Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
LOL this thread has gone off track. Yea yea but one of my favorite Thai places in CT is in New London. Jasmine Thai Restaurant. Also read up on another great Thai place called Lazy Leopard Thai Cafe and Sushi Side.
LOL this thread has gone off track. Yea yea but one of my favorite Thai places in CT is in New London. Jasmine Thai Restaurant. Also read up on another great Thai place called Lazy Leopard Thai Cafe and Sushi Side.
So much for southeast Connecticut lacking diversity in its restaurant offerings. Jay
So much for southeast Connecticut lacking diversity in its restaurant offerings. Jay
Sorry but an area having a Thai and sushi restaurant does not mean there is much diversity. Not saying there isn’t because I’m not entirely familiar with the area.
Sorry but an area having a Thai and sushi restaurant does not mean there is much diversity. Not saying there isn’t because I’m not entirely familiar with the area.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,749 posts, read 23,822,981 times
Reputation: 14665
Quote:
Originally Posted by EasternCTBias
To the original question, I prefer Stonington to the Lymes but the whole shoreline from Old Saybrook to Westerly and beyond is beautiful
Bumping this old thread, and would agree with the above after a visit to SE CT this week, I really liked the whole shoreline between Westerly to Old Saybrook. Stonington and East Lyme are the two towns that resonated with me the most that I could possibly see myself living in.
I liked East Lyme for the Niantic shoreline and village. It has a fair amount of retail for running errands. Real Estate is not too out of reach, seems fairly attainable with some luck. Head north on the back roads and you end up in hilly terrain with stone walls, woodlands, and nice rural New England scenery (East Haddam, what a gem of a town).
Lyme and Old Lyme seem more exclusive, large lots, semi rural, and they want to keep it that way. Blend of country and refinement. They're scenic towns but mostly residential, didn't pick up on much of anything to see or do. My quibble with Old Lyme and Old Saybrook, lots of private shoreline, not very much that's accessible, and I'm surprised that the mouth of the Connecticut River doesn't have much public access where it meets the Sound.
Waterford - I liked parts of it by the water, some great parks and scenic shoreline. Seems like an okay middle class area, I wouldn't pass it up for the right housing situation.
New London - Really a lot grittier than I had imagined. Similar to New Bedford, Mass, wouldn't live here. Lots of bad urban planning decisions from the past seemed to have left some scars on the city. It does have one of the nicest deep water harbors on the whole New England coast and therefore some scenic waterfront in places where the parks are situated and Ocean Beach. I like the ferry options to eastern Long Island and Block Island.
Groton - It covers a lot of ground, very mixed income with spillover of NL grit near the Thames River, the sub base is cool and I intend to visit sometime, and some military type housing with duplexes in a number of neighborhoods and they weren't very well kept. Then go to the other side of the hill to the Eastern half of town it's prosperous looking and affluent and touristy seaside villages like Noank, and most of Mystic. There were some okay suburban neighborhoods in between that could be worth considering. I like Bluff Point SP.
Stonington - Love this town as a whole. Busy enough to have some interesting activity and a good number of neighborhoods and villages to walk around but also quiet and semi rural feeling in parts. Stonington Borough is a cool relic of vintage New England with a well preserved village stocked with colonial and federalist architecture and a palpable nautical and fishing village feel. Kind of like a smaller version of Marblehead, Mass. One end of town has Mystic Seaport, the other end of town is Pawcatuck an old mill town but fairly well kept and walking distance into downtown Westerly. I was flirting with Zillow listings in this area.
Westerly - Seems very affluent in coastal parts, downtown is decent, I loved Watch Hill and the Napatree sandbar, it's really as nice as a beach can get in southern New England. Nice place to have within arms reach if living in SE CT.
Most of the previous thread pages derailed into discussions of food in LA, Central CT, even London. I have a palate for Seafood, Italian, Pizza, Pub food, Pho & Thai, and occasionally Indian. I think I'd do alright in this area and there are some options at the Casinos. New Haven, though up to 45 minutes away could pick up the slack if I want to elevate the food choices. That's not too far and I'm use to going the distance.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 01-30-2023 at 10:37 AM..
