[davfar]

I love Litchfield County

I love our FOUR seasons

I love the beach being 45 minutes away

I love that I can afford my own condo in one of the most expensive parts of the country

I love that people think we are reserved/snobby

I love that CT is near the top of many superlatives!

I love that I can head down to the city for a day trip

I love that I can shop around for cheap flights from BDL, JFK, Newark, LaGuardia, Providence, and Boston (one may be $200 less than others..even to FL)

I love that every town is distinct

I love the history here

I could go on forever....


I hate I-84

I hate I-95

I hate the upkeep of our roads

I hate that they show Sonic commercials when the closest one is in MD or something

...can't think of anything else right now.

[jad2000]

Originally Posted by davfar

I hate that they show Sonic commercials when the closest one is in MD or something

Too funny, in total agreement!

[alphabetmom]

I lived in CT for several years. I finished high school there and returned every summer during college. It was always the place I said I would live and raise a family. Now I'm in Illinois (although not CT, it's still a really nice place to live). What's to love about CT? The seasons. The fall folliage. Small towns. Great schools (free ones too). The New England charm. The colonial homes. The quick trip to NY (which is where I'm originally from). And the attitude of the people - confident, expectant and collegiate. I loved living in CT. Rumor has it, its where the smart people live. Don't know if it's true, but I think people just assume that because of Yale. Oh, and they always think you're rich when you say you're from CT. The taxes are high, but then again how do you think you pay for such great schooling?

[contractor-guy]

Ct is a really boring place where no body says hello or even notices that your the new neighbor. (Actually, they notice but are way TOO yankee and reserved to offer a welcome or a hello).
Its a WASPY little state where people are the coldest and unfriendliest of all New England states.
I have lived here 5 years and have owned two homes and barely ever saw anybody in the neighborhod. The people here are distant cold and snotty.
Because many work in the financial industry they tend to be odd, quirky, nerdy, intelligent and rich and very distant and unapproachable..
I am super friendly and always saying hi to people, even strangers, and helping people; many times many many times people are shocked that I even cared or noticed someone who was in trouble(car trouble, or other similar situations.). People are surprised that someone actually was not COLD and heartless.
Now, the best thing this state has are the immigrant communities. It is a haven of oppurunity for hardworking immigrants; and thank God, many of these immigrants hold onto their culture; cuisine, music, language; so in some cities and towns their is a healthy diversity.
The schools are among the best in the nation, but who cares? Do you want your kids to grow up heartless, cold, spoiled and perfect? Not me. I want my kids to be fully engaged and alive, the best learning happens in a culturally rich and diverse enviroment, not in a emotionally sick and stifling place like CT.
In many of the rich towns the kids are spoiled rotten and are real jerks.

Now, dont get me wrong, some of the people are nice, once they allow themselves the luxury of acknowledging you exist.... but just way too reserved ... It befudles me that anybody could enjoy living around here. The people never have any fun, they're just too busy planning their retirement and 401k's....... The people dont smile or laugh around here, just very serious and and busy ....keeping up with the Joneses.."I need a newer & bigger SUV".........etc...
Stay in CA your gonna hate it here.
I'm pulling up the stakes soon and moving the clan outta here to a warmer friendlier state, maybe CA.

See Ya in CA

[jad2000]

Originally Posted by contractor-guy

Ct is a really boring place where no body says hello or even notices that your the new neighbor. (Actually, they notice but are way TOO yankee and reserved to offer a welcome or a hello).
Its a WASPY little state where people are the coldest and unfriendliest of all New England states.
I have lived here 5 years and have owned two homes and barely ever saw anybody in the neighborhod. The people here are distant cold and snotty.
Because many work in the financial industry they tend to be odd, quirky, nerdy, intelligent and rich and very distant and unapproachable..
I am super friendly and always saying hi to people, even strangers, and helping people; many times many many times people are shocked that I even cared or noticed someone who was in trouble(car trouble, or other similar situations.). People are surprised that someone actually was not COLD and heartless.
Now, the best thing this state has are the immigrant communities. It is a haven of oppurunity for hardworking immigrants; and thank God, many of these immigrants hold onto their culture; cuisine, music, language; so in some cities and towns their is a healthy diversity.
The schools are among the best in the nation, but who cares? Do you want your kids to grow up heartless, cold, spoiled and perfect? Not me. I want my kids to be fully engaged and alive, the best learning happens in a culturally rich and diverse enviroment, not in a emotionally sick and stifling place like CT.
In many of the rich towns the kids are spoiled rotten and are real jerks.

Now, dont get me wrong, some of the people are nice, once they allow themselves the luxury of acknowledging you exist.... but just way too reserved ... It befudles me that anybody could enjoy living around here. The people never have any fun, they're just too busy planning their retirement and 401k's....... The people dont smile or laugh around here, just very serious and and busy ....keeping up with the Joneses.."I need a newer & bigger SUV".........etc...
Stay in CA your gonna hate it here.
I'm pulling up the stakes soon and moving the clan outta here to a warmer friendlier state, maybe CA.

