[newyork2050]

I know people say new haven bridgeport and hartford are bad cities but compared to other cities are they normal and have the same problems that any other city that size has or are they really that bad

[hoppybunn]

Compared to the rest of Connecticut they're "bad" as far as crime and poverty go, however it is basically like any other city that you'd find it the US. There are the good and bad areas.

[jjbradleynyc]

Honestly, I think New Haven is one of the most lively, active, and exciting "small cities" I've ever visited. For its size of only 125k (approx), it has a "very much larger city livelihood" to it.
Hartford is probably very similar to a lot of cities one would expect of its size--with the same blight, white-flight, great suburbs, and somewhat dead-downtown after 5-6pm.
Bridgeport is a city that has suffered the most. It is definitely not "on-par" with other cities of its size in terms of blight, attractions, etc. It's below the average city, I'd say. Bridgeport has some really awful problems to deal with--blight, very high taxes, stigma of a poverty-stricken city in a wealthy area, and corruption issues (in the past hopefully).

[WILWRadio]

I'd live in Hartford or New Haven but steer clear of Bridgeport.

Hartford's previously dead downtown after business hours is improving thanks to a lot of new condo's apartments and clubs and restaurants opening up in the last few years. Soon the new Hartford 21 Tower downtown will have a supermarket.

[newyork2050]

Aren't the crime stats for these cities worse than most other cities its size

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by newyork2050

Aren't the crime stats for these cities worse than most other cities its size

You have to understand how those stats are developed. Because the cities in Connecticut are small in size, there is less areas to dilute the stats giving an impression that crime is higher here than other similar cities. If you look at metropolitain area stats you will see that Ct cities are no worse than most major cities. Jay

[glxyman21]

Originally Posted by JayCT

You have to understand how those stats are developed. Because the cities in Connecticut are small in size, there is less areas to dilute the stats giving an impression that crime is higher here than other similar cities. If you look at metropolitain area stats you will see that Ct cities are no worse than most major cities. Jay

That is not "diluting" the rate of crime by having a higher population. what it says is that you would be more likely to be affected by a crime, and because of the small land area crime won't be confined to one area, but rather most of the city. The poster didn't ask about metropolitan area or population, but rather the specific city they are looking to live in. Hartford has a higher crime rate, now due to gun violence, than New Haven (but both cities are notorious for this). Bridgeport has been rather quiet lately but is very depressed compared to Hartford and New Haven.

[JayCT]

The poster asked about crime stats for these cities and how they compare to other cities, as quoted in my post. In other cities some of the suburban areas where there is less crime are part of the city. That is not the case in Connecticut cities. Connecticut cities are small and have most of the problem areas in the metropolitian area. They also have less suburban areas to offset the problem areas. This gives the impression statistically that a city like Hartford has more crime than other cities with similar metropolitian populations. Jay

[ctcoldplay11]

JayCT- What it seems that you are saying is that Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport are all more dangerous areas to live in than cities like NYC, Philly or Boston because you are more likely to be a victim of a crime due to the small city size, etc. If the former cities were more spread out or larger in population, this wouldn't be an issue?

But back to the question, I truly feel that Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford are much more dangerous than the larger cities of the Northeast. Just my opinion!

[reason180]

Many people that post on this forum have a "townie" view of the world. They live in small towns and they are fearful of urban areas.

All 3 cities mentioned have good areas and bad. Some of the brightest people in the country live and work in New Haven. There are some million dollar houses and condos in New Haven! The NY Times recently featured a $800,000 condo in BPT. There are some very wealthy New Yorkers that have weekend homes in BPT along the waterfront.

Are there some very real gangsters in those cities??? Yes. One of those cities had a drug crew that almost never left the projects without body armor. At that time (mid to late 90s) they had more powerful weaponry than the local police department. Most of the violent crimes are related to the drug game and if it wasn't for demand for drugs in the wealthy suburbs the "game" wouldn't be very profitable. Don't believe me????? The Hartford police department publishes online the daily arrest blotter. Last Thursday and Friday there were drug related arrests in Hartford for people from Farmington, Wethersfield, Plainville, and bunch of other small towns. Local CT papers recently did stories about increased heroin abuse by teens in Trumbull, Shelton, and North Haven.

The media only portrays the bad things about the cities. They don't take about all the hard working, good citizens in BPT, Hford, or NH.