Bumping this old thread, and would agree with the above after a visit to SE CT this week, I really liked the whole shoreline between Westerly to Old Saybrook. Stonington and East Lyme are the two towns that resonated with me the most that I could possibly see myself living in.
I liked East Lyme for the Niantic shoreline and village. It has a fair amount of retail for running errands. Real Estate is not too out of reach, seems fairly attainable with some luck. Head north on the back roads and you end up in hilly terrain with stone walls, woodlands, and nice rural New England scenery (East Haddam, what a gem of a town).
Lyme and Old Lyme seem more exclusive, large lots, semi rural, and they want to keep it that way. Blend of country and refinement. They're scenic towns but mostly residential, didn't pick up on much of anything to see or do. My quibble with Old Lyme and Old Saybrook, lots of private shoreline, not very much that's accessible, and I'm surprised that the mouth of the Connecticut River doesn't have much public access where it meets the Sound.
Waterford - I liked parts of it by the water, some great parks and scenic shoreline. Seems like an okay middle class area, I wouldn't pass it up for the right housing situation.
New London - Really a lot grittier than I had imagined. Similar to New Bedford, Mass, wouldn't live here. Lots of bad urban planning decisions from the past seemed to have left some scars on the city. It does have one of the nicest deep water harbors on the whole New England coast and therefore some scenic waterfront in places where the parks are situated and Ocean Beach. I like the ferry options to eastern Long Island and Block Island.
Groton - It covers a lot of ground, very mixed income with spillover of NL grit near the Thames River, the sub base is cool and I intend to visit sometime, and some military type housing with duplexes in a number of neighborhoods and they weren't very well kept. Then go to the other side of the hill to the Eastern half of town it's prosperous looking and affluent and touristy seaside villages like Noank, and most of Mystic. There were some okay suburban neighborhoods in between that could be worth considering. I like Bluff Point SP.
Stonington - Love this town as a whole. Busy enough to have some interesting activity and a good number of neighborhoods and villages to walk around but also quiet and semi rural feeling in parts. Stonington Borough is a cool relic of vintage New England with a well preserved village stocked with colonial and federalist architecture and a palpable nautical and fishing village feel. Kind of like a smaller version of Marblehead, Mass. One end of town has Mystic Seaport, the other end of town is Pawcatuck an old mill town but fairly well kept and walking distance into downtown Westerly. I was flirting with Zillow listings in this area.
Westerly - Seems very affluent in coastal parts, downtown is decent, I loved Watch Hill and the Napatree sandbar, it's really as nice as a beach can get in southern New England. Nice place to have within arms reach if living in SE CT.
Most of the previous thread pages derailed into discussions of food in LA, Central CT, even London. I have a palate for Seafood, Italian, Pizza, Pub food, Pho & Thai, and occasionally Indian. I think I'd do alright in this area and there are some options at the Casinos. New Haven, though up to 45 minutes away could pick up the slack if I want to elevate the food choices. That's not too far and I'm use to going the distance.
My wife and I currently live in central NJ but are considering this area as our not-so-distant future residence. I've visited this area many times as my wife has family members there. I generally like it....although I prefer busier places, by that I mean, foot traffic. I just like places where people are walking around (That's probably because I'm from Japan and have lived in the most densely populated area of NJ for many years). That's hard to find in CT outside of New Haven, but when we were in Mystic, we saw a lot of people walking around in town.
I know some of you may say Mystic is touristy or not authentic, etc., and people we saw are probably tourists. But I personally found it comforting to see people walking to go to stores. It was in January, and it wasn't particularly warm day.
Personally, I wouldn't want to live in Mystic because it gets so crazy in on-season. Off-season, it's great. If I were were going to live east of the river, it would be East Lyme or Old Lyme. I have family in Waterford, but it's lack of a town center or sense of its own identity are be downsides. My wife was living in New London when I met her, and I spend whole summer there about 7 years ago. I actually REALLY liked living there. Without a kid, I didn't mind the grit. With daughter, I need better schools. East Lyme has more than Old Lyme. Schools are great in both. Old Lyme has more economic diversity than you might think.
