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No, the OP said "within the corridor". Hartford is definitely "within the corridor".
Yep, I want to avoid most of the northeast entirely. I've been to NYC, New Jersey, DC, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. To me, that whole corridor feels like a chaotic rat race of traffic and congestion. I haven't been to Boston, but I'm assuming the areas between Boston and NYC are going to feel about the same to me.
But still, the real "superstar" economies of the north are New York City, Washington DC and Boston.
That will not likely change anytime soon.
Yes, absolutely. But I'm not looking for the biggest or the best.
I just want a city that's not a depressed, rust belt-like town. I grew up around that, and the entire mentality and culture of a place suffers. With the terrible economy often comes higher crime rates and other negatives. I don't need the jobs, I just want a better environment than that of more impoverished rust belt locales.
Yes, absolutely. But I'm not looking for the biggest or the best.
I just want a city that's not a depressed, rust belt-like town. I grew up around that, and the entire mentality and culture of a place suffers. With the terrible economy often comes higher crime rates and other negatives. I don't need the jobs, I just want a better environment than that of more impoverished rust belt locales.
Rust Belt doesn't equal a generalized depressed state in terms of areas that are considered to be within that region. For instance, the NY areas I mentioned earlier have had population growth in recent years and are more white collar.
Also, the Interior Northeast doesn't have the faster pace of life that the Bos-Wash corridor has. Many of the metros in this part of the Northeast have some the lowest crime rates, relatively, in the country as well.
What exactly are you looking for in a community? That specific question has to be asked and answered. You may have more options than you realize.
Rust Belt doesn't equal a generalized depressed state in terms of areas that are considered to be within that region. For instance, the NY areas I mentioned earlier have had population growth in recent years and are more white collar.
Also, the Interior Northeast doesn't have the faster pace of life that the Bos-Wash corridor has. Many of the metros in this part of the Northeast have some the lowest crime rates, relatively, in the country as well.
What exactly are you looking for in a community? That specific question has to be asked and answered. You may have more options than you realize.
Thank you, ckh. I definitely agree that there are some bright spots throughout the region. And your first response was actually very helpful. It's much appreciated.
Here are some of the main criteria points I'm looking for in a town. Also I should say that it need not be a major metro. A metro population of around 250k+ should suffice.
Criteria:
Plentiful outdoor activities
Beautiful nature (the area should be forested)
Four dominant seasons (with a decent amount of snow)
Health/organic food and restaurants
Low crime
Friendly folks
Prosperous economy
Clean air, very low pollution
A swimable, boatable, clean body of water
you will have to come to the coastal cities, since this is where the economy is growing. most other places are shrinking. my advice would be to spend a few days in NYC. then go to any other city, like DC or Boston. they will seem slow and easy going in comparison lol
Yep, I want to avoid most of the northeast entirely. I've been to NYC, New Jersey, DC, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. To me, that whole corridor feels like a chaotic rat race of traffic and congestion. I haven't been to Boston, but I'm assuming the areas between Boston and NYC are going to feel about the same to me.
The Hartford, CT metro area doesn't feel like a rat race at all. It's an oasis within the northeast corridor. And it has a prosperous economy. It has nothing to do with NYC or Boston. It doesn't even resemble or feel like NYC or Boston. Most of Connecticut is laid back and nothing like a rat race at all. The only part of CT that feels like that is Fairfield County (near NYC).
Metro Hartford has everything that fits all of your criteria listed above. I would also add Albany, NY to your list.
Of the top 50 largest MSA economies, 9 of the metros are in the Midwest east (or at the very least straddling) the Mississippi River.
3. Chicago (unemployment rate: 6.1%)
13. Minneapolis (unemployment rate: 3.2%)
14. Detroit (unemployment rate: 8.1%)
21. St. Louis (unemployment rate: 5.4%)
25. Indianpolis (unemployment rate: 5.0%)
26. Cleveland (unemployment rate: 5.4%)
28. Cincinnati (unemployment rate: 4.3%)
30. Columbus (unemployment rate: 3.9%)
36. Milwaukee (unemployment rate: 5.3%) List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Unemployment Rates for Large Metropolitan Areas
Expand your list to just Midwest in general, and Kansas City is added at #29. Pittsburgh, although it's not Midwestern, wouldn't be apart of the Bos-Wash corridor, and it's #23.
The Hartford, CT metro area doesn't feel like a rat race at all. It's an oasis within the northeast corridor. And it has a prosperous economy. It has nothing to do with NYC or Boston. It doesn't even resemble or feel like NYC or Boston. Most of Connecticut is laid back and nothing like a rat race at all. The only part of CT that feels like that is Fairfield County (near NYC).
Metro Hartford has everything that fits all of your criteria listed above. I would also add Albany, NY to your list.
This is really helpful information, thank you. Coincidentally, Fairfield county was basically the only county in Connecticut that I visited, and I remember feeling like it was just an extension of NYC.
I'm not totally opposed to New England cities as long as they don't have that chaotic rat race feeling. If there are apartments along a congested highway with signs that say, "If you lived here, you'd be home now." you can probably count me out. I'm going for easy and laid back for sure.
Any other nice and easy laid-back New England cities? Ones that meet the criteria I've listed a couple of posts back? (Sorry, that's probably a dumb question)
This is really helpful information, thank you. Coincidentally, Fairfield county was basically the only county in Connecticut that I visited, and I remember feeling like it was just an extension of NYC.
I'm not totally opposed to New England cities as long as they don't have that chaotic rat race feeling. If there are apartments along a congested highway with signs that say, "If you lived here, you'd be home now." you can probably count me out. I'm going for easy and laid back for sure.
Any other nice and easy laid-back New England cities? (Sorry, that's probably a dumb question)
Most of New England is laid back. The only areas that aren't are Fairfield County, the Boston area, and the Providence area is not quite laid back in my opinion. But the Hartford area is fairly laid back and typically has plenty of jobs. The Worcester, MA area is pretty good, too.
This map shows the job postings per capita. For a relatively smaller metropolitan area, Hartford as a LOT of jobs:
Just don't live in the city of Hartford itself. It's a very sketchy place with high crime and poverty. But the surrounding suburbs are rather easy going.
The difference between Fairfield County and Hartford County is like night and day.
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I'm going for easy and laid back for sure.
