[FunkOdyssey]

Originally Posted by pulpfiction

Yep, we have yet another 'WeHa' fan-boy here.

Let me guess...the back of your Prius is littered with something like this?

You don't have to be a fanboy to recognize its merits and the quality of life people enjoy there. I live in Manchester and drive a miata (all over the state). Personally, I've written off the entire state of CT and plan to move ASAP so you don't have to worry that my assessments are colored by provincialism, local pride, anything like that. It's just the facts.

Haters gonna hate, I guess...

[jp03]

Originally Posted by nep321

Well there you have it folks. This thread has invited quite a few posters who have shared their testimony that they indeed left CT and do not wish to return. My 90% figure seems quite accurate.

Therefore, I will now proceed to expand my job search to places outside of CT, instead of just New Haven and Hartford.

LOL...you can put a square peg into a round hole if you want to bad enough...

It is beyond belief you would use this forum to make your life decisions... wow

[just_because]

Originally Posted by pulpfiction

Strongly disagree.

WH is EXTREMELY overrated.

1) Congestion
It's section of I-84 is the most congested of any in the state outside of FFC. Terrible design and very dangerous at all hours of the day. The arterials (Farmington Ave, Rt 44, etc) are clogged as well
2) Housing stock
Ancient garbage at a premium price. The epitome of 'postage stamp lots'. Please dont counter that these outdated homes feature 'charm' I'll take a 1990+ energy efficient build on a decent sized lot east of the river (at 2/3-3/4 of the price) any day of the week.
3) Pretentiousness
WH is THE snobbiest town in the state outside of lower-FFC. Residents think theyre living somewhere special because of Blueback Square (give me a break...its a glorified strip-mall), 'the center' (yeah some decent restaurants, but nothing that cant be found elsewhere), and these supposed 'great schools' (which arent even in the top 20 in the state if you look at the numbers). Oh, and have you seen those vomit-inducing "WeHa" bumper stickers they're sporting lately? Disgusting.

Trader Joe's, please build a location outside of this dump of a town so I never need to set foot in it again. Thanks.

WH is a screaming bargain. Compared to a comparable nice Boston suburb like Belmont, Newton or Brookline (and there are many more costly ones), WH is easily half or 1/3 cost for the same house. I agree that WH is not the best place if you want a new house with a big yard as that will cost you a lot but many of us are used to living in places with drafty 1920-1930s 2000 sf houses and no yards for $1m-2m. In WH you can get a little 2000sf 1930s charmer for 450k - 550k on a great tree lined street where you can walk to town. And you can plop your kids into some of the best public schools in CT. And because the real estate market in CT has been a bit rough, many people have fixed up these older houses to get them to sell - new windows, kitchens, etc. In hotter markets, this doesn't happen because sellers will get 100s of people lined up for them no matter the condition.

Of course the only issue is with the stale Hartford economy but it's not dead and if you can land a good job there in most industries you will do better financially than in Boston, etc. Obviously some careers like high tech or biotech have infinitely more opportunity in Boston. Anyway many people live in Boston suburbs like those mentioned above and don't even go into Boston that much for work or otherwise so they could be anywhere.

Snobbish? nah. Pretty down to earth compared to most other nice suburbs I've come across.

[ram2]

Originally Posted by nep321

The general sentiment of residents in this state is very negative and pessimistic, more than any other state in the nation, from what I've seen. Even worse than Michigan.

People in Michigan have a negative view of Connecticut due to the high taxes and high cost of living in CT.

[whome224]

Originally Posted by just_because

WH is a screaming bargain.

Of course the only issue is with the stale Hartford economy but it's not dead and if you can land a good job there in most industries you will do better financially than in Boston, etc. Obviously some careers like high tech or biotech have infinitely more opportunity in Boston. Anyway many people live in Boston suburbs like those mentioned above and don't even go into Boston that much for work or otherwise so they could be anywhere.

Snobbish? nah. Pretty down to earth compared to most other nice suburbs I've come across.

There's a reason why the Greenwichs and Newtons do better than the West Hartfords of the world - it's because people want to be in a close suburb to a major city. Hartford simply doesn't have the cultural prowess of world class cities like New York and Boston. Can't find a BSO or Sox-caliber activities in Hartford. That's why it costs more, and I'm glad to pay a lot to get to these things quickly. That said, West Hartford is also nice, just different.

[hartford_renter]

Originally Posted by nep321

Is it just me or does it seem like 90% of people who move out of CT are glad they left and have no desire or intent to return? Almost everyone I know that moved out say it was "the best thing they ever did."

Also, on Facebook, if you look at the comments to many posts made by news pages (e.g. FoxCT, WFSB, WTNH, etc.), literally 95% of the comments are attacking CT and Malloy, and full of people saying that they're so glad they left and that CT was a horrible place to live. When asked about which state is better to live in, the replies are almost always along the lines of "the South," or "Florida" or "North Carolina" or "Texas."

The general sentiment of residents in this state is very negative and pessimistic, more than any other state in the nation, from what I've seen. Even worse than Michigan.

