[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by marylandmom2011

Thank you for being respectful and trying to start a conversation. Some posters here are so defensive if a opinion differs from their own.

I live in the Hartford area and many towns are, by my definition, dumpy or "not quite quaint", hopefully that will not offend anyone.

I have not spent anytime in Fairfield Co. and often wonder if it is totally different. The only shoreline towns I am familiar with are Niantic and New London and those would fit my description of dumpy. Mystic seems like a nice town.

New Haven has such potential, great location, Yale, waterfront, architecture, diversity, it could be revitalized. I watched Baltimore being revitalized little by little and now it has so many nice areas. It seems that New Haven would be easy to turn around compared to Baltimore.

I yes, I agree, CT does not seem to have to have poverty like other places.

Depends on a case by case basis, Hartford area has some absolutely gorgeous towns (West Hartford how you doin'?) but there are some that have seen better days which everyone on the board knows which ones I'm talking about so no need to flagellate a deceased mare. I do think those towns are a minority in that area though, most are solid good looking well kept places.

Funny you mention New London, while I do like that city it does look pretty rough around the edges. Same with Niantic. They are not good examples of what the area is truly like.

A little bit of history but most of CT's cities suffered largely the same fate as Baltimore: flight of wealth with warehousing the unseemly side of modern society. Unlike Baltimore no city in CT was the major population and employment center, so where Baltimore became MD's nearly single municipality of bad note we had 5 regional centers that fell hard.

You should check out some of the more "touristy" areas of the Shoreline, it's like a very long very cute Newport, RIPP that spans several towns east of New Haven. Also going through the back woods of Fairfield County is interesting: every American residential architectural style next to each other driving through forest.

[CTartist&musician]

Originally Posted by marylandmom2011

Thank you for being respectful and trying to start a conversation. Some posters here are so defensive if a opinion differs from their own.

I live in the Hartford area and many towns are, by my definition, dumpy or "not quite quaint", hopefully that will not offend anyone.

I have not spent anytime in Fairfield Co. and often wonder if it is totally different. The only shoreline towns I am familiar with are Niantic and New London and those would fit my description of dumpy. Mystic seems like a nice town.

I have only been to Hartford for one day back in 1980 for a seminar and I have never been to any of the surrounding towns. I have no idea about all of the surrounding towns so I am really curious about them. I guess I have spent my life for the most part in a Fairfield County bubble. I have no idea if the Hartford towns are dumpy or really nice.

I am sure Fairfield County must be totally different from the Hartford area. Outside of the cities of Stamford, Norwalk, Danbury and Bridgeport (which is a scandal) just about every town has a HH income of over $100,000. Let's face it, it may not be fair but higher incomes give people more disposal income to make their towns, houses and environments nicer.

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by CTartist&musician

I have only been to Hartford for one day back in 1980 for a seminar and I have never been to any of the surrounding towns. I have no idea about all of the surrounding towns so I am really curious about them. I guess I have spent my life for the most part in a Fairfield County bubble. I have no idea if the Hartford towns are dumpy or really nice.

I am sure Fairfield County must be totally different from the Hartford area. Outside of the cities of Stamford, Norwalk, Danbury and Bridgeport (which is a scandal) just about every town has a HH income of over $100,000. Let's face it, it may not be fair but higher incomes give people more disposal income to make their towns, houses and environments nicer.

Take out a couple of neighborhoods and a couple of those cities are over 100K as well. (not Bpt of course).
The couple of towns near Hartford i've had experience with were far from dumpy. Haven't been to Hartford in ages, and even then it was just to the Civic Center and out.
If Maryland wants to truly see dumpy, should take a road trip to Derby, was there on Saturday, has to be the most depressing place on the planet, had great wings though.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by marylandmom2011

Thank you for being respectful and trying to start a conversation. Some posters here are so defensive if a opinion differs from their own.

I live in the Hartford area and many towns are, by my definition, dumpy or "not quite quaint", hopefully that will not offend anyone.

