[JViello]

Originally Posted by waterlily1010

I dread our first winter in New England (driving on icy roads, shoveling) but coming from IL, you've seen it all...

Just remember that a "New England Winter" can vary a ton from place to place. MA has considerably more "Winter" then SW CT. A marked difference for sure.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by MetsNY

In Connecticut most kids choices are private schools such as BC, BU, Villanova, Fordham, Pace, QU, UHart, Sacred Heart, Fairfield U, Springfield, Trinity, Williams, Wesleyen, Middlebury, Bates, Providence, the list goes on and on.

Lets not forget the most prestigous schools in the country that are located here: Harvard, Yale, MIT, Brown, Dartmouth, Smith, Wheaton, Columbia. Cornell... By far the northeast, particularly New England, has the more prestigous colleges. Jay

[waterlily1010]

Originally Posted by JViello

Just remember that a "New England Winter" can vary a ton from place to place. MA has considerably more "Winter" then SW CT. A marked difference for sure.

I'm glad to know, then I'm looking forward to moving to CT!

[loveautumn]

Ok, think basically Elle Woods vs. Vivian...and you have SoCal vs. CT.

[Acipenser]

Having lived in both Connecticut and California (NorCal, but spent plenty of time in SoCal too), I'd say CT without at doubt. That said, it's a personal choice and the two regions could not be more different. Others will obviously prefer the west coast. As for the CA weather, I found it to be boring, every day the same as the last. Yay, it's sunny again. Woohoo. I like the mix in the east. And to echo previous posters, the winter in CT, particularly by the coast, is pretty mild.

Anyway, the points in the OP have been pretty well covered, but I wanted to comment on these more recent points:

Originally Posted by MetsNY

UConn is #66 and California has some universities in the top 50, that's great, you're trying to say that all those Cal schools are better than our state university. There is no denying Berkeley and UCLA, but to be quite honest, I gurentee UConn can compete with the others with no questions asked. Public Universities are great but outside Berkeley and UCLA not many people from other areas of the nation are going to care if you attended UC Davis. Going for a job in Chicago, you'll have more of a chance coming from UIllinois then from either UC Davis or UConn, no matter what the ranking systems are.

Sorry, but that's simply not true. UConn is a very good school and you can get a fine education there, but it does not compare with the UC system. You pick on UC Davis, presumably because you think it's a lesser known school. Every school has it's strength, and at UCD it's life sciences research. According to the National Science Foundation, UC Davis is ranked 1st in agricultural research, 7th in biological research, and 13th in the life sciences. The resources available at UCD are unreal and a CA resident interested in biology can get a elite education at a bargain rate. An informed employer will recognize the school and the degree does carry weight. Trust me.

Originally Posted by JayCT

Yes but outside of the public universities, aren't there very few choices. That is a complaint my friend that lives out there has. Very limited choices and these public schools are hard to get into. Jay

Between the UC system and the also very good Cal State system, there's no reason a decent student can't get into a very good public school in California. Honestly, I think the higher education system there is one of the state's finest features (well, that and all that gorgeous land... the Sierras, the coast, redwoods, etc.). As for the extensive list of excellent private schools that has been listed, it misses the point that missionhome was making that a CA resident can get a private-school caliber education at public school prices. This whole argument about colleges is pretty irrelevant, though, as you can go to college anywhere you want. You could even move to CA, establish residency after one year, and attend a UC school at the in-state rate. The school system the OP really needs to worry about is K-12... and other people have very eloquently argued the pros and cons there.

[rainedancer1]

Ok, I thought this was interesting so I figured I would respond. My husband and I have both lived in CT since we were born. My family is from southern CT and his family is from Northern CT now we live in NW Connecticut. We really have an idylic life. Currently we live in an inexpensive starter home with 2 kids and we have a large yard. I am the PTO president and I work at home for my family and my husband works close by also. I will say compared to a lot of places CT is charmed, if you want a quiet place with good schools CT would be your place. It is a great place to raise a family!

That being said my husband and I have been thinking of moving for several years. We like CT but the problem is the winter. I have two active children who want to be outside all year. Living here we are stuck inside for six months of winter. We are tired of it and would love to live in a place where the kids could be outside more.

[GrotonMan]

Originally Posted by rainedancer1

Ok, I thought this was interesting so I figured I would respond. My husband and I have both lived in CT since we were born. My family is from southern CT and his family is from Northern CT now we live in NW Connecticut. We really have an idylic life. Currently we live in an inexpensive starter home with 2 kids and we have a large yard. I am the PTO president and I work at home for my family and my husband works close by also. I will say compared to a lot of places CT is charmed, if you want a quiet place with good schools CT would be your place. It is a great place to raise a family!

That being said my husband and I have been thinking of moving for several years. We like CT but the problem is the winter. I have two active children who want to be outside all year. Living here we are stuck inside for six months of winter. We are tired of it and would love to live in a place where the kids could be outside more.

Why leave the state if you find it charming? I say check out the coastal portion. It is quite charming in it's own right, everything in the northern portion is only an hour away, and the weather is significantly more mild. For being such a small state in size, it is quite geographically and climatically diverse.