See Ya in CA

I enjoy living around here for many of the reasons you stated.

First I will say I disagree with your critique regarding people not smiling, laughing or being friendly. That's simply untrue, and I found CT neighborhoods to be incredibly friendly and family oriented places to live. Of course, every neighborhood has that odd-ball family but for the most part, everyone is very nice. Block parties, neighborhood BBQs, etc.

I love CT because we don't have people walking around shouting hello to every passing being. That's way over the top, IMO, and very fake. If I walked around downtown Stamford and said Hi to every person I passed, I would lose my voice. Thankfully people around here make sure they trust you and what you're all about before engaging in specific conversation. IMO that makes the conversation more genuine, real and distinct.

I'm not sure what anyone else considers "super friendly" but to me, it's definitely not someone who calls people a WASP, snotty, odd, quirky, nerdy and referring to young kids as heartless, cold, spoiled and jerks. That's JMO of course!

Oh and I never thought of intelligence as being a bad thing. What??

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by jad2000

I found CT neighborhoods to be incredibly friendly and family oriented places to live. ... Block parties, neighborhood BBQs, etc.

In Fairfield County?

[jad2000]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest

In Fairfield County?

Absolutely. Grew up in New Canaan, lived in Wilton and Stamford. In Wilton, we were always invited to our neighbor's BBQ and our old neighborhood in New Canaan had yearly block parties.

Shocking, isn't it??

That's another thing I love about CT - even the wealthy people are modest and not as pretentious as those in CA, NJ and Long Island.

[PurpleDSM]

All of these postings, especially in regard to the attitude of people, are full of generalizations.

To the Cali to possibly-CT original poster, move out to Connecticut because you appreciate its school system, its New England charm, the gorgeous change of seasons, the proximity to cool cities like NYC or Boston and the job possibilities that exist in those cities. Don't listen to the rest of these posters who generalize that Connecticut people are rude, or Connecticut people are nice. Connecticut people are...people. Some are extremely friendly, some are extremely rude, but you're bound to eventually find friends and neighbors who are kind and that you enjoy, assuming you make the effort to be kind, in return.

Me? I live in San Francisco. Supposedly one of the "friendliest" and most "accepting" cities in the country, right? Right... I lived in Connecticut for 7 years and if I had to make a general comparison between the people I know now and the people I knew during my 7 years in Connecticut, I would say that I knew much kinder, friendlier, and, yes, more intelligent people in Connecticut than in California - people who DID converse with strangers and said Hello to neighbors and who didn't glare at you when you passed them on the street. But, again, that's generalizing. We all do it, though that doesn't make it real.

I'm ACHING to move back to Connecticut from California. Not just because I personally feel that I can relate to and enjoy New Englanders more, but because of the first things I mentioned.

Good luck with your decision.

[notjustamom]

Originally Posted by contractor-guy

Ct is a really boring place where no body says hello or even notices that your the new neighbor. (Actually, they notice but are way TOO yankee and reserved to offer a welcome or a hello).
Its a WASPY little state where people are the coldest and unfriendliest of all New England states.
I have lived here 5 years and have owned two homes and barely ever saw anybody in the neighborhod. The people here are distant cold and snotty.
Because many work in the financial industry they tend to be odd, quirky, nerdy, intelligent and rich and very distant and unapproachable..
I am super friendly and always saying hi to people, even strangers, and helping people; many times many many times people are shocked that I even cared or noticed someone who was in trouble(car trouble, or other similar situations.). People are surprised that someone actually was not COLD and heartless.
Now, the best thing this state has are the immigrant communities. It is a haven of oppurunity for hardworking immigrants; and thank God, many of these immigrants hold onto their culture; cuisine, music, language; so in some cities and towns their is a healthy diversity.
The schools are among the best in the nation, but who cares? Do you want your kids to grow up heartless, cold, spoiled and perfect? Not me. I want my kids to be fully engaged and alive, the best learning happens in a culturally rich and diverse enviroment, not in a emotionally sick and stifling place like CT.
In many of the rich towns the kids are spoiled rotten and are real jerks.

Now, dont get me wrong, some of the people are nice, once they allow themselves the luxury of acknowledging you exist.... but just way too reserved ... It befudles me that anybody could enjoy living around here. The people never have any fun, they're just too busy planning their retirement and 401k's....... The people dont smile or laugh around here, just very serious and and busy ....keeping up with the Joneses.."I need a newer & bigger SUV".........etc...
Stay in CA your gonna hate it here.
I'm pulling up the stakes soon and moving the clan outta here to a warmer friendlier state, maybe CA.

See Ya in CA

If you are anything in person like your judgemental tone in this post, this WASP would not be friendly to you, either.

[Srib]

Maybe contractor-guy is just picking the wrong neighborhoods? If you say hello to me you will certainly get a hello back.