[JayCT]

Lets face it, New haven is defined by Yale, Hartford by the insurance companies. Yale means lots of students which are usually out and about at all hours. Insurance is boring because it is workers who mostly are around from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, after that they may go out for a drink or dinner but then it is home to bed to start another day tomorrow. It is just the way the cities are. Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Lets face it, New haven is defined by Yale, Hartford by the insurance companies. Yale means lots of students which are usually out and about at all hours. Insurance is boring because it is workers who mostly are around from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, after that they may go out for a drink or dinner but then it is home to bed to start another day tomorrow. It is just the way the cities are. Jay

The nightlife in New Haven during the week could be defined by Yale. But during happy hour and on the weekends, it's very much dominated by locals.

[Silli]

Two points
1) As Jay mentioned, office workers in downtown Hartford don't give the appearance of bustling street life. But go into the food court at Statehouse Square and it is PACKED with workers at lunch time.
2) Stamford might be losing population even though it appears to be growing because the demographic profile of residents is changing and larger family are being replaced by smaller ones. I'm not saying this is true, but it's a thought that I'll check out at some point. Household sizes have been declining for several decades giving the appearance of decline in many places where the demand for housing has been on the rise.

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by lgorfain

Rumor has it that in the 2010 census Stamford will leap over New Haven and Hartford to be the second biggest city in the state.

I'm glad I got out of there. Was a good run. Bought condo 2003 $242k. Sold it in 2007 for $365k. Area was becoming crappy.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Silli

Two points
1) As Jay mentioned, office workers in downtown Hartford don't give the appearance of bustling street life. But go into the food court at Statehouse Square and it is PACKED with workers at lunch time.

I was talking about the sidewalks, roadways, restaurants and bars - not so much a single cafeteria in one part of the city.

[Louuuu]

2010 Census for Ct cities will be released in a couple weeks... the overall state has been released for US congressional assignment (CT retains the same number of seats) and the March local figures will be used for state redistricting.

Stamford is the least stagnant of Ct. big cities... transforming itself into a financial center, with a revitalized south side ready to explode (three new apartment buildings authorized this week down there) vibrant restaurant scene with diverse ethnic offerings, transportation hub, beaches on the Sound, and a growing television center with 4 national network shows shooting and studios and postproduction centers popping up all over town. It has become a destination city for nightlife, with clubs and concerts aplenty. A new 34 story Trump Park towers over the city (and after a slow start is now filling up). It's hard to imagine this big little town or little big town is losing population. We'll see in March.

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by Louuuu

It's hard to imagine this big little town or little big town is losing population. We'll see in March.

I agree. Things get complicated because each city is so small area wise vacating a single neighbourhood could skew the results. Yes there is now construction in the Southern parts of the city, but for about five years (basically my entire time at UConn there) the area saw a lot of multi-family homes wrecked in order to put up the "Harbour Point" and "Gateways" developments. It was a fight that took years to settle, but meanwhile a lot of those properties were vacant. But now, where maybe 200 (complete guesses on the numbers, too tired to look it up) residents lived there will be some 500 to start and build upon. Even though it won't help CT's delegation I think the real tale of the city will be the ACS which happens every few years.

Also, there are new developments in the works for all the major cities: Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, and Stamford. It'd be interesting to see if these pan out and reverse the trend of the urban cores losing population.

JV is right though, a lot of the developers really priced out Stamford to a lotttt of people. Shame really.

~Cheers

[Kristin85]

Originally Posted by Louuuu

2010 Census for Ct cities will be released in a couple weeks... the overall state has been released for US congressional assignment (CT retains the same number of seats) and the March local figures will be used for state redistricting.

Stamford is the least stagnant of Ct. big cities... transforming itself into a financial center, with a revitalized south side ready to explode (three new apartment buildings authorized this week down there) vibrant restaurant scene with diverse ethnic offerings, transportation hub, beaches on the Sound, and a growing television center with 4 national network shows shooting and studios and postproduction centers popping up all over town. It has become a destination city for nightlife, with clubs and concerts aplenty. A new 34 story Trump Park towers over the city (and after a slow start is now filling up). It's hard to imagine this big little town or little big town is losing population. We'll see in March.

Not to get nitpicky, but I don't see how the quote in bold above is true. There are 2 "dance clubs" (not just bars) I can think of off the top of my head in Stamford and one caters to people 35+ years old. Stamford does not have any major venues featuring music besides the Stamford Center for the Arts, and most (if not all) of the music shows they feature are classical music. There are local bands playing gigs in bars, but I wouldn't think of those performances as concerts. Stamford has the Alive @ Five Summer Concert Series with big name performers but it only runs for 2 months.

If young adults are considering moving to Stamford, they should know they'll need to travel to NYC or New Haven for dance clubs and to NYC/New Haven (Toad's Place)/Hartford (The Webster/Comcast Theater)/Wallingford (Oakdale) for popular music. Stamford is a great place for socializing at restaurants and bars, but it is definitely not a hotspot for dancing and concert going.

[jax12479]

It's true that Stamford doesn't have a "club" scene, but there are so many bars, pubs and restaurants that unless you really like to dance to house music, you're not missing anything. There isn't a live music scene either, but for people who live in/near Stamford, most would prefer to head to NYC before going up to New Haven (and forget about Hartford). There are just so many more options in NYC, and they're both 45 min away...

[Louuuu]

Yes, Stamford is pricey... but not relative to its tonier neighbors on all sides -- Greenwich, New Cannan, Darien. It's a more moderate place to live in SW Ct. than other cities with easy access to NYC -- certainly more so than NH, BP, or Hartford. 45 minutes by train, sometimes faster by car non rush hours.

Which brings to mind a quirky trivia question: what is the only city in America which is surrounded in all directions by the same state other than its own?

Answer Stamford.Ct.

If you travel due N, you reach Pound Ridge, New York),S, W (both -- obviously Westchester) and E( the north fork of Long Island. New York)

Has nothing to do with the subject at hand, but an amusing factoid about the city.