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RI is closer to Boston, and has one of my favorite cities, Newport. And of course, Providence. The waterfront in RI is easily some of the nicest. Great beaches.
CT has awesome towns too and I like New Haven and Hartford. Coastal CT is great. I dont get the hyp of Fairfield though. blah.
Anyway, I vote RI because of the Commuter Rail access to Boston and its location to better amenities in a closer proximity.
RI is closer to Boston, and has one of my favorite cities, Newport. And of course, Providence. The waterfront in RI is easily some of the nicest. Great beaches.
CT has awesome towns too and I like New Haven and Hartford. Coastal CT is great. I dont get the hyp of Fairfield though. blah.
Anyway, I vote RI because of the Commuter Rail access to Boston and its location to better amenities in a closer proximity.
awesome town and Hartford is weird to see but I do like that Hartford is more economically viable than any city in New England not named Boston. West Hartford is a nice mix of stately and somewhat urban. Suburbs to the west are absolute pristine and the income to housing cost ratio is unbelievable. Hartford area is nice but Hartford is not an awesome town. I agree with the totality of your post though. A vote either way is sensible.
CT is losing because it's quite boring and the cities don't draw people in. It might be a nicer place to live though... I lived in CT and my mother and a few friends live in RI. I can say one classmate of mine moved to DC with me after college and has moved back to Hartford and is happy there. It was going to be his hometown of Albany or Hartford where we went to school and he chose the latter. I dont think he was ever type A enough for DC...he was living right on Georgia Ave a short walk from Howard University and it still wasn't cutting it for him. Hartford offered the same job at the same pay rate and housing that was 1/3rd the cost. And basically no congestion and very little street noise. Thats a plus.
CT has a nice even spread of cultural diversity and extremely well-manicured, green, towns. Places like Glastonbury, Middletown, Bloomfield, Madison, Hamden are all lovely. I even like New Britain. It's a more cozy feeling than RI which can feel a bit rocky, windy, barren and worn with sea salt. On the other hand Providence is far more lively than anything in CT though but it is chock full of the same urban issues as CT cities albeit with noticeably less gun violence.
awesome town and Hartford is weird to see but I do like that Hartford is more economically viable than any city in New England not named Boston. West Hartford is a nice mix of stately and somewhat urban. Suburbs to the west are absolute pristine and the income to housing cost ratio is unbelievable. Hartford area is nice but Hartford is not an awesome town. I agree with the totality of your post though. A vote either way is sensible.
CT is losing because it's quite boring and the cities don't draw people in. It might be a nicer place to live though... I lived in CT and my mother and a few friends live in RI. I can say one classmate of mine moved to DC with me after college and has moved back to Hartford and is happy there. It was going to be his hometown of Albany or Hartford where we went to school and he chose the latter. I dont think he was ever type A enough for DC...he was living right on Georgia Ave a short walk from Howard University and it still wasn't cutting it for him. Hartford offered the same job at the same pay rate and housing that was 1/3rd the cost. And basically no congestion and very little street noise. Thats a plus.
CT has a nice even spread of cultural diversity and extremely well-manicured, green, towns. Places like Glastonbury, Middletown, Bloomfield, Madison, Hamden are all lovely. I even like New Britain. It's a more cozy feeling than RI which can feel a bit rocky, windy, barren and worn with sea salt. On the other hand Providence is far more lively than anything in CT though but it is chock full of the same urban issues as CT cities albeit with noticeably less gun violence.
Connecticut is it’s own worst enemy. Like I’ve never heard of a state that is so down on itself. Like Rhide Island has a lot of evangelizers who sing its praises. Same with New Jersey or Illinois but literally everyone from Connecticut just lists what’s wrong with it. They give it no credit for anything.
awesome town and Hartford is weird to see but I do like that Hartford is more economically viable than any city in New England not named Boston. West Hartford is a nice mix of stately and somewhat urban. Suburbs to the west are absolute pristine and the income to housing cost ratio is unbelievable. Hartford area is nice but Hartford is not an awesome town. I agree with the totality of your post though. A vote either way is sensible.
CT is losing because it's quite boring and the cities don't draw people in. It might be a nicer place to live though... I lived in CT and my mother and a few friends live in RI. I can say one classmate of mine moved to DC with me after college and has moved back to Hartford and is happy there. It was going to be his hometown of Albany or Hartford where we went to school and he chose the latter. I dont think he was ever type A enough for DC...he was living right on Georgia Ave a short walk from Howard University and it still wasn't cutting it for him. Hartford offered the same job at the same pay rate and housing that was 1/3rd the cost. And basically no congestion and very little street noise. Thats a plus.
CT has a nice even spread of cultural diversity and extremely well-manicured, green, towns. Places like Glastonbury, Middletown, Bloomfield, Madison, Hamden are all lovely. I even like New Britain. It's a more cozy feeling than RI which can feel a bit rocky, windy, barren and worn with sea salt. On the other hand Providence is far more lively than anything in CT though but it is chock full of the same urban issues as CT cities albeit with noticeably less gun violence.
