[Mrs. Carly]

I think we are doing things backwards.....moving to one of the more expensive states from the south where the living is cheap.

When I lived in Louisiana, I made frequent trips to Florida. I looooove the beaches out there, but can't stand those hurricanes. I don't think Jacksonville gets hit too hard though. Usually the action is along the gulf coast.

I know you said your wife may not like the heat too much, but I'm curious as to how she feels bout the landscape. Does she mind that it is so flat?

[JiminCT]

Connecticut is going to feel this for a long time. People think its an idyllic way to live, but if the jobs dont coincide with the cost of living...people leave. The 25-34 crowd has been emptying out of here for a long time. Just because an area is pretty doesnt keep people here....and Connecticut's anti-business and painfully backward parochial shamrock/cement executive tatooed pinheaded government is killing this state. I've lived here 39 years...and kids this state is not going in the right direction. You cant have a stratified wealthy class and a bottom impoverished one...this state is going to look like South America.

[Beeker2211]

JiminCT,

The whole Connecticut is "anti-business" line is tired and was never true. "Business" is not a big monolithic entity, especially here in CT. Yes, things cost more here but the biggest impediment to industrial growth in the state isn't the state itself but the extremely high cost of electricity.

As for why kids are leaving, look at where they are leaving and where they are staying in the state. The coast isn't doing so bad, and neither is the Hartford area because of the colleges. But the suburbs have made themselves completely unfriendly to apartments that these kids usually are able to afford. As well, the statistics look slightly worse than they actually are because out going Freshmen from Connecticut go out typically go for much higher levels of education, it is not uncommon for many to aspire to Masters or even Doctorates. And there's only 37 unis in Connecticut or so.

http://cteconomy.uconn.edu/TCE_Issues/Spring_2005.pdf

Sorry, I don't mean to blow up your spot.

~Cheers

[JiminCT]

My spot aint blown...your points are completely without base. Connecticut is an anit-business state. Why do you think UPS, Saab, Time Warner Cable, etc...have been clearing out of here?

And young people have been leaving because its a boring state and there is a bigger world with a better economy than cutsie Connecticut.

BTW....try some statistics that arent 5 years old.

[Beeker2211]

JiminCT,

My points are not without base. You made a very interesting claim, that while oft repeated bears little importance in the real workings of the economy, without proof. Your claim is interesting because somehow Connecticut has the 4th most productive manufacturing employees(1), some of the largest corporations in the nation and the world, the second highest per capita productivity (2), has a two major cities that stand alone in the financial world, and this was all without a massive housing boom that drove the economies of many areas.

CT Manufacturing by the Numbers (1)
List of U.S. states by GDP per capita (nominal) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2) I hate to use wiki right now but I'm extremely busy to find the better site that had this info.

Statistics that are five years old to explain a trend that you're claiming is long term is very useful. As well, you're talking about a phenomena that was driven by lending that just won't do anymore. It's gone. Now mortgages have a chance to be written for where there is a clear demand for a wider variety of housing (here for instance) instead of spec housing. The trend might slow or even reverse now, but proper zoning is going to be key.

Connecticut is not "anti-business" but what that has come to mean is not bending over backwards to hand out piles of money to corporations. Connecticut does this, but in a very limited way and frankly for the better. We do need to control health care expenditures and electricity rates. I get the inside scoop of how manufacturing is run in this state and while it's tough, the problems aren't coming from the CGA but rather lack of demand, loss of credit lines, and external costs.

Among the Companies you mentioned... Saab is going out of business in general.

As for the kids factor. I am one of them. I go to UConn Stamford and I love it. I know this is anecdotal but when I talk to most people when they come back to the homeland they'd much rather live here or near here but there is nowhere for them to go, but above all they consider education first and foremost. Come down to New Haven, Stamford, or even hell Bridgeport who's on the upside and you'll see that we have a good time, and cheap. Partly the issue is that most suburbanites think us ghetto trash are dangerous for no reason, largely based on what their parents put into their heads. Therefore, the cheapest and easiest avenue is simply cut off for little to no rational reason. The issue isn't as simple as you're making it, sorry.

~Paz

[Yankeerose00]

a boring state

I see your other points, but what is a "boring" state? As opposed to an exciting state? I don't see how an entire state can be boring or exciting. Wouldn't that boil down to a particular town or city?
And CT, being close to Manhattan and Boston makes it about as exciting as a state can be.

honestly, give me boring though because that usually means quiet and low crime. I've lived in some places that may seem exciting but it really meant full of crime and traffic. *cough-Tampa-cough*

[kidyankee764]

I agree with all points here.

CT is a boring state to many. The vast majority of kids in their mid-20s who have left live in cities - primarily NYC, DC and Boston. I've noticed as their lives are becoming established (married, kids), they are moving back to "cutsie CT".

So while the young are leaving in droves, they are certainly coming back. Heck, maybe it's a good thing that CT isn't seeing the worst (party) years of these folks.

[JayCT]

I think you are correct. People that want to "settle down" and raise a family will tend to live here. If that is boring, well who cares. Who wants to raise a child in a "rat race" city? Not me. Jay

[Yankeerose00]

I can totally see a young person leaving their town and moving to a big city. That happens all over the US. It's definitely not a northeast thing.
What I don't get is calling an entire state "boring". Because that implies there are exciting states out there and I'm curious as to what that state would be. The entire states of NY, TX, MA are not exciting. They have some cities that are. So maybe the poster meant the Hartford or Stamford metro areas are boring?
I think it's good to get away from your hometown, personally. Before a person can possibly know where to settle down, they need to have experienced different places first.

[joelap]

I know many people who went far and wide to colleges. Guess where they all came back to?

I have friends who moved to the Hartford area from NYC because they liked the freedom here. The ability to get in a car and drive to where they wanted when they wanted, not have to stand in a subway next to some dude who hasn't showered in 2 weeks. When I hear "CT is boring" it usually comes from individuals who were raised here and thirst for a big city and "culture."

All it takes to turn CT around:
- Taxes too high
- Utilities rates too high

Just a week or so ago, the company scheduled to reopen Powder Ridge ski area pulled out. that would have provided revenue for the town of middlefield as well as some jobs. What reasons did they cite for pulling out despite being offered a $500,000 grant from Jodi Rell? TAXES AND UTILITIES making it unlikely to be a profitable venture.

Game/Set/Match.