[Thruway]

Hi, I'm a recent college grad from Boston.
I'm orignally from Trumbull and simply can not stand the anti-New York Yankee knuckleheads (no offense) that downtown Boston has.

Nonetheless I want to be near the Boston area, but either west or south of it because
1) I have resources and friends in Boston
2) I have family and friends in Trumbull
3) I want to be somewhat closer to my family in the Northern VA area

This has me deciding were to search for a job, MA/CT/VA quite hard.
If I did decide to move back north, I'm 23, I'd like to be able to find accounting/bookeeping work at a university or government which likely means Boston or 128 to 495.

I don't mind being near Boston, I like the northeast.
However I really want to be in area were there are more people like me.
I can't stand the constant Yankee bashing and even muting the TV and radio, censoring newspapers doesn't help when it's 200-3.
When I can't speak out or my opinion, as is the case, part of me dies lol.

In addition I do not want to live in a city, I want to live near a city so that I can get in when needed but I want my open space and bigger apartment.

1) I wanted to know is this possible in extreme NE CT?
-I'm talking Wilsonville, or East Thompson, I did the maps and it's only 61 miles to Boston, quicker than a Trumbul to NY commute most people do.
However the area looks quite rural as if housing would be tough to get and for an out town college student quite lonely.
2) I also wanted to know what is this area like, is it all Boston sports, or since it is in CT do you get a mix of NY and BOS but more BOS since it's nearer.
-I don't mind that, I think, just as long as it's not ALL BOS like it is there.
-To shop or go to the gym, can you do that in CT or do you have to cross the line
3) Does the Providence station which carries Yankee games come in?
4) What about YES, MSG, do you get Yankee, Rangers, and Giants games?
5) One last question, how far away is the beach?
I would love to be near a nice warm beach I can go to without hassle on the weekend, not a dump, no offense like seaside park or something shivering like Cape Cod.
Newport RI or Lyme, CT sound nice.
-Is that possible or a taxing drive?

Overall is this viable or a stretch given my current state.
Thanks.

[jeremeyk482]

Originally Posted by tberg224

Hi, I'm a recent college grad from Boston......./

Overall is this viable or a stretch given my current state.
Thanks.

I'd have to say a stretch. Here's why.

I'm not from NE CT (Westport, actually, but I do have family in Columbia, CT). NE CT is nice, but very quiet and if you're looking for nightlife, the closest would be Hartford or Providence. Not very local if you ask me.

If you check Mapquest, from Thompson to New London/Waterford areas is about an hour drive down 395. To RI beaches (Newport) you're looking at an hour and a half. So a day at the beach would surely be a hike from NE CT.

Yes, it's cheap to live up there. In fact, it's about the cheapest area in all of CT, but there's a reason housing is priced so low. The nearest cities are 45 minutes away, there's very little shopping, dining, etc. My cousin from Columbia was just visiting Westport last week and expressed her dislike for NE CT because of the lack of good pizza parlors, bagel shops and delis. There isn't much around in terms of restaurants.

I think, at 23 years old, you'll be quiet bored in Thompson. Having visited the town a few times, it seems to be many longtime residents who are employed in blue-collar professions around town. You must ask yourself, is this what you want?

What about Providence or its suburbs? It's near the beach, lots to do, and in between NYC and Boston. Of course you're going to notice the people in Eastern CT and RI rooting for the NE teams. Western CT (Madison/Hartford and East) is dominated by NY fans so if sports teams mean so much to you, you may want to shell out a little extra in rent to move back near your hometown of Trumbull.

I don't know much about TV stations, but my guess is that the YES network is not offered up there.

Honestly, having visited NE CT, it's not my nice, cold bottle of beer. I'd rather have civilization with a little above average housing costs. You get what you pay for. Good luck

[Thruway]

Thanks dude.
I'm only and hour from Boston so I have nightlife, I'm from Trumbull and that is actually FURTHER to NY, but the area itself, Trumbull has shops, places to go, sounds like NE CT is desolute.
I like rural areas but for a 23 year I would not fit in.
I would like to be in Trumbull, but all my college friends are in Boston as are my college contacts for jobs, it's all MA based so finding someplace near Boston but more NY friendly is my goal.
Thanks.

[uconn99]

Columbia is far from the Northeast corner of the state and about 25 minutes from Hartford. Columbia to Thompson is easily a hour commute.


Back to the topic, I would look into Webster MA, or a town outside of Worchester, maybe Grafton or Auburn? Doing this you will still be able to take the T (comuter rail) into the city for work or pleasure since it is only about 1 hour train ride.

Thomson is nice but the commute would still suck, I-90 into Boston can be a real pain in the morning rush-hour.

I am not sure what channels the Northeast corner of the state gets, but in the Willimantic/Windham Charter cable area my parents get CBS and ABC Boston channels on top of Hartford, NESN, and FSN New England. No MSG or Yes, I asume Danielson/Putnam area would be the same. Windham county is highly Boston influenced.

[skytrekker]

Columbia although in eastern CT- is not in the extreme northeast corner of the state where you will find more then a few Boston commuters.