Exactly what I was thinking. CT is more boring, but better to live. If I were to live in Fairfield County, I would just live in NJ, Westchester or flat out move to a different Metropolitan area. But where a lot of people see CT as blah (New Haven, Eastern CT, Hartford Area) I find as its strong points.
Both are great and to decide you have to nitpick what you don't like about each state and then see which pitfalls are worse.
RI wins by an extremely thin margin due to some of my favorite areas, and I am a little more familiar with it. Im sure, if I frequent CT's strongholds more, I would may think diferently. I did not vote.
Oh, CT being 40% Yankees Fans compared to 15% (And Declining!) in RI is a big drawback for CT! (jokes)
Connecticut is it’s own worst enemy. Like I’ve never heard of a state that is so down on itself. Like Rhide Island has a lot of evangelizers who sing its praises. Same with New Jersey or Illinois but literally everyone from Connecticut just lists what’s wrong with it. They give it no credit for anything.
Philadelphia is similar. I think people in CT are very much connected to NYC or Boston or Providence. They see those cities, they look at Hartford and Bridgeport and then they get mad at themselves. Kind of makes sense. Add to that the 3rd highest property tax in the country and you're practically begging for people to complain.
It's not at all a bad state to live in but I think people get bored therein from 18-29 and want to leave and then they never come back. CT like most of NE is a fun police state and doesn't see the value in loosening its laws and fostering entertainment. That's why Providence is such a gem we all like. WHy other NE elected officials don't see that I don't know. Even Boston struggles with this basic concept.
You are going to struggle with retention of highly employable highly mobile young people when most of the urban/suburban area is oriented towards upper-middle-class white folks in their 40s-60s or welfare-dependent immigrant/generationally poor families. Yea-thats gonna make it kind of hard to retain the bright youthful vibrant population you need to rejuvenate your cities. Minor league baseball/hockey and farmers markets only do but so much.
Exactly what I was thinking. CT is more boring, but better to live. If I were to live in Fairfield County, I would just live in NJ, Westchester or flat out move to a different Metropolitan area. But where a lot of people see CT as blah (New Haven, Eastern CT, Hartford Area) I find as its strong points.
Both are great and to decide you have to nitpick what you don't like about each state and then see which pitfalls are worse.
RI wins by an extremely thin margin due to some of my favorite areas, and I am a little more familiar with it. Im sure, if I frequent CT's strongholds more, I would may think diferently. I did not vote.
Oh, CT being 40% Yankees Fans compared to 15% (And Declining!) in RI is a big drawback for CT! (jokes)
Fairfield is fine. Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford would all be doable for me but Id rather lives in Essex County NJ in a place like Bloomfield, Maplewood, even Orange or Union to be totally transparent. I'd have acces to those amazing town villages in Glen Ridge, Montclair, South Orange etc etc. And i could catch a train to NYC in 30-40 minutes as opposed to an hour and 15.
Not enough people know what CT is really like outside of FFC-thats one issue for sure. Me personally i dont like Eastern CT much at all. Middletown and Manchester is the border for me. I dont want to be east of either.
Side note: CT seems like its 50-55% yankee fans smh.
I vote for both, depending upon how much money you have
Connecticut is more expensive. Some counties in Connecticut have many full and part-time residents who live(d) in Manhattan and Westchester County, and therefore the housing prices have been driven upwards. However, the taxes in Connecticut are higher, even though Rhode Island's are high in comparison to the USA in general. People from the Greater Boston area and New York have driven up the house prices in Rhode Island too.
In general, all the states in New England except for non-urban Maine have experienced enormous housing price increases. I often wonder how anyone can afford them. A middle couple earns what, $78K according to the stats, so that should support a home of around three times that much. Therefore, we have what, around 250K? That should be the price of a middle class home. However, I am seeing outrageously high prices, so people are either supplementing their income by some off-the-books shenanigans, or they are in high mortgage debt, (in my opinion a big risk given how employment is so uncertain.)
I went looking to buy a home in Rhode Island a year ago and found nothing at all worth buying up to $230K, which I set as my max., (unless you like a so-so street with a late 1950's small ranch in a so-so city outside of Providence, which I didn't want to begin with.) I looked all around South Country and NW and West of Providence in the rural and suburban/rural towns and found nothing worth buying, and believe me, they were being shown to dozens of people besides me. They were buying crap for lots of money, and frankly I can't understand it. RI Housing estimates an annual deficit of 10,000 homes a year, since there are only around 1,000 to 2,000 units being build a year. Since demand far outstrips supply, the prices skyrocket.
There are simply too many people chasing too few resources. Malthus was correct. Overpopulation, stupidity and selfishness will call the shots for us. Nature will ensure that the almost 8 billion people on the planet is paired down to the more comfortable 5 million the planet can comfortably and renewably accomodate. The Corvid virus is not anywhere near the last big plague. Nature finds a way. It does for insects, it does for raccoons, (rabies), it does for birds (cats), and it does for humans (wars, plagues.)
