[ThreePitas]

Originally Posted by wavehunter007

I have been struck how people from the Western states seem to think it’s so humid in the eastern states. Recently a young girl my wife works with who is a CA transplant - in an almost comical way – complains about the humidity nonstop.

I have noticed the lack of humidity, even in only OK (where my family now lives). When I visit I feel as is I can not BREATHE as soon as I step off the plane! It's so dry to me! I have two humidifiers in my room when I visit, winter and summer. I guess I just love our "wet air". And I aways just thought it was because we are near the ocean - thanks for the neat-o map!

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaLass

Hello,

My daughter and her husband moved from San Rafael, California to Connecticut. They went there because of a new job.

Anyway, Glasonbury, Connecticut seemed like the place that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives at but found that the weather tended to much cooler than they expected even during the summertime. Plus in the area that they lived, in these huge huge houses, it was rare to even see people outside of their house. I use to go there and visit but I never saw a sign of life of people even walking down the street. Coming from California, I thought that this is weird. In California, I was use to seeing people walking and talking to their neighbors and visiting with eachother and kids playing with eachother but to go to a town where you do not see anyone talking or visiting with their neighbors was very strange to me. Even the children were not playing with children. They all were in their tiny little worlds and didn't have anything to do with anyone at all in their neighborhood. I felt like I was in the twilight zone or something. Maybe they didn't accept people coming from other states and people who were friendly and outgoing not like themselves.

They both loved their hot climates and after living there for most of the year they knew that they had to move to a place offering hotter climate and a normal place where people talked to people and visited with eachother and a place where they knew their neighbors and so they ended up in Lake Norman, in North Carolina.

Just check out the area because I know that you are going to love this place as they have. They found a beautiful house and their back yard was all lawn down to their little beach with their boat sitting in the water all ready to go for a spin around the lake. We love the weather and the people here. So I think that you will too.

I have to agree with Jay on this one too. Where I live in southern Connecticut, people are very friendly; we have neighborhood kids around all the time. At one point I was a newcomer and had no problem. If you don’t fit in the NYC/CT area, you won’t fit in anywhere.

In fact our newest neghbors are from SOCAL – and according to the wife - people in CA tend too be “less friendly and outgoing” than people here. She says this is simply because they have no free-time, working/cost of living, combined with appalling traffic has really reduced the quality of life in CA. The biggest joke was that she and her kids, see “more of the beach” in Connecticut/Rhode Island, than she ever did living in southern CA, simply because of the horrendous traffic and gridlock.

Also, shocking as it is to many CA folks – while winters are warmer on the West coast than on the East Coast – summers are “hotter” on the East Coast (including CT). As you can see from the map below - taking a typical summer month (July), -everywhere on the East Coast from Massachusetts south – has mean temps above 70 F, while southern CA (SD, LA, SB) all have means below 70 F. In fact, as you can see from the map – from Lompoc northward, mean temps are below 60 F.




So while San Rafael might have had warmer winter weather than CT, the July mean temps in San Rafael and San Francisco are a shivering 58 F, compared to 74 F in Bridgeport, CT and 77 F in NYC. I’ve heard from many people that summers on the West Coast don’t feel like real summer should. My only experience was in the 1990’s when I spent a June in Santa Barbara: I had to wear a jacket most of the time on the beach. When I got back to CT and told people they laughed. I guess Mark Twins’s line – the coldest winter I ever spent – was a summer I spent in San Francisco is quite true.

Cheers.

[ThatsMyStory]

I use to go there and visit but I never saw a sign of life of people even walking down the street. Coming from California, I thought that this is weird. In California, I was use to seeing people walking and talking to their neighbors and visiting with eachother and kids playing with eachother but to go to a town where you do not see anyone talking or visiting with their neighbors was very strange to me. Even the children were not playing with children. They all were in their tiny little worlds and didn't have anything to do with anyone at all in their neighborhood. I felt like I was in the twilight zone or something. Maybe they didn't accept people coming from other states and people who were friendly and outgoing not like themselves.




Wow!...coming from upstate New York, I initially thought the same, that people in CT are stuck up. My husband and I recently purchased a home in Hartford, CT, and we are quite pleased. Do extensive research before your move. What really helped me was actually talking with the people in the neighborhood. I know most people frown upon Hartford, but it's a big place with many "diamonds in the rough". My 4yr old plays outside all evening with the neighbor's kids, any yes we do "visit" quite frequently!

