[Stylo]

Originally Posted by RogerAnthony

When I think of Connecticut I think of autumn leaves, stone walls, small village centers from the 1800's, farms, dirt roads, hiking trails, and lakes.

Which are all in certain shoreline towns in abundance, like Guilford. Except Guilford's center is even older.

[willow wind]

[quote=wavehunter007;31260295]. Sounds like you've only looked at map and might have never actually been on these back roads:

I haven't stopped laughing. I drive those roads every week. Have been for 30 years. I can do them at night in the fog and not get lost. Circle Beach Rd. is not wholly in Madison. The Circle Beach boat ramp is in Guilford. Ask the state if don't believe me. Mulberry Point Rd. runs right along the water. The thing is you have to know the area to know that you get off Mulberry Point, get on Daniels, then go back onto the water end of Mulberry Point to drive along the water. I can go on but there is no need to. .

I think that we're going to agree to disagree on this one. Your whole point seems to be what attracts travelers to an area is what makes CT . I don't think that was the OP's question.

Me, if I'm looking for a place to live that speaks New England Connecticut, I'm not going to care if the town attracts travelers or how many clam shacks there might be. Being a tourist attraction does not equate in my mind to quintessential Connecticut. There are places in various towns where are still dirt roads lined with stone walls. Places where you can drive those roads in late February with snow on the ground and see maple trees being tapped. Where you can drive those roads in mid/ late October when the tree canopy over the road is a riot of color. Not everything needs traffic, pavement, tourists or snack shacks or be desirable..

You know there's Big Sur and there is Santa Cruz. Both are CA coastal. Me, I'm a Big Sur kind of person. You can have the more honky tonk feel of Santa Cruz . Same with CT. You like Ocean Beach in New London, have at it. I prefer Bluff Point in Groton.

[SeaBright]

I found that every single town and city in Connecticut has History to it. I remember in Hamden growing up finding all the old mills along the QU river and it's hidden ponds. All the secrets trails locals knew of. The Intricate trail system coming from sleeping giant all the way to the northwest corner in the state. The Canal way. Irish and Italian restaurants. Still close enough to the cities that you got diversity and weren't stuck in a museum. Local farms.... orchards.... golf course... Rival factions of neighborhood kids playing sports... etc, etc, etc. There seriously is a bit of everything there.


Also... the least racist place in the world.

Too bad New Haven and Quinnipiac took Hamden by the waist and BUTT-F**KED the living **** out of it. I heard it was also bad in the 80's... Got better.... and now it's way worse.

Oh well... Glad to of been a kid growing up there in the 90's. When it deserved the high ranking Forbes gave it.

Still an amazingly underrated place.

I like Kent, and Washington Depot, Roxbury areas. Northeast CT has a weird vibe to it sometimes...

[Catdancer]

Originally Posted by wavehunter007

I would agree with both of you...and that seems part of the problem as well:
There seems to be this two sided view (with little middle) of the CT coast: An old, somewhat stuffy, traditional, with (how do I say this the right way?) homogenous residents, building styles, and concepts of what summer and CT is supposed to be....and the other a younger, more multicultured, less traditional, and more relaxed idea of what summer is supposed to be. They rarely seem to mix in the same spots

I think that's being unfair. I know you were searching for a word.....but homogeneous? The shoreline itself has always been eclectic in it's residents and it's building styles. Unless you're driving into a planned development, most shoreline roads contain a wide variety of housing styles. Ranging from trailers to mcmansions, 300 year old saltboxes to ultra modern contemporaries, the variety along shoreline roads is endless. Same with the people. From starving artists to bankers and not so starving artists, farmers to hipsters. Again, all found in the same town. Finding them all mixed together is simple. Go to a Saturday night concert on the green in Madison or the Branford festival, the craft expo on the Guilford Green or a muster in Westbrook. The town greens still serve the age old purpose of bringing the townspeople together. As far as the two sided view of the coast being between the staid older folks and the younger free spirits, I'd say the viewpoint is split more between those who live on the shore (or would like to) and those who visit the shore.

[wavehunter007]

[quote=willow wind;31263051]

Originally Posted by wavehunter007

.
I haven't stopped laughing. I drive those roads every week. Have been for 30 years. I can do them at night in the fog and not get lost. Circle Beach Rd. is not wholly in Madison. The Circle Beach boat ramp is in Guilford. Ask the state if don't believe me. Mulberry Point Rd. runs right along the water. The thing is you have to know the area to know that you get off Mulberry Point, get on Daniels, then go back onto the water end of Mulberry Point to drive along the water. I can go on but there is no need to. .

I think that we're going to agree to disagree on this one. Your whole point seems to be what attracts travelers to an area is what makes CT . I don't think that was the OP's question.

