[EricS39]

It's family, comfort zone, having defined seasons, having natural escapes, scenic drives, hikes,

And what you can do on a Saturday with time off ....
can visit Manhattan and hang out in NYC for the day...

Hang out in Boston for the day (1-2 hours other direction)

Can pack a canteen and hike in bear mountain

Can take Chester ferry ride on CT River and get some delicious ice cream or go to an art museum in East Lyme, or tour the oldest medieval castle in Guilford

Or look at antique clocks in Bristol

Or go to all the main streets of all the little towns/check out the general stores

You also have a nice beachfront in southern part of state

There's lots of uniqueness to this state. It just requires one to drive and get out and about. There's not much going on in any particular one place at a given time within CT but there's plenty of access.

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by EricS39

Go to Houston and the next city over is more driving hours than here will get you to NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Berkshires....

By road:

Houston - Austin: 2.5 hours
Houston - San Antonio: 3.5 hours
Houston - Dallas: 4 hours
Houston - New Orleans: 5 hours

All cities with interesting aspects, easily reached by road.

[EricS39]

Also the most boring months are March and April which is why now the CT happy level is in the low season

May-mid-September (Connecticut is nice outdoorsy and happening and full of summer-like events

Late September-October-Early November (Foliage and butternut squash and cider mills)

Late November - Thanksgiving family traditions

December-February - winter wonderland, holiday spirit, ski resorts open

March - April = the boring mud period of barren landscape and brown grass

[nep321]

Originally Posted by EricS39

It's family, comfort zone, having defined seasons, having natural escapes, scenic drives, hikes,

And what you can do on a Saturday with time off ....
can visit Manhattan and hang out in NYC for the day...

I lived in Manhattan for two years. I hope to never step foot in NYC ever again. It's the biggest sh!thole on the east coast and costs way too much just to visit for the day. I'm over it.

Hang out in Boston for the day (1-2 hours other direction)

Boston is a cool city, but I'm not an urban/city person, so I don't visit often.

Can pack a canteen and hike in bear mountain

Yes, I enjoy hiking in various parks.

Can take Chester ferry ride on CT River and get some delicious ice cream or go to an art museum in East Lyme, or tour the oldest medieval castle in Guilford

Been there, done that.

Or look at antique clocks in Bristol

Boring for young people.

Or go to all the main streets of all the little towns/check out the general stores

I don't see the point in doing this. Usually, going into town centers to shop is a hassle to find parking, then they usually charge for parking, and it's packed full of people walking around. Ugh. Doesn't interest me.

You also have a nice beachfront in southern part of state

Except 98% of the CT shoreline is privately owned by rich people. The middle class is restricted to a few trite public beaches that charge a hefty entrance fee, and they're either crowded or full of trashy people in some places.

There's lots of uniqueness to this state. It just requires one to drive and get out and about. There's not much going on in any particular one place at a given time within CT but there's plenty of access.

True, it's very charming and all, but it's also very small. After you live here for 30 years, there's literally nothing NEW to do. It's the same parks, beaches, casinos and shopping places over and over again. But if you're new to CT, you should enjoy it for years to come.

See above responses.

[Stylo]

nep, I have easy access to several free beaches that are far from full of trashy people or crowded.

[EricS39]

Nep, both my brothers live in Manhattan

LIVING in New York City for 2 years means most likely you utilized less and less of the city than a traveler or Connecticut resident who comes in on nice weekends sporadically.

This is because the city residents themselves gravitate to their own corner streets. It goes with the saying "You know you are a New Yorker if you've never been to the top of the Empire State Building"

The city if utilized has lots of variety, almost anything you want is in there somewhere. You can hang out in Washington Square for entertainment, or West Village gay street, or go stroll in Central Park, there are meetup.com groups in the city for gay singles

Not sure what you couldn't find. NYC isn't all dirty hole there's a lot in it ...outskirts of the city are dumpy in places and lower east side is decaying ....but still tremendous stuff going on and way more than Houston

[Mr_250]

What I don't like about these little "polls" is that these polls give the perception that CT is a place where no one wants to be. From an outsider who wants to set up shop here, seeing that 50% of the population wants to move is not a very good incentive to bring businesses to the State. Who would want to start a business here knowing that people aren't happy and happy people don't spend money. Granted it might be true or it might not be true, either way it's a black eye for CT.

[mels]

Originally Posted by Csiko

TWhat would keep someone in a small state like CT except for family ties or something? It's certainly not the weather.

I love the weather in CT and it is a major factor of why I live here. To each their own. I actually (GASP!) enjoy winter and appreciate that Connecticut's isn't too long. Summer is great too and by the time I get sick of heat and humidity, fall has arrived. Fall is my favorite time of year with warm days and chilly nights. My love of the weather and region applies to all of southern New England since the states are so small. I would easily be as happy in RI or MA as I am in CT (exclusive of Fairfield County- BTDT, no thanks). CT just happens to be where my job took me.

The difference I see between myself and many people on this forum that have nothing but hate for the state is I haven't spent my whole life in Connecticut whining about how much it sucks. I have lived all over the country and chose to call Connecticut home. I happen to like it here. As mentioned previously, this specific study is basically a load of horse manure though I am sure there are plenty of people who want to move away. To those people, I suggest you get off your rear end and do something about it.

[Sigequinox]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

What I don't like about these little "polls" is that these polls give the perception that CT is a place where no one wants to be. From an outsider who wants to set up shop here, seeing that 50% of the population wants to move is not a very good incentive to bring businesses to the State. Who would want to start a business here knowing that people aren't happy and happy people don't spend money. Granted it might be true or it might not be true, either way it's a black eye for CT.

It's not really the job of this or any other company to care if their findings don't coincide with the pride and/or economic prosperity of the region they studied. plain and simple. So long as their study's intent was not to discredit a region or state and they conducted their study with the integrity expected from the scientific community then it's fair game IMO and I don't really see how there could be much argument there.

That being said, if a motivated and energetic "entrepreneur" did not start his business in CT (or any state) because of this one study, and not because of research into market demographics, cost of business, overhead/property or rent, wages for employees in the region, distribution for their product, potential clients/customers etc etc etc then they are pretty doomed from the get-go. Most would not call such a person an "entrepreneur" but a fool.

[the fish]

Originally Posted by mels

I love the weather in CT and it is a major factor of why I live here. To each their own. I actually (GASP!) enjoy winter and appreciate that Connecticut's isn't too long. Summer is great too and by the time I get sick of heat and humidity, fall has arrived. Fall is my favorite time of year with warm days and chilly nights. My love of the weather and region applies to all of southern New England since the states are so small. I would easily be as happy in RI or MA as I am in CT (exclusive of Fairfield County- BTDT, no thanks). CT just happens to be where my job took me.

The difference I see between myself and many people on this forum that have nothing but hate for the state is I haven't spent my whole life in Connecticut whining about how much it sucks. I have lived all over the country and chose to call Connecticut home. I happen to like it here. As mentioned previously, this specific study is basically a load of horse manure though I am sure there are plenty of people who want to move away. To those people, I suggest you get off your rear end and do something about it.

There are plety of people that are getting off there arse and doing something about it. Why do you think the tax revenue is down?