I would look near the Rhode Island border as uconn suggested- Putnam, Brooklyn, Pomfret, Woodstock. The 'quiet Corner' is very beautiful and quiet- with Hartford and Providence a mere 30 miles either way- and Boston about 1+ hours.

Beware however- this is all basically Red Sox Nation- Providence nor Boston have no TV stations via cable that play New York Sports teams- you could perhaps purchase some kind of Dish configuration, that would allow you access to YES.

[JayCT]

tberg224 - There is an invisible line somewhere around Hartford that separates the Yankee Empire from the Red Sox's Nation. To the south is mostly Yankee fans, to the north Boston fans. Hartford is sort of the middle ground with an interesting mix of both. May I suggest that you consider the Hartford area. Hartford is a great small city with a lot for a young person to do. There are a lot of jobs and it is very liveable with affordable housing when compared to New York or Boston. Most cable companies carry both the Yankee Channel and the New England Sports Network (the Red Sox's channel). If you want to live in the country, it gets pretty rural 15 minutes out of downtown. Boston is 2 hours away, New York is 2 hours away and Trumbull is about an hour. I came here from Fairfield when I was young and single and found that the area is often overlooked. Not sure why, but think about this area if you really want a compromise between Boston and New York. Jay

PS - I understand what you mean about Boston fans.

[jeremeyk482]

Columbia to Thompson is about 35 minutes. I figured I would use Columbia as an example because it's in E Connecticut and actually has more in terms of shopping and dining than Thompson does, which isn't all that much.

I agree that Hartford might be a good place. It's not close to the beach, but it's an up and coming city.

[uconn99]

How do you figure Columbia is 35 minutes from Thompson? What way are you going and how fast do you drive?

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by uconn99

How do you figure Columbia is 35 minutes from Thompson? What way are you going and how fast do you drive?

Columbia is about 40 miles from Thompson and it would take about 45 to 60 minutes driving. Jay

[Gregory P]

Hello,

We lived in the northeast corner...the "Quiet Corner" of CT and at 23 I can't say you'd have a blast. Although there are a couple of decent bars in Putnam (surprisingly) and they're trying to do things to pick up the area.

But the costs are lower and getting into Providence is a half hour.

You definitely won't get the Yankee bashing and it does seem to split in that area...in fact you'll get both YES Network and NESN. At least via direcTV.

The problem with that area is getting west is tough. You're usually better of heading south, then west through Norwich. I'm self employed and work out of the house (we're actually in NC moving back to Woodstock, CT)

Beach...we used to head down 395, cut in through some back roads back into RI and head south towards Narragansett RI...about an hour, but all backroads so you don't even hit "beach traffic."

To be honest, we moved south because we were looking for more action. But we realized it's not all it's cracked up to be and really miss that northeastern area.

I recommend it but can't say for sure I would if I were 23.

What about Providence? My Uncles are in RI and all Yankee fans. You could hang out with them...but they're in their 70's so probably a little weird :-)

Good luck.

By the way...Yankees Su...

Just kidding man. Take it easy.

Originally Posted by tberg224

Hi, I'm a recent college grad from Boston.
I'm orignally from Trumbull and simply can not stand the anti-New York Yankee knuckleheads (no offense) that downtown Boston has.

Nonetheless I want to be near the Boston area, but either west or south of it because
1) I have resources and friends in Boston
2) I have family and friends in Trumbull
3) I want to be somewhat closer to my family in the Northern VA area

This has me deciding were to search for a job, MA/CT/VA quite hard.
If I did decide to move back north, I'm 23, I'd like to be able to find accounting/bookeeping work at a university or government which likely means Boston or 128 to 495.

I don't mind being near Boston, I like the northeast.
However I really want to be in area were there are more people like me.
I can't stand the constant Yankee bashing and even muting the TV and radio, censoring newspapers doesn't help when it's 200-3.
When I can't speak out or my opinion, as is the case, part of me dies lol.

In addition I do not want to live in a city, I want to live near a city so that I can get in when needed but I want my open space and bigger apartment.

1) I wanted to know is this possible in extreme NE CT?
-I'm talking Wilsonville, or East Thompson, I did the maps and it's only 61 miles to Boston, quicker than a Trumbul to NY commute most people do.
However the area looks quite rural as if housing would be tough to get and for an out town college student quite lonely.
2) I also wanted to know what is this area like, is it all Boston sports, or since it is in CT do you get a mix of NY and BOS but more BOS since it's nearer.
-I don't mind that, I think, just as long as it's not ALL BOS like it is there.
-To shop or go to the gym, can you do that in CT or do you have to cross the line
3) Does the Providence station which carries Yankee games come in?
4) What about YES, MSG, do you get Yankee, Rangers, and Giants games?
5) One last question, how far away is the beach?
I would love to be near a nice warm beach I can go to without hassle on the weekend, not a dump, no offense like seaside park or something shivering like Cape Cod.
Newport RI or Lyme, CT sound nice.
-Is that possible or a taxing drive?

Overall is this viable or a stretch given my current state.
Thanks.