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Old 12-02-2011, 02:46 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,933 posts, read 56,945,109 times
Reputation: 11228

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Quote:
Originally Posted by anon860 View Post
JayCT, comparing 2000 to the most recent Census estimates for Towns (the 2005-2009 Census ACS), poverty rates changed as follows. I looked these up on the Census website.

Wallingford +83%
Meriden +45%
Branford +30%
Naugatuck Valley (total of 6 towns) +20%
East Haven and West Haven: +19%
CT Statewide Average: +14%
Bridgeport +7%
Hartford +3%
New Haven: 0% (no change)
East Rock, Westville, East Shore neighborhoods in New Haven: -14%
Of course New Haven Hartford and Bridgeport's increases are low, they already are at the bottom of the list. Meriden is not a suburb, it is a city. How do you explain its 45% increase. Not much of a trend really. Jay
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Old 12-02-2011, 02:57 PM
 
Location: Coastal Connecticut
21,752 posts, read 28,077,952 times
Reputation: 6710
Quote:
Originally Posted by anon860 View Post
JayCT, comparing 2000 to the most recent Census estimates for Towns (the 2005-2009 Census ACS), poverty rates changed as follows. I looked these up on the Census website.

Wallingford +83%
Meriden +45%
Branford +30%
Naugatuck Valley (total of 6 towns) +20%
East Haven and West Haven: +19%
CT Statewide Average: +14%
Bridgeport +7%
Hartford +3%
New Haven: 0% (no change)
East Rock, Westville, East Shore neighborhoods in New Haven: -14%
How do you know those statistics aren't related to twentysomethings that are living with their parents without jobs? An epidemic that's been building in the last 10 years. I see no epidemic of struggling in poverty in Wallingford or Branford.
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Old 12-02-2011, 05:08 PM
 
241 posts, read 543,479 times
Reputation: 263
NPR's program "Where We Live" had a discussion of this issue (a percentage increase in suburban versus urban poverty) a couple of weeks ago. It is worth a listen, and their website has a number of pertinent links.

Back to the original question, Hamden is interesting because parts of it are very densely built up while just a few blocks away you can be in open fields and areas that feel quite spread out. All the parts of Bridgeport I've seen so far feel urban.

Last edited by ytlh; 12-02-2011 at 05:21 PM..
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Old 12-02-2011, 05:37 PM
 
Location: Philadelphia,New Jersey, NYC!
6,963 posts, read 20,538,899 times
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how's the jai alai
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Old 12-02-2011, 06:08 PM
 
8,777 posts, read 19,863,242 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT View Post
Meriden is not a suburb, it is a city. How do you explain its 45% increase. Not much of a trend really. Jay
Now i'm wishing that i could rep you! LOL.
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Old 12-02-2011, 08:14 PM
 
21,620 posts, read 31,207,908 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stylo View Post
I see no epidemic of struggling in poverty in Wallingford or Branford.
LOL seriously. I'm VERY familiar with both towns and while they both have their share of trash, it's hardly poverty-stricken. Branford is an upper-middle class town as is Wallingford.
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Old 12-03-2011, 07:22 AM
 
Location: Connecticut
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The median income in Branford was just under $62,000 in 2004 according to CERC. In 2010 it was over $70,000. So much for that trend. Jay
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Old 12-03-2011, 07:27 AM
 
Location: Fairfield, CT
6,981 posts, read 10,948,883 times
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I consider myself the typical suburban snob, but some of the comments on Bridgeport are over the top. It's not a good city overall, in the sense that New York and Boston are. Like many smaller cities, it has a lot of the detrimental aspects of urban life (crime, bad schools, etc.) without the degree of counterbalancing good things that larger cities like New York and Boston have.

Still, it's perfectly possible to find a nice place to live in Bridgeport in a good neighborhood, and it can be a fine place to live as long as you don't use the schools. My cousin just moved to Black Rock and loves it. She can walk to a whole bunch of restaurants and stores, and take a bus (or walk) into downtown Fairfield. St. Mary's is a beautiful section. Brooklawn and the North End are also very nice, on the western side.
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Old 12-03-2011, 01:07 PM
 
Location: Coastal Connecticut
21,752 posts, read 28,077,952 times
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So don't use the schools, pay the insane property taxes, and then spend a fortune on private schools?

Yep, that's exactly why I'd never recommend a family to live there.
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Old 12-03-2011, 02:59 PM
 
Location: Fairfield, CT
6,981 posts, read 10,948,883 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stylo View Post
So don't use the schools, pay the insane property taxes, and then spend a fortune on private schools?

Yep, that's exactly why I'd never recommend a family to live there.
Not everybody needs the schools. My cousin's kids are grown.

Bridgeport's property taxes are not as high relative to their neighbors as they used to be. Yes, the mill rate is higher, but the assessed values are much lower. Fairfields taxes have risen a ton in the past ten years, and now don't look low at all compared to Bridgeport.

If you have some money and want a nice place, and aren't planning to use the schools, there are beautiful houses in places like St. Mary's that are much cheaper than anything comparable in Fairfield.

What works for some doesn't work for others. I have not chosen Bridgeport, but I wouldn't just rule it out under all circumstances for everybody.
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