I have not spent anytime in Fairfield Co. and often wonder if it is totally different. The only shoreline towns I am familiar with are Niantic and New London and those would fit my description of dumpy. Mystic seems like a nice town.

New Haven has such potential, great location, Yale, waterfront, architecture, diversity, it could be revitalized. I watched Baltimore being revitalized little by little and now it has so many nice areas. It seems that New Haven would be easy to turn around compared to Baltimore.

I yes, I agree, CT does not seem to have to have poverty like other places.

Niantic dumpy???? We definitely have different opinions on what dumpy is. Jay

[whome224]

Originally Posted by CTartist&musician

Let's face it, it may not be fair but higher incomes give people more disposal income to make their towns, houses and environments nicer.

Just curious as to why you think it's unfair that people who can afford to make their living environment nicer - the same people who pay WAY more in state taxes than receive services back - do so. Would you rather have a state filled with dumpy downtowns? The fact that Greenwich is Greenwich makes all other towns better.

[CTartist&musician]

Originally Posted by whome224

Just curious as to why you think it's unfair that people who can afford to make their living environment nicer - the same people who pay WAY more in state taxes than receive services back - do so. Would you rather have a state filled with dumpy downtowns? The fact that Greenwich is Greenwich makes all other towns better.

I didn't say I personally thought it was unfair although others might. Well, maybe I think it is a little unfair if I have to be honest.

Most CT cities are a scandal (dumpy and crime ridden) though and in such a rich state and that is certainly a shame.

[EconHusky]

Originally Posted by UrbanExplorer

Would You Move Out of Connecticut If You Could? Listen, I think Connecticut is an excellent place to live. I've traveled to many parts of the country and I feel very fortunate to live in Connecticut. Our state is one of the wealthiest and healthiest in the nation. We are located in the heart of the northeastern market and have a great culture. Unfortunately, many people including myself believe Connecticut is heading in the wrong direction. The cost of living is too high and many people are fleeing the state. Connecticut is not alone and surprisingly New York and New Jersey are in the same situation as us when it comes to high taxes. People are moving out of the Northeast and heading elsewhere. I'm shocked that Connecticuts population is still growing and there are still many people making it by here. What are your thoughts about Connecticut and its cost of living? Would you consider moving out of state?

State’s Population Drops « CBS Connecticut

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ U.S. Census Bureau estimates show that Connecticut’s population decreased slightly from July 2013 to July 2014 as 26,000 more people moved out of state than moved in

Check out this. Put out this year. People are now moving out because they can afford to stop working, or can find jobs elsewhere.

There are more detailed articles I've seen but this one came up first on the topic on Google. It's based on AP/Census anyway.




Also, here's a Courant article. The map is interesting. The second one shows where CT residents have gone. So odd that NY also declined (more than CT) but that's where most CT residents went, by far.
http://www.courant.com/data-desk/hc-...htmlstory.html

[HumpDay]

Originally Posted by EconHusky

State’s Population Drops « CBS Connecticut


Check out this. Put out this year. People are now moving out because they can afford to stop working, or can find jobs elsewhere.

There are more detailed articles I've seen but this one came up first on the topic on Google. It's based on AP/Census anyway.




Also, here's a Courant article. The map is interesting. The second one shows where CT residents have gone. So odd that NY also declined (more than CT) but that's where most CT residents went, by far.
Connecticut Population Down As People Move Out - Hartford Courant

People are leaving because the baby boom of the 50's and 60's are now retiring and moving down south. Its a trend happening all across the Northeast.

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by UrbanExplorer

People are leaving because the baby boom of the 50's and 60's are now retiring and moving down south. Its a trend happening all across the Northeast.

But at the same time the demographics of the Northeastern states all skew old.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by UrbanExplorer

People are leaving because the baby boom of the 50's and 60's are now retiring and moving down south. Its a trend happening all across the Northeast.

You are right. There was a lot of pent up demand for the Boomers to retire. Now that the financial markets seem to have improved, they are confident enough to retire. A number of Boomers I know have done this, though they are not moving out of state. Jay