[Stylo]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

I love New Haven as much as the next guy, don't get me wrong, but a top global destination is a stretch, a lofty one at that. I want to know who wrote the NYT a check.

Think of it in terms of accessibility to NY. Also, good lists uncover hidden gems. A list full of the usual suspects is boring. I love finding hidden gems when I travel.

Also, even many popular destinations now had their phase of obscurity. Momentum makes them even better places to visit.

Lastly, are Tucson or Greenville really that much more impressive?

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Champ le monstre du lac

I've shared my scorn on Connecticut with the curses of I-84 west of Hartford and I-95 in FFC and NHC. Oh god, they truly do suck. But it's par for the course up here. Are Mass, RI, or NYS doing much better on the highways? Not at all! I'd miss my steady cruise control through the mountains up here on I-89.

Unless you’re unfortunate enough to have a long highway commute, I’d look at it like this:

Highways are <1% of the collective experience of living somewhere. They are 100% the experience of driving through a state. Perspective is everything.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Unless you’re unfortunate enough to have a long highway commute, I’d look at it like this:

Highways are <1% of the collective experience of living somewhere. They are 100% the experience of driving through a state. Perspective is everything.

Oh I know. My views on New Jersey changed drastically when my only experience was driving through the state versus spending a long weekend on the beaches of Cape May. It's not like I was presented with "Hey dear, I got a promotion! But we have to move to Houston!"

https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/k...at-6261429.php

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Stylo

I’m amazed how many people on social media have no pride in where they live.

Also, pure ignorance and also a rejection of things like culture, food, etc. There’s also a bubble, or paranoid mentality. “I’d never go there, I’d get shot”. Which is absurdly irrational.

I guess it’s indicative of a greater issue in society.

As you know, I’ve been battling that ignorance for years now. Right here on this forum you see people who don’t see any of the good in our state but when given the facts have no choice but to admit what a great state Connecticut is. I think a lot of the negativity is jealousy. It’s human nature to diminish things that make it to the very top. In so many ways we are there so people tend to take potshots. The only thing we can do is give them the facts. Jay

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by JayCT

As you know, I’ve been battling that ignorance for years now. Right here on this forum you see people who don’t see any of the good in our state but when given the facts have no choice but to admit what a great state Connecticut is. I think a lot of the negativity is jealousy. It’s human nature to diminish things that make it to the very top. In so many ways we are there so people tend to take potshots. The only thing we can do is give them the facts. Jay

You haven’t had many battles lately. Most of the naysayers have whittled away here. They’re MIA. Radio silence. Probably regrouping and rethinking strategies planning the next round of attacks.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

You haven’t had many battles lately. Most of the naysayers have whittled away here. They’re MIA. Radio silence. Probably regrouping and rethinking strategies planning the next round of attacks.

Giving facts work. Jay

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Originally Posted by ct1615

No, they seriously made the list? I've been to Tuscon, go to Scottsdale instead.

Lived an hour outside of Greenville, there i nothing there and there is nothing outside of it but a BMW plant and a giant "peach" water tower that looks like someone's butt as you drive there. Go to Asheville in NC instead, about an hour north.

Don't want to veer the thread off topic, though it does pertain to the same article that New Haven was included in. I've lived in the Southwest, and been to AZ a whole bunch of times. Tucson is more interesting. It was a much more scenic mountain/desert setting than Phoenix/Scottsdale. Still hot but not as inferno hot as Phoenix better air quality.

The saguaro cacti that dot the hillsides and mountain slopes around Tucson are gorgeous during sunsets. Though Scottsdale is nice, I stayed at the Hyatt there. I could not believe how green and irrigated it was in that area. It was like Florida green since they siphoned out 1/2 the Colorado River to create Scottsdale. So for golfing, resort pool lounging, and shopping, yeah Scottsdale is good. But Tucson has better food and much better Mexican food, a beautifully landscaped college campus at U of A (more interesting than ASU in Tempe), it's more eclectic, and more walkable in the 4th Ave and downtown area. The outskirts of Tucson are very scenic, quintessential Arizona at its best. Yeah it's got some shady hoods to avoid too, but still more fun than Scottsdale.

Not as familiar with Greenville, the downtown is attractive with a nice waterfall park, but would agree not compelling enough to rank it higher than Asheville.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by ct1615

Typically stay at he Embassy Suites in Scottsdale which is an easy walk to the mall and canal "waterfront" and just like you my first thought when I got to scottsdale was "look at all the green golf courses and lawns, where is all this water coming from?". Especially after being in places like Phoenix, Prescott, and Tuscon. Obviously now with the issues of the Colorado River, we know the tole of all this water.

I did not care for Phoenix (that city has some shady hoods as well).



To me Tuscon is a college town, somewhat similar to Boulder with the view of the mountains but hotter. I would still prefer Boulder and its Pearl St mall. College towns are great if you are 18-24 but now I just avoid them.

The Biltmore and Arcadia parts of Phoenix are great, near Camelback. There's great food and pizza believe it or not.
Scottsdale would be great for snowbirding. You can play golf until you're blue in the face, dine and hang out in Old Town, hike Camelback and other scenic spots, take multi-day trips up to Sedona, stay at L'auberge on Oak Creek, or out to San Diego.
Forget the summers though, you don't want to be there in summer.
If anything is better than summers on LI Sound (Gold Coast or NH Counties), then winters in Scottsdale, I'd like to know exactly what that entails? how do you possibly beat that?

[JayCT]

Please return to topic which is New Haven being named a Top 50 Destination. JayCT, Moderator

[seanhenry]

Originally Posted by ct1615

No, they seriously made the list? I've been to Tuscon, go to Scottsdale instead.

Lived an hour outside of Greenville, there i nothing there and there is nothing outside of it but a BMW plant and a giant "peach" water tower that looks like someone's butt as you drive there. Go to Asheville in NC instead, about an hour north.

Besides the scenic downtown which is filled with many great places to eat, it is very near to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns. Within an hour you have beautiful lakes, rivers, peaks and many impressive waterfalls, but they can be elusive to some.