[Iska]

Originally Posted by ThatsMyStory

Wow!...coming from upstate New York, I initially thought the same, that people in CT are stuck up. My husband and I recently purchased a home in Hartford, CT, and we are quite pleased. Do extensive research before your move. What really helped me was actually talking with the people in the neighborhood. I know most people frown upon Hartford, but it's a big place with many "diamonds in the rough". My 4yr old plays outside all evening with the neighbor's kids, any yes we do "visit" quite frequently!

Welcome to the board with such a positive post.

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by wavehunter007

I have been struck how people from the Western states seem to think it’s so humid in the eastern states. Recently a young girl my wife works with who is a CA transplant - in an almost comical way – complains about the humidity nonstop. Since I work for a company that creates maps for climate, marketing, tax……etc, I just thought I would show you an interesting map. I think we forget how dry the West is….or how humid the East can be to people not accustomed to it

I have relatives from Okla. that come for a visit every summer; the humidity leaves them gasping for air and complaining how "hot" it is. Yet when I go to OK in the summer, their dry, high temp leaves me gasping for air. I guess it all depends on what you are used to.

Originally Posted by CaliforniaLass

Hello,

My daughter and her husband moved from San Rafael, California to Connecticut. They went there because of a new job.

Anyway, Glasonbury, Connecticut seemed like the place that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives at but found that the weather tended to much cooler than they expected even during the summertime. Plus in the area that they lived, in these huge huge houses, it was rare to even see people outside of their house. I use to go there and visit but I never saw a sign of life of people even walking down the street. Coming from California, I thought that this is weird. In California, I was use to seeing people walking and talking to their neighbors and visiting with eachother and kids playing with eachother but to go to a town where you do not see anyone talking or visiting with their neighbors was very strange to me. Even the children were not playing with children. They all were in their tiny little worlds and didn't have anything to do with anyone at all in their neighborhood. I felt like I was in the twilight zone or something. Maybe they didn't accept people coming from other states and people who were friendly and outgoing not like themselves.

They both loved their hot climates and after living there for most of the year they knew that they had to move to a place offering hotter climate and a normal place where people talked to people and visited with eachother and a place where they knew their neighbors and so they ended up in Lake Norman, in North Carolina.

That is the first time I have heard of families not spending time outdoors in Ct., especially children. I have lived in Ct. over 25 years, in several different towns and cities. Maybe you were visiting in the dead of winter when it was very cold outside? When the weather is nice, many of our neighbors and their children are outside.

[Anaid]

It really all depends on the safety of the streets- if there are sidewalks or you are in a low- and slow-traffic area, kids play out in front of houses- if not, they are kept away from the roads. I really wish more builders realized how key the roads are to building a sense of community.

Ooops- back to the original question, I' sure you can find a nice family community in CT- just do plenty of research about prices and schools in the area. You can use ravies.com for mapping and prices, and schoolreportcard for schools with reviews. When you look at houses, look at neighborhood just as much as the interior of the house.

[jesse rivers]

Don't know what your budget is but some areas of Long Island are great family neighborhoods, very mild weather because of the ocean and the sound, and lots of fun things to do.

[seymourct]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

It's not that people here aren't accepting - many people here (more in the suburbs) are reserved. It's that New England reservation. People largely keep to themselves, with some exceptions of course. If you see your neighbor outside, more than likely they'll wave or say a quick hello instead of having a long conversation.... .

True - CT is very much a keep to yourself, mind your own business type of social atmosphere. IMHO most people have their best friends (which are not necessarily in the neighborhood they live) and then just keep it that way as they move around...

[violetvale]

Originally Posted by seymourct

True - CT is very much a keep to yourself, mind your own business type of social atmosphere. IMHO most people have their best friends (which are not necessarily in the neighborhood they live) and then just keep it that way as they move around...

This is my experience as well. They won't talk to you unless they know you AND have reason to talk to you. There are exceptions...

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by violetvale

This is my experience as well. They won't talk to you unless they know you AND have reason to talk to you. There are exceptions...

Yes, this is essentially true. I'm a native and I prefer the company of friends that I've known since childhood. However, now that I no longer live in CT I have made some friends in other states in New England and other areas of the country.

It is easier to make friends when you are in your school years in CT. In Simsbury we had people from virtually every state, Canada and many other countries that moved to town during my years there. Probably half my friends were from other states or countries and not natives of New England.

CT is known as the Land of Steady Habits. People like familiarity and hate change.