[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by ctcoldplay11

JViello- I am currently a sophomore in college, so to answer your question the incident occured a mere year and a half ago. Also, I was using Avon and New Canaan as extreme examples as those are both desirable towns to reside. Willimantic is not. I'm sorry but it just isn't and I could ramble on about the reasons why, but apparantly, I will get nowhere with you.

Also, the Hartford Courant article should not be thrown aside. Like the city has cleaned up COMPLETELY in seven years. Let's be real can we? Just accept the truth and get on with your life. JEEZ.

Not to stir the pot, because i know virtually nothing about Willimantic, but didn't 60 minutes also do a segment some years ago about this?

[ctcoldplay11]

60 Minutes did a story on what? Willimantic?

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by ctcoldplay11

60 Minutes did a story on what? Willimantic?

Yes, if i recall correctly.

*Edit*
They did a story(no link to it)
http://www.cerc.com/pdfs/willimanticwhitepaper.pdf (broken link)

[JViello]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Also Avon is upper-middle class - far from what New Canaan, Greenwich and Darien are like. Sorry, just in a disagreeing mood today.

Avon has a higher median income than Greenwich ($124,132 vs $108.800)...and pretty close to New Canaan and Darien with a much lower cost of living. Just sayin...

P.S. Take some midol.

Originally Posted by ctcoldplay11

JViello- I am currently a sophomore in college, so to answer your question the incident occured a mere year and a half ago. Also, I was using Avon and New Canaan as extreme examples as those are both desirable towns to reside. Willimantic is not. I'm sorry but it just isn't and I could ramble on about the reasons why, but apparantly, I will get nowhere with you.

Also, the Hartford Courant article should not be thrown aside. Like the city has cleaned up COMPLETELY in seven years. Let's be real can we? Just accept the truth and get on with your life. JEEZ.

When did I say Willimantic doesn't have problems? When did I say it was the "best place to move to". I didn't. However, it's not "bad" by many standards - it's simply not, and the city is improving fairly well.

When you graduate and actually move into the real world and pay some bills, and travel the country more perhaps your perception of life and reality will change a bit. "JEEZ".

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

Yes, if i recall correctly.

*Edit*
They did a story(no link to it)
http://www.cerc.com/pdfs/willimanticwhitepaper.pdf (broken link)

Couple quotes from that article:

Despite these problems, the community offered promise. Willimantic had one of the largest concentrations of Victorian homes in the nation for a city of its size. The homes were featured in a Victorian Homes tour—an annual event that brought people to Willimantic from all over the region.

...CEDAT also found that Willimantic is a compact walkable downtown, with a character that evokes an old-fashioned Main Street feeling, and the only real downtown located in this region.

Gee, I think that's exactly what I posted my "view" of the city was as well. But, what do I know...

CEDAT’s economic development action plan helped achieve the following goals:

• Formulation of a collective vision for downtown Willimantic that benefited from widespread community participation
• Establishment of an aggressive work program
• Establishment of an organizational framework to implement the work program
• Implementation of key plan elements

The goal was to provide the town with a blueprint to guide immediate action - and with help from CEDAT, that goal was achieved. With concrete action items in place, town officials could make real progress towards improvement. CEDAT successfully provided an organizational framework for the town to move ahead aggressively on a comprehensive downtown development program – something that they had previously lacked. Windham is now armed with the organizational capacity to achieve real economic development success.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by JViello

Avon has a higher median income than Greenwich ($124,132 vs $108.800)...and pretty close to New Canaan and Darien with a much lower cost of living. Just sayin...

May I ask, what source are you consulting? I use www.cerc.com which has figures close to yours but reversed:

$111,824 - Avon
$122,849 - Greenwich

In any event, the medians (middle figures, low to high) are close.

[ctcoldplay11]

JViello- Paying bills and moving into the "real world" is irrelevant, as I can see with my own eyes the character of Willimantic even as a college student. Seems like you can't even handle a civil argument, it's a little pathetic. Even though I'm decades younger, I think you might have the growing up to do.