So, I was wondering if there are statistics out there regarding how people feel about having left CT. Because, to be honest, it seems like the vast majority (90% or more) are happy they did so and have no plans to return. And the default "better" place almost always seems to be either Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina or Texas.

You should have created a poll for a more accurate count

I left and am glad that I did. Why?
1. High Taxes
2. Democratic Leadership intent on raising taxes
3. High Debt
4. Horrible economy due to Democratic policies
5. A population 100% Democrat that will reelect these fools

CT was a great place to live and grow up. It has a lot of potential but the political leadership destroyed it economically and the voters who I call morons won't change anything.

We could literally have 10 Trillion in debt and these democrats would say, uh can't we just spend a little more?? Fail

[mlassoff]

Originally Posted by pulpfiction

Strongly disagree.

WH is EXTREMELY overrated.

1) Congestion
It's section of I-84 is the most congested of any in the state outside of FFC. Terrible design and very dangerous at all hours of the day. The arterials (Farmington Ave, Rt 44, etc) are clogged as well
2) Housing stock
Ancient garbage at a premium price. The epitome of 'postage stamp lots'. Please dont counter that these outdated homes feature 'charm' I'll take a 1990+ energy efficient build on a decent sized lot east of the river (at 2/3-3/4 of the price) any day of the week.
3) Pretentiousness
WH is THE snobbiest town in the state outside of lower-FFC. Residents think theyre living somewhere special because of Blueback Square (give me a break...its a glorified strip-mall), 'the center' (yeah some decent restaurants, but nothing that cant be found elsewhere), and these supposed 'great schools' (which arent even in the top 20 in the state if you look at the numbers). Oh, and have you seen those vomit-inducing "WeHa" bumper stickers they're sporting lately? Disgusting.

Trader Joe's, please build a location outside of this dump of a town so I never need to set foot in it again. Thanks.

The laws of supply and demand would contradict your sentiments. Face it, if West Hartford were truly less desirable to most than let's say-- Manchester or Vernon-- the houses would cost less. Most people disagree with you and the numbers prove it.

BTW-- Trader Joe's has a Westport location, but I can't imagine you think Westport is a nice town either...

[nep321]

Originally Posted by hartford_renter

You should have created a poll for a more accurate count

I left and am glad that I did. Why?
1. High Taxes
2. Democratic Leadership intent on raising taxes
3. High Debt
4. Horrible economy due to Democratic policies
5. A population 100% Democrat that will reelect these fools

CT was a great place to live and grow up. It has a lot of potential but the political leadership destroyed it economically and the voters who I call morons won't change anything.

We could literally have 10 Trillion in debt and these democrats would say, uh can't we just spend a little more?? Fail

That's absolutely ridiculous.

You're in Texas now, which has horrible public schools and the highest work-related death rate in the nation, due to Republican policies. Kansas is also a Republican disaster, as are numerous other Republican states. Likewise, there are successful Democratic states, such as Minnesota, Massachusetts, Washington, Virginia, Ohio, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maryland, etc.

The conservative fantasy that Republican states do better is just that -- a fantasy.

The FACT of the matter is that blue states account for 66% of America's GDP, as well has 12% higher GDP per capita than all red states combined. 8 of the top 10 states with the best public schools are BLUE states. And 9 of the top 10 poorest states in the country are RED states. Blue states have lower obesity, higher educational attainment rates, higher wages and more worker related safety, protections and anti-discrimination laws in place. And property values and appreciation rates are higher in blue states.

Conclusion? Blue states have a higher quality of life and are more desirable to most Americans and foreigners.

[Tetto]

Originally Posted by AnonChick

I'd like to see the pie chart and actual resources for your statistics.

For instance:

Have you interviewed 90% of people who moved out of CT? If not, can you please cite your sample demographic?

And that 95% of comments - you do understand that those news pages are generated based on your personal web browsing patterns. So if you spend 95% of your time reading articles about how much Connecticut sucks, you will get news articles that support your opinion, and very few articles that contradict it. If you can demonstrate that this isn't true, please support your fact with sources.

That 90% or more of the vast majority of people who have been happy they left Connecticut - have you interviewed them to find out WHY they left? You specify "the South," "Florida," "North Carolina," and "Texas" as the destinations. What do these states have in common, that make them different from Connecticut?

Here's a blaringly obvious difference: the climate. ALL of those places are demonstrably warmer than Connecticut, for most of the year. In ALL of those places, the cold season is significantly shorter, AND less extreme, than it is in Connecticut.

That says to me that people are moving to warmer places because Connecticut just gets too cold for them. Retirees typically move south, when they move at all, because of that very reason.

So what do you think Connecticut can do to retain all these people who are tired of Connecticut winters? Oh maybe we can build a geothermal dome over the state and create an artificial springtime all year round.

[STEVEN 1]

I left the area for Florida when I was 14 cause that's what my parents wanted to do. I thought about returning home the whole time I was down there.

In 2006 I somehow wound up calling Virginia home and you couldn't drag me out of here

Sometimes the path you choose does not lead you home.