My wife and I currently live in central NJ but are considering this area as our not-so-distant future residence. I've visited this area many times as my wife has family members there. I generally like it....although I prefer busier places, by that I mean, foot traffic. I just like places where people are walking around (That's probably because I'm from Japan and have lived in the most densely populated area of NJ for many years). That's hard to find in CT outside of New Haven, but when we were in Mystic, we saw a lot of people walking around in town.
I know some of you may say Mystic is touristy or not authentic, etc., and people we saw are probably tourists. But I personally found it comforting to see people walking to go to stores. It was in January, and it wasn't particularly warm day.
Mystic has plenty of foot traffic. Even in winter, yes. It can be a little much in summer. I’d like to live in the Borough and visit Mystic if I lived out there.
And yes New Haven has the liveliest foot traffic, but the towns in southwest coast have plenty too, especially in summer. Particularly: Branford, Milford, Fairfield/Black Rock, Westport, South Norwalk, Darien, Stamford, Greenwich.
You’ll see a little foot traffic in towns like Guilford, Madison, Old Saybrook, Niantic, Essex, and Chester too—mostly on summer weekends.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,749 posts, read 23,822,981 times
Reputation: 14665
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atsushi
My wife and I currently live in central NJ but are considering this area as our not-so-distant future residence. I've visited this area many times as my wife has family members there. I generally like it....although I prefer busier places, by that I mean, foot traffic. I just like places where people are walking around (That's probably because I'm from Japan and have lived in the most densely populated area of NJ for many years). That's hard to find in CT outside of New Haven, but when we were in Mystic, we saw a lot of people walking around in town.
I know some of you may say Mystic is touristy or not authentic, etc., and people we saw are probably tourists. But I personally found it comforting to see people walking to go to stores. It was in January, and it wasn't particularly warm day.
I like Mystic but I could see myself avoiding it at certain times in the summer. But the stores and restaurants are decent and not touristy overkill like some other touristy towns. It's only a few blocks + the Seaport. I think the Borough provides a nice counterpoint up the road for a walkable town. It's appealing and charming enough for tourists but doesn't come off as touristy. Pawcutuck is walkable with a seemless connection to downtown Westerly, this area seems suited for locals.
There are a fair number of nice towns that have walkable town centers but usually not exceeding a small collection of historic blocks. The attraction to southeastern Connecticut for me is access to abundant outdoor activity, both coastal and inland. There's a lot of attractive parks in the area. We drove up to Devils Hopyard State Park in East Haddam when the winds were gusting on the coast. It had rained the previous day and Chapman Falls was a torrent of water raging over the rocky ledges, it was impressive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WestRiverTraveler
Personally, I wouldn't want to live in Mystic because it gets so crazy in on-season. Off-season, it's great. If I were were going to live east of the river, it would be East Lyme or Old Lyme. I have family in Waterford, but it's lack of a town center or sense of its own identity are be downsides. My wife was living in New London when I met her, and I spend whole summer there about 7 years ago. I actually REALLY liked living there. Without a kid, I didn't mind the grit. With daughter, I need better schools. East Lyme has more than Old Lyme. Schools are great in both. Old Lyme has more economic diversity than you might think.
I wanted to like New London and there were parts that I did like (Fort Trumbull, the neighborhoods near Ocean Beach Park). Downtown is interesting, but something about it didn't feel that inviting. The urban core is an odd hodgepodge of old historic bones and mid twentieth century brutalism. Sometimes juxtapositions are interesting. And sometimes they're headscrathers and make you ask "why?" (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3545...7i13312!8i6656). It's an interesting place, love the harbor. I know not every seaport can be Newport or Portsmouth, but New London has a lot of unmet potential.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 01-31-2023 at 06:34 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Jay