Me, if I'm looking for a place to live that speaks New England Connecticut, I'm not going to care if the town attracts travelers or how many clam shacks there might be. Being a tourist attraction does not equate in my mind to quintessential Connecticut. There are places in various towns where are still dirt roads lined with stone walls. Places where you can drive those roads in late February with snow on the ground and see maple trees being tapped. Where you can drive those roads in mid/ late October when the tree canopy over the road is a riot of color. Not everything needs traffic, pavement, tourists or snack shacks or be desirable..

Come on…Circle Beach Road (which has crappy views of the water anyway) can’t even be reached unless you go into Madison. 100 yards of Circle Road is in Guilford - lol. Mulberry Point Road (I looked at a house to buy on MPR) is another narrow road along the marsh with 2 sec views of the very distant water. There is that little dead end at the end of Mulberry Point that you have to turn around and go right back the same way – what does this “shore ride” last for….about 60 seconds ? (the length of Mulberry Road – lol) I think your reaching a bit.

Agree we disagree on this – my point is that “if” the coast is what is the image of CT (and again I would say some would debate that), Guilford has little or no “coastal feel” to it (as well as no public beaches, no pubic boardwalks, no public piers, few places to eat near the water…etc.) The homes and character of the town speaks traditional “inland” Vermont…not the coast.

I never said that everything needs traffic, pavement, tourists or snack shacks or be desirable (?)…only that travelers and many residents (like me) like to feel like they live …er "at the coast". Otherwise why bother? I could move to North Haven or Rocky Hill and have the same feel as Guilford. It has to do with the "look and feel of the environment" – coastal vs inland….and Guilford totally looks and feels inland. Living on the coast I could care less about stone walls (lol)….I want to see the ocean as I head to work/school/shopping…etc. Bluff Point is a great example (I go there often): Show me the place in Guilford that is even close to the size and scope of Bluff Point – where one (anyone) can walk along a two miles coastal forest, then out onto a barrier beach, park, cook, use facilities…etc all for free 12 months a year?

In many towns on the eastern CT coast those views are in your mirror or out your windshield every day…in Guilford they don’t exist for the most part. I live at the coast because I want to live it, breathe it. If I want to see stone walls, snow, and maple syrup I’d live in Vermont

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by SeaBright

Northeast CT has a weird vibe to it sometimes...

I found that too - big time.

Growing up on the coast I used to think it was an inland thing...now I'm not so sure.

Originally Posted by Catdancer

I think that's being unfair. I know you were searching for a word.....but homogeneous? The shoreline itself has always been eclectic in it's residents and it's building styles. Unless you're driving into a planned development, most shoreline roads contain a wide variety of housing styles. Ranging from trailers to mcmansions, 300 year old saltboxes to ultra modern contemporaries, the variety along shoreline roads is endless. Same with the people. From starving artists to bankers and not so starving artists, farmers to hipsters. Again, all found in the same town. Finding them all mixed together is simple. Go to a Saturday night concert on the green in Madison or the Branford festival, the craft expo on the Guilford Green or a muster in Westbrook. The town greens still serve the age old purpose of bringing the townspeople together. As far as the two sided view of the coast being between the staid older folks and the younger free spirits, I'd say the viewpoint is split more between those who live on the shore (or would like to) and those who visit the shore.

I agree about the building styles - there are many. Thankfully, more and more there are homes being built on the CT coast that look and feel "coastal"....and the crumbling old homes/cottages are being replaced. In the past there where homes built in coastal CT that looked like they should be 200 miles inland.

As far as the two viewpoints of the shoreline and how they are split...I have to be honest here (I'm searching for a word again).....one part of the coast seems to have a stuffy, walled in, more urban, "residents only feel"...while another part (and people) seem to have the free sprit and live and let live feel where the ocean and tide are the only masters. I'll leave it to the searchers to figure out what's where

[CTartist&musician]

I see so many people talking about Branford, Guilford and Madison I thought I would ask this question in this thread. Sorry if I go off topic for a bit but it seems like there are a lot of people in this topic that know these towns well. BTW, I like all of these town and it is good to see them always getting good reviews.

Does anyone know if there is a bigger concentration of artists in one of these towns or a little art enclave in one of these towns?

[DJDeadParrot]

Originally Posted by RogerAnthony

When I think of Connecticut I think of autumn leaves, stone walls, small village centers from the 1800's, farms, dirt roads, hiking trails, and lakes.

That's what immediately comes to my mind too; places like Bridgewater, Roxbury, Woodbury, or Washington.

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Originally Posted by DJDeadParrot

That's what immediately comes to my mind too; places like Bridgewater, Roxbury, Woodbury, or Washington.

Thirded. You can even find some of those traits in Weston, Wilton, Redding.... Litchfield County comes to mind first for perennial Connecticut!

[rlrsalem]

Mystic and or Stonington Borough. Hands down all 4 seasons. IMHO