[Syngar99]

1) mexicans
2) earthquakes
3) droughts
4) virtually no land to be found for middle income people
5) shallower and less cultured

[JViello]

Originally Posted by rainedancer1

That being said my husband and I have been thinking of moving for several years. We like CT but the problem is the winter. I have two active children who want to be outside all year. Living here we are stuck inside for six months of winter. We are tired of it and would love to live in a place where the kids could be outside more.

*6* months of Winter? Me thinks this post is a spoof and you've never actually lived here.

Anyone who has actually looked at the daily average highs, lows and averages knows we really have two months of Winter and even then it's not "can't go outside or you'll freeze your face off -5 to 5 degree weather. Not even close. (Average highs in Jan/Feb are 34-37 degrees)

If your kids are not comfortable playing outside in 50 degree weather (Average Highs in March and April for Hartford), I'm not sure what to say.

[ciaobella1009]

I am originally from CT and lived/worked in Stamford. I just moved back from SoCal (Huntington/Newport Beach area) in June of 2008. Having lived in both places and loving both for different reasons, I made my move for a few key reasons. Raising a family in SoCal (and I'm 33 and single) was not something I wanted. The main reasons are pretty simple. K-12 schooling is notoriously poor in SoCal. Imagine overcrowded schools, a majority of students who don't speak English as a 1st language (several of my friends are teachers and they've told me how hard it is to conduct a class when the majority of students speak either Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese or another language predominantly). Schools are way underfunded (more so since the state went bankrupt) and seriously, most people need to afford a serious income to allow their kids into a GOOD public school system (ie a really nice, upscale city!). Otherwise, plan to spend thousands each year having your kids attend private school. Everyone who can, sends their kids to private school because they know the reputation of the public schools. Honestly, I don't know how they can afford that with the other expenses of living there. And from firsthand knowledge, SoCal neighborhoods can turn on a dime… even mansions in Beverly Hills are adjacent to the seediness on Sunset Blvd. My point is- there are homeless, gangs, and drugs in any area of the country… but it is much more prevalent in SoCal. The gang issue would scare me… I’ve actually had friends say it’s a little scary in San Diego because despite its beauty (and it is gorgeous)… it is literally steps from Mexico. Drugs, kidnappings, gang robberies can happen easily and people can cross that border in a heartbeat.

Now, don't get me wrong, SoCal is an AMAZING area to live... more so as a single working professional. It does offer countless amounts of places to visit and activities to do. Problem is- especially in beach towns which is where I lived, I sensed much less of a priority placed on education. Surfing and skateboarding abounds- and as the kids would tell me that I lived next door to- why stay in all night doing homework when there's so much else to do with friends? They'd either be surfing or at the skate park till dusk. Again, it's a very fun place after work when you're single and want to go to happy hour- but if I had kids, that wouldn't be my priority. CT is more reasonable housing-wise (although Fairfield county is one of the most expensive places in the country). I live in a nice, suburban town outside of Hartford and can buy a home for $250,000-400,000 on average. FORGET about doing that in SoCal ($250,000/300,000 gets you a shack in Compton- no lie). Plan on renting if you don't bring in at least $150,000/200,000 annually. Everyone there rents... there's a reason stars live there. Only they can afford a decent piece of property! (And even then, you'll get very little in terms of a yard.) Think of knowing your neighbors every habits (I would hear my neighbor’s alarm and him getting in the shower… daily. Another neighbor fought constantly with his wife and the whole neighborhood could hear them.) The homes are simply stacked one on top of another. Since there are no basements or attics (earthquake code) people use their garages as “rec rooms”. Pool table, video games…. Not for anything like a car or dare I say, a lawn mower (no one mows their own lawn anyway- even though it takes 5 minutes because they’re the size of postage stamps… everyone hires a Mexican which really, was so sad when I saw the utter laziness). I rented a house and my neighbors actually had to RENT storage space for their holiday decorations and various camping gear because there’s simply no extra space! Imagine spending AT LEAST a half million on a home and RENTING storage space!! It’s unreal… but again, just a completely different lifestyle

So again, it's a matter of preference... weather/ recreation / restaurants etc should be your priority if moving out to SoCal. Not much else... as for CT, it took me a while to re-acclimate here (especially this winter) but at least you already live in a place where winters are way colder than here. The fall is stunning and most everyone here names that as their favorite time of year. Winter can be long but again, coming from Chicago, you’re used to winter. Spring and fall are probably similar to Chicago but I’ve heard Chicago’s summers can be brutal. Not so bad here I think… But really, if you value a family lifestyle, education, culture (in terms of people in CT actually knowing where other states are located and such lol... you'd be shocked at how many Californians asked me if CT was on the coast and whether we have palm trees- seriously! It's just such a huge state I think if you're born there, you see no reason to leave it…ever). I still miss Cali but CT's proximity to Boston and NYC allow me to get the big city feel when I want... and there's always Florida for a quick jaunt in the winter when you're sick of the cold!!


I really put some thought into my response so I do hope it helps!! Best of luck with your decision!