[Stylo]

As far as schools, this is the first I've ever heard someone compare California schools against Connecticut schools like that.

This is from a recent US News report:

A state-by-state breakdown of the 2013 Best High Schools rankings shows that California is this year's leading performer, with 27.8 percent of its eligible schools earning gold and silver medals.

Maryland came in second with 25.7 percent, and Connecticut was third with 18.9 percent.

A few of those gold/silver schools are in the New Haven area, so I'm not sure where you're getting the area schools are bad. New Haven schools have problems, yes, but the surrounding suburbs are quite good. Amity (Woodbridge/Bethany/Orange), Guilford, and Madison rank among the best in the state. Others like Wallingford, Milford, Branford, North Haven are average or above average for CT, which is better than most nationwide. Only towns like Hamden and West Haven rank below state average. Overall it's hard to go wrong...

[nep321]

Although it has good nightlife and an intellectual vibe, New Haven has a negative reputation because of all the crime that makes the news all the time. New Haven has some of the WORST neighborhoods in all of CT. Be careful.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by nep321

Although it has good nightlife and an intellectual vibe, New Haven has a negative reputation because of all the crime that makes the news all the time. New Haven has some of the WORST neighborhoods in all of CT. Be careful.

Just to counter this (nep can be a little dramatic), New Haven crime is downward trending more than Hartford and Bridgeport at the moment. The bad neighborhoods are not places you would need to visit anyway, so it has little effect on most professionals that live and play in the area.

I just brought a friend who was away from CT for over 10 years to New Haven this weekend. He was shocked at how gentrified it's become and how nice/safe it was compared to when he left in 2001 as we walked around the Yale campus and downtown.

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Just to counter this (nep can be a little dramatic), New Haven crime is downward trending more than Hartford and Bridgeport at the moment. The bad neighborhoods are not places you would need to visit anyway, so it has little effect on most professionals that live and play in the area.

Despite crime, I am sure there must be nicer and wealthier pockets within the city?

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

Despite crime, I am sure there must be nicer and wealthier pockets within the city?

Absolutely. East Rock is almost completely gentrified. St. Ronan Street has some of the most beautiful historic mansions in the region. Wooster Square is more of the same.

Downtown is more urban, so it's a mix of different classes that hang out. Rent is high, so the people that live in downtown are generally students or professionals. I don't know anyone that's been threatened in any way downtown but it does happen on rare occasions late at night especially. It's really no different than other cities though, and it's not like it's the wild west. Crown Street gets a little out of hand at 2AM with the drunks spilling out of the bars and clubs, but the cops are out in force at that time. There are occasionally altercations between thugs at certain clubs, but it tends to be isolated incidents. Otherwise things are pretty low key.

The Yale campus comprises a lot of the city, and they have their own security and police force. They're VERY tight on security, so crime by the campus is pretty low.

I especially love the general area of Chapel Street from College to Howe Street. Nice shops, restaurants, architecture, museums, very safe.

[willow wind]

I think the OP is dealing with a bad case of disappointment and what are going to be very diminished expectations.

This is one more case, and we see them frequently on the CT board, of someone coming from a heavily developed area with am extremely large population as compared to New Haven or the other CT " cities". New Haven has 130,741 people or thereabouts. Oakland has 400,000

New Haven is not going to recreate Oakland or the half hour away Bay area with a few more million people. It doesn't make sense that it would given the great difference in population.

There isn't going to be any great wealth class living an urban experience. Malls will of course be smaller. Whole Foods would be lesser in number.

It will seem rural if you're coming from the typical CA suburb which is the land of the little lot. Neighborhoods of half acre lots will seem rural , where to us here in CT , half an acre is no big deal. Not rural in my eyes.

There is simply no comparison between Oakland and New Haven size-wise. If you have to come because of job transfer, etc. then accept what is here for what it is. New Haven is a small city surrounded by suburban towns.

There are plenty of excellent school districts. Four season recreation abounds. Finding multitudes of restaurants is easy. There's enough arts, theater, museums to keep anyone busy year round.

Try to come here with a sense of adventure, rather than complaints of how it's not like Oakland. It will make your transition easier.

[Stylo]

Excellent post. It's true, New Haven is a great compact little city. It offers a lot for its size, but it can't compare to a larger city. I've heard people describe New Haven as the equivalent of a great neighborhood in NYC/Brooklyn.

At least you won't be far from NYC and Boston when you need your big city fix. Personally I love how easy it is to get in and out of New Haven - have a world class dinner and cultural experience, and within 10-15 minutes be in the beautiful coastline or countryside and feel removed from it all. Not many places can claim that.

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by willow wind

I think the OP is dealing with a bad case of disappointment and what are going to be very diminished expectations.

This is one more case, and we see them frequently on the CT board, of someone coming from a heavily developed area with am extremely large population as compared to New Haven or the other CT " cities". New Haven has 130,741 people or thereabouts. Oakland has 400,000

New Haven is not going to recreate Oakland or the half hour away Bay area with a few more million people. It doesn't make sense that it would given the great difference in population.

There isn't going to be any great wealth class living an urban experience. Malls will of course be smaller. Whole Foods would be lesser in number.

It will seem rural if you're coming from the typical CA suburb which is the land of the little lot. Neighborhoods of half acre lots will seem rural , where to us here in CT , half an acre is no big deal. Not rural in my eyes.

There is simply no comparison between Oakland and New Haven size-wise. If you have to come because of job transfer, etc. then accept what is here for what it is. New Haven is a small city surrounded by suburban towns.

There are plenty of excellent school districts. Four season recreation abounds. Finding multitudes of restaurants is easy. There's enough arts, theater, museums to keep anyone busy year round.

Try to come here with a sense of adventure, rather than complaints of how it's not like Oakland. It will make your transition easier.

Thanks for being so informative. I have no problem with smaller towns but just the fact that houses are so far apart scares me. Always lived in big cities with dense housing ... So too many trees, lack of a side walk and nothing within walking distance seems very intimidating! Although the extreme density of SF is irritating a lot of times but it's also incredibly comforting and secure feeling to have the people around I guess I am just a city person..

[willow wind]

Well, you could be a city person or just need time to adapt. I do know what you mean about open spaces and trees. I have two branches of my big family that live in CA. One branch in the Bay area, the other in the San Diego area.

To them a two acre lot in their words is, " wow, it's like owning a ranch ". The tree canopy over some of our narrow roads and the thick, dense, green vegetation growing at roadside is frankly claustrophobic, even spooky to many people not used to it.

I guess it all depends on what you're used to. But as Stylo said several posts back, the nice thing about the New Haven area is that you can have it all- be downtown at the theater and fine dining and then get away from it all with a ten minute drive.

Good luck with your move.

[dkv]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Not really. New Haven and most of Connecticut's cities get a bad rap because they are very small in size and do not include more affluent and safer suburban areas that other cities have within their borders. This tends to skew the statisitcs.

It might "skew the statistics" in comparison to other metropolitan areas, but the stats are what they are: New Haven has higher crime than surrounding towns. We lived in Westville and experienced a lot of petty crime and what I consider a general sense of lawlessness.

A new colleague of mine moved into Westville and three months into his New Haven life, his bike got stolen out of his garage. When one of the reasons a person lives in Westville is to bike to work, that is a real slap in the face.

Choosing to live in New Haven is choosing to deal with a higher crime rate than nearby towns. As far as I am concerned, that is a fact.