I often wonder how anyone can afford them. A middle couple earns what, $78K according to the stats, so that should support a home of around three times that much. Therefore, we have what, around 250K? That should be the price of a middle class home. However, I am seeing outrageously high prices, so people are either supplementing their income by some off-the-books shenanigans, or they are in high mortgage debt, (in my opinion a big risk given how employment is so uncertain.)
Well... yes-that’s exactly what people do in places at the median income levels or below but especially in cities like Providence Boston etc. Much more often people are grandfathered into homes, literally. Not a ton of movement only Boston and its most immediate surroundings see any inflow from other states. The entire rest of New England has a stagnant population sustained entirely by immigrants who are willing to make due with less and some refugees. If they’re new immigrants they just have unleased/undocumented adult co-tenants who contribute to a rent or a mortgage what have you. I think it’s pretty common throughout much of New England. Those who can’t do this move south and west.
Basically the desire in New England to preserve character and charm and small town feel has created a shortage in housing that has become a detriment to the region and invited blight, stagnation and mild deterioration to become the norm across most of the region. This is also the case with public infrastructure. If the region wer wire willing to embrace change and growth it’s probably retain more of its residents.
The New England charm work in the elite towns but it tends to fade and crack heavily in most of the region. We pay a high collective price to preserve Puritan influence and old time charm.
Connecticut is more expensive. Some counties in Connecticut have many full and part-time residents who live(d) in Manhattan and Westchester County, and therefore the housing prices have been driven upwards. However, the taxes in Connecticut are higher, even though Rhode Island's are high in comparison to the USA in general. People from the Greater Boston area and New York have driven up the house prices in Rhode Island too.
In general, all the states in New England except for non-urban Maine have experienced enormous housing price increases. I often wonder how anyone can afford them. A middle couple earns what, $78K according to the stats, so that should support a home of around three times that much. Therefore, we have what, around 250K? That should be the price of a middle class home. However, I am seeing outrageously high prices, so people are either supplementing their income by some off-the-books shenanigans, or they are in high mortgage debt, (in my opinion a big risk given how employment is so uncertain.)
I went looking to buy a home in Rhode Island a year ago and found nothing at all worth buying up to $230K, which I set as my max., (unless you like a so-so street with a late 1950's small ranch in a so-so city outside of Providence, which I didn't want to begin with.) I looked all around South Country and NW and West of Providence in the rural and suburban/rural towns and found nothing worth buying, and believe me, they were being shown to dozens of people besides me. They were buying crap for lots of money, and frankly I can't understand it. RI Housing estimates an annual deficit of 10,000 homes a year, since there are only around 1,000 to 2,000 units being build a year. Since demand far outstrips supply, the prices skyrocket.
There are simply too many people chasing too few resources. Malthus was correct. Overpopulation, stupidity and selfishness will call the shots for us. Nature will ensure that the almost 8 billion people on the planet is paired down to the more comfortable 5 million the planet can comfortably and renewably accomodate. The Corvid virus is not anywhere near the last big plague. Nature finds a way. It does for insects, it does for raccoons, (rabies), it does for birds (cats), and it does for humans (wars, plagues.)
Actually, New England reached its Malthusian limit around 1800, since the region experienced explosive population growth throughout most of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Surprisingly, most of the population growth that occurred in New England during the colonial period was endogenous. Since the New England states had frigidly cold winters, were not ideologically or religiously diverse and did not have vast, ecologically diverse hinterlands with highly arable land, such as New York, Pennsylvania and most of the Southern states, for example, the New England states did not attract as many foreign immigrants as the states further south and west, especially Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Beginning as early as the 1780's, Connecticut farmers began pushing into the backcountry of Westchester County, New York, which was the catalyst for sweeping westward settlement throughout New York State and, later, the Upper Midwest over multiple generations in the nineteenth century, much to the ire of the older Dutch and, to a lesser extent, German settlements in New York. If New England Yankees did not push westward and fan out across the country in the nineteenth century, there would probably be more than 30 million people living in New England today.
I've been reading through all of your responses on and off over the last few days and I didn't think it would be that difficult to make a decision.
If you told me I had to live in one of those states for the rest of my life AND NEVER LEAVE FOR ANY REASON, then CT would be my easy choice. It's bigger, has a few okay cities (and a few not so ok cities), and some decent countryside.
Seeing as how we don't live in a bubble and interstate travel is possible, it almost puts these two cities as a tie for me. RI only has one biggish city, but has lots of beautiful coastline and beaches. CT has several rough cities (Waterbury, Hartford), several improving cities (NH, BPT) and several cities that are doing okay (Stamford, Norwalk), so I guess CT wins for uban areas.
I think most of us would argue that PVD is a better overall city (and possibly metro area) than anything CT has to offer, but New Haven and its surroundings aren't bad either. I prefer Boston over NYC, so being in RI would make for an easier trip to my favorite city, but I'm not sure if that's enough.
Long story short, I think I'd probably have to lean towards CT. Slightly. I think.
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I vote for both, depending upon how much money you have
