfield news sections as well. Residents of both towns regularly dine/shop in NY -- Pawling, Patterson, Southeast, etc.
It's funny how that works.

Yeah, that area does definitely feel like an extension of Putnam/Dutchess. Not only do they all literally border each other, they're all sort of in the same corner of the world (along the NY-22 corridor, even the CT towns). They're also very rural with lots of lake communities, which means similar housing stock and attracting similar demographics.

[ashowofhands]

Originally Posted by Lalalally

Still a good amount of summer residents in the lake communities, which is nice because you kind of pick up on their "vacation" vibe during the summer months -- it's fun with more going on.

Yeah, similar thing going on over here by Whaley Lake in Pawling, there are tons of weekend and seasonal houses as well as short-term/vacation rentals. During the off-season it looks like a ghost town while all of us full-timers are either at work or cooped up inside trying to avoid the cold, but come through on a nice Saturday afternoon and the town literally comes to life. People out on the lake, kids outside playing or riding bicycles, sides of the roads lined with parked cars, every other house has a grill going in the backyard, etc. And even though I'm still a working stiff, I can still catch the vacation attitude and feel like I'm on a little summer getaway for the few hours that I'm at home

[East of the River]

In Manchester we are kind of the central eastern CT city. By that I mean it reminds me of when I lived in rural Maine and you would drive in to Bangor. There is more hustle and bustle then the country side but not anything like Hartford or any of the other cities further west in CT. It really does remind me of a city surrounded by rural areas even thous it's surrounded on 3 sides by suburbs. I think the feel comes from the fact that many people in surrounding towns come here to shop eat etc. It also has an oddly 50's suburban feel (some what because that's when a lot of the single family homes in town were built) Smaller close in houses tend to force you to engage a bit more with your neighbors. I have found it to be much more community oriented then I would of thought for it's size.

[Lalalally]

Originally Posted by ashowofhands

Yeah, similar thing going on over here by Whaley Lake in Pawling, there are tons of weekend and seasonal houses as well as short-term/vacation rentals. During the off-season it looks like a ghost town while all of us full-timers are either at work or cooped up inside trying to avoid the cold, but come through on a nice Saturday afternoon and the town literally comes to life. People out on the lake, kids outside playing or riding bicycles, sides of the roads lined with parked cars, every other house has a grill going in the backyard, etc. And even though I'm still a working stiff, I can still catch the vacation attitude and feel like I'm on a little summer getaway for the few hours that I'm at home

Exactly There’s a definite uptick in activity level and population during the summer months here in town. Town beach concerts, outdoor / drive-in movies, catching up with old friends who come back for the season, etc. It’s absolutely my favorite time of year in New Fairfield

EDIT to say: sadly though this summer may not be so festive and fun. So many homes were lost/destroyed in that storm 2 weeks ago, with the lake communities being particularly hard hit. I haven’t been to either Candlewood Isle or Candlewood Knolls since the storm, but from what I hear and from the pictures I’ve seen, both are pretty much decimated. It’s so sad.

[ashowofhands]

Originally Posted by Lalalally

Exactly There’s a definite uptick in activity level and population during the summer months here in town. Town beach concerts, outdoor / drive-in movies, catching up with old friends who come back for the season, etc. It’s absolutely my favorite time of year in New Fairfield

EDIT to say: sadly though this summer may not be so festive and fun. So many homes were lost/destroyed in that storm 2 weeks ago, with the lake communities being particularly hard hit. I haven’t been to either Candlewood Isle or Candlewood Knolls since the storm, but from what I hear and from the pictures I’ve seen, both are pretty much decimated. It’s so sad.

One (or more) of the tornadoes went right through New Fairfield, right? Scary ****. I grew up in North Salem, where that one lady who got killed was a teacher. I never actually knew her personally but it was devastating for the community.


That storm ripped Lake Carmel a new butthole too. I wonder how many homes got destroyed to non-liveable condition/beyond repair. On the other hand, that stretch of Rt. 52 between Kent and Carmel already kind of looked like a tornado had come through to begin with...