[Tetto]

ctcoldplay11,

Do you see everything in absolutes? Is that what they teach you as a "sophomore"? Can't you see both sides? There are some good things going on in Willimantic, but there are some freaky things as well. I grew up in Glastonbury, and you want to talk about drugs and needles? Please, it was rampant then and is a huge problem now as well. Willimantic doesn't have the market cornered there...

I've traveled all over this country in my 43 years, and believe me it's mighty nice to get home and head to Willimantic for some tasty Mexican food at Cinco de mayo...

Lighten up Francis...

[ctcoldplay11]

Originally Posted by Noreastercat

Can any Connecticut resident give me any information about where to rent a house, condo, etc. outside of Willimantic, Conn.? I don't want to live in Willimantic, but a city near that's rent-reasonable (not cheap).

Tetto, perhaps you need to refer to the original post. They do NOT want to live in Willimantic. My point was to remind those on the forum that it isn't necessary to "glorify" the city in an attempt to change their mind. I don't know exactly where you get off trying to lower my credibility simply because I am a college sophomore, as I thought this forum was for adults. Stick to what you say, and I'll stick to what I say, the need for these petty arguments are a little ridiculous.

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by JViello

Avon has a higher median income than Greenwich ($124,132 vs $108.800)...and pretty close to New Canaan and Darien with a much lower cost of living. Just sayin...

Just out of curiosity, where did you get your figures? According to City-Data, Greenwich has a higher median income, as does New Canaan and Darien. Also, your "lower cost of living" translates to much less expensive housing, which just proves kidyankee's point. There is a huge difference, it's like comparing apples to oranges:

Greenwich: Estimated median household income in 2005: $108,800
Avon: Estimated median household income in 2005: $103,800
New Canaan: Estimated median household income in 2005: $155,700
Darien: Estimated median household income in 2005: $161,100


http://www.city-data.com/city/Greenw...nnecticut.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Avon-Connecticut.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Darien-Connecticut.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/New-Ca...nnecticut.html


Differences in median house/condo values by town:

Avon: Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $383,600
Greenwich: Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $1,286,300
New Canaan: Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $1,367,700
Darien: Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $1,170,200

Wikipedia also has Greenwich listed with a higher median income, along with New Canaan and Darien:

Avon:The median income for a household in the town was $90,934, and the median income for a family was $109,161. Males had a median income of $76,882 versus $44,848 for females.

Greenwich:The median income for a household in the town is $99,086, and the median income for a family is $122,719. Males have a median income of $95,085 versus $47,806 for females.

New Canaan: The median income for a household in the town in 2007 was $178,651 New Canaan Advertiser's New Canaan Answer Book Book March 27, 2008, accessed July 17, 2008</ref> and the median income for a family was $231,138, the highest in Connecticut.

Darien: The median income for a household in the town was $146,755, and the median income for a family was $173,777. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $59,313 for females.



Avon, Connecticut - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greenwich, Connecticut - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Canaan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darien,_Connecticut

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Rich Lee

May I ask, what source are you consulting? I use www.cerc.com which has figures close to yours but reversed:

$111,824 - Avon
$122,849 - Greenwich

In any event, the medians (middle figures, low to high) are close.

Originally Posted by andthentherewere3

Just out of curiosity, where did you get your figures? According to City-Data,

To answer both posts, I used what I thought were 2007 data from CNN Money Magazine. Looking at the 2005 figures for Greenwich, perhaps they had the wrong data for that or I misread something. I can't find Greenwich for 2007 on CNN again but the Avon listing I posted is there. Either way, as Rich said, both towns are "money". That's hard to argue.

andthentherewere3: Your figures are all over the place. Your using 2005 figures which don't match and then comparing them to 2008 figures etc etc. Avon actually shows families have greater purchasing power ($105,734 vs $101,157 for 2007) I.E. They are less in the "high earning poor" class and have more disposable income not dealing with the inflated real estate market Greenwich has.

In reality I would go so far as to say Avon has more "average wealth" vs Greenwich which has gazillionaires and low income earners as well. Avon is pretty steady across the board. That's just my opinion after spending much time in both cities for work.

The bottom line is, Avon is a rich town - not a poorish small city like Willimantic. Comparing the two is stupid. End of story.