[coldpretzel]

Hello all! I finally caved in and registered here though I frequent these forums often as I have dreamed of leaving Tennessee, a state where most of my family members have been trapped (willingly though I must say ).

I'm a soon-to-be college graduate as of December and I absolutely love traveling. Within the U.S., I've been to a few cities along the east coast including NYC and DC as well as several towns/cities in southern New England. I've been through most of the southern states and Florida and, while I see why some might enjoy southern living, I have realized it's not for me.

Hence why I am here. My best friend lives in CT, near Middletown, and works in Old Saybrook and I am in love with the state outside of the New York-esque commuting/office areas.

My friend says he's willing to put up with me while I find a job and eventually we'll be able to be roommates, but it is still a major choice to move halfway across the country and away from family. My only setback is that I have no clue what career opportunities there are in Connecticut for someone who wants to work in financial services. Of course, I want to stay in the eastern/central part of the state so that commuting is not too much of a pain.

Anyway, my question is...

What are good cities/towns to find the type of opportunities I'm looking for? Keep in mind my geographical restrictions. My friend tells me that I should hone my search around New London, Groton, New Haven, Hartford, Norwich, and so on, but I still feel clueless.

Plus, any advice you can give me on relocating like this is a plus.

Thank you so much!

[mlassoff]

Most of the financial service sector in Connecticut can be found in Fairfield County-- The area closest to New York city. That would be quite a hike from Middletown on a daily basis. When you say financial services, can you be more specific? Brokers and bankers are everywhere.

Connecticut has opportunities, however, this is an expensive state and opportunities are limited in some sectors.

[coldpretzel]

Yeah, I'm trying to avoid Fairfield County although I feel like a lot of what I'm looking for would be there.

I currently work a customer service type position at a mortgage firm and would like to expand within that domain. Insurance and banking are also viable options for me, but I'm trying to keep my options very open at the moment.

[SeaDoo342]

Hartford has a ton of insurance company headquarter. Start your search there. It's not bad from Middletown either

[Stylo]

Stamford has, by far, the most opportunities for finance. It's not even close, really. The nice thing about Stamford is that much of the finance jobs are by the train station, which means you can take the train to work from areas that are a bit more low key without having to take the train. Towns like Shelton, Trumbull, Orange, Easton, etc. are relatively laid back and totally commutable. You can pick up the train in Milford, Bridgeport, Fairfield Metro, etc.

Working in Stamford would be the best choice career-wise, and for future opportunities and growth

You could also look in Hartford. There's definitely some finance there too. A lot of insurance.

There's a smaller amount in New Haven, but Middletown is equally commutable to both Hartford and New Haven so you can be flexible.

If you're in the mortgage industry, I'll just make one recommendation. It's Total Mortgage in Milford. They've been rapidly expanding and seem like a great company. They're moving to a new campus in Milford right off 95. I did my recent refinance with them and was very happy with the results. You can look them up here: www.totalmortgage.com.

[Mr_250]

Unfortunately, I would say most financial jobs are located in Fairfield County. Hartford financial sector is stinking. FFC is still going strong.

"The number of jobs in Connecticut finance and insurance has continued to fall in 2013. In April, the most recent data available, there were 2,300 fewer jobs than there had been a year earlier." Connecticut's Economic Decline Worst In Nation - Hartford Courant

Hartford still has some opportunities and it seems like Hartford is limping along to make a comeback.

[mels]

New London, Groton and Norwich aren't going to have much in the way of employment. You may get lucky and find something out that way but in general, eastern CT is tough for finding employment.

As already stated, Hartford and Fairfield County will be your choice areas. Start targeting the area from Wallingford to Hartford, as that area is easily accessible from Middletown and has plenty of potential employers big and small. If you have no luck in that area, then you may want to bite the bullet and start looking in Fairfield County.

[Comp625]

I will echo what others have said. The Stamford/Greenwich area is great if you want to stay within true financial services (e.g. banking, mortgages, investments, hedgefunds).

On the other hand, insurance services is a stronger sector around the Hartford area (e.g. health insurance, property & casulty insurance, etc.).

[TobinJ]

Unemployment rates in CT were recently reported to be higher than the national average. That means bigger competition for jobs and competition with people who have years of experience. I'd start by doing a general search of jobs with your criteria and specialty in all of CT you'll be able to see where the concentrations are and that'll help guide you to the right area to look for housing.

You should start focusing on networking. Start a LinkedIn profile and join groups for people with your specialities. Memberships in professional organizations can help too. If your school has an alumni association/club in New England see if you can get to any events they have.

[CTbrooktrout]

I work in the investment finance space in Fairfield County. Lots of opportunities here but competition is stiff because of that. I'm currently in operations/reporting. If you reconsider looking for a job here, let me know and I can put you in touch with some recruiters.

There's lots of threads regarding FFC life so I'd definitely look through a few of those to know what you're in for. Again, if you can handle it, it's a good choice for your career to build up experience and you have a lot of career mobility options.