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Oh I know! I noticed that too and while I love Stew's, that grossed me out there. I do think the one in Newington is somewhat cleaner. If you want a clean store with wonderful meats, and I know I've mentioned this before, hold tight for 2 more weeks. Fresh Market is coming to Westport on Sept 1. Delicious meats and desserts. Produce section is a bit sparse. I know I'll get flack over the prices, but I would rather pay a bit more for quality, cleanliness, and variety.
And one other thing as I've had a couple of food threads going - everyone raves about the mom and pop places up here. But especially about the Italian food. Now I understand it is a big part of the culture, but Italian food isn't all there is people! I love Italian food but after awhile, I want some wings, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, etc.
Shoehoard: I noticed now that you live in WASTE Haven. That explains a lot of your perception here. I will say that your "nasty nice" comments are getting a little old though.
Secondly, I'm not sure where you think meat comes from, but I hate to tell you...it's not the magic "meat making" machine. They are live animals and they bleed. All meat has blood in it. I know I know, it's not nice to think about and seeing it makes you go "ew" but that's reality. Living in a prepackaged bubble that ignores that is not realistic.
I also now understand what you are talking about regarding "nice" and "grocery stores". You are more interested in cherry wood floors, mahogany food racks and all the other things you'll find in places like Harris Teeter etc. For me I could care less about that crap if it means higher prices and less selection.
If you go to one of the newer Stop and Shops such as Wallingford you'll see a "modern" grocery store and always S&S has a pretty large selection of things you won't find in many other stores. Oh and it's FAR from Winn Dixie the champion food stamp redeemer of Florida.
If you can't find Chinese, Thai, or Mexican here - again, you are not looking very hard. Don't try and find the latest stucco strip mall or chain such as P.F. Chang (Even though they are here).
There are PLENTY of quality, family run places here. Heck there are 3 family run Thai places and one Vietnamese in the small city of Manchester alone.
This state as a whole has one of the most diverse restaurants scenes in the country.
I know I know, you are used to your packaged little neighborhood of stamped out 2500sf homes on .15 acre lots with the latest Acura/Lexus/BMW in the drive connected to an overcrowded 6 lane blvd with strip malls and chains galore within a 2 mile radius where you can hit up your chain run gym, go have a prepackaged lunch at your local chain restaurant and shop at the local chain run outlet center or whatever and return to your cocoon. But sorry, we don't' have that - THANK GOD.
You have two choices...realize the region you moved too (And the lower class town you live in) and learn something outside of the box that you might cheerish for the rest of your life, or return to the prepackaged box life.
Shoehoard: I noticed now that you live in WASTE Haven.
You have two choices...realize the region you moved too (And the lower class town you live in) and learn something outside of the box that you might cheerish for the rest of your life, or return to the prepackaged box life.
People, people, people. West Haven is not the hell hole that it's being made out to be on here. Are there better places in CT? Sure. Are there worse places in CT? You better believe it. But i disagree with the characterization of it being a "waste".
That's easy enough to answer. There's a certain store up here that has a history of buying out leases of supermarkets that close. They would use a "shell" LLC partnership to purchase the lease, and then leave the stores empty. This "trick" was finally made public a couple years ago by town economic development heads, who grew tired of seeing retail spaces being left vacant and unproductive.
True True , they are horrible at trying to ace out their competition
For me I could care less about that crap if it means higher prices and less selection.
I agree and that's why I hated the chain Ukrop's that was in VA. Pretty store, but totally overpriced. However, while I hate saying anything nice about Florida, Publix is kind of the store that has it all. It's pretty, very clean and modern, the selection of foods was fantastic, and the prices were competitive. Mind you, competitive for Florida. Still higher priced than here, believe it or not. When I moved to Florida in 1989, Publix was pretty expensive. Then they lowered their prices and became everyone's go-to store. When I moved to Va from Florida, I did miss it terribly. Now that I've been gone from Florida for 5 years, I've moved on. But I can see how it is an adjustment for people moving here.
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know I know, you are used to your packaged little neighborhood of stamped out 2500sf homes on .15 acre lots with the latest Acura/Lexus/BMW in the drive connected to an overcrowded 6 lane blvd with strip malls and chains galore within a 2 mile radius where you can hit up your chain run gym, go have a prepackaged lunch at your local chain restaurant and shop at the local chain run outlet center or whatever and return to your cocoon. But sorry, we don't' have that - THANK GOD.
I agree. I'm glad that CT is not like that. It is definitely going to be an adjustment for shoehoard. It's funny how Florida and the "new south", all the places that have attracted northerners in droves, are all like this. Packaged is an excellent word for it. You get so used to every single chain being in a 5 mile radius and then repeated 10 minutes away, that a person doesn't even know how to really shop for things.
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You have two choices...realize the region you moved too (And the lower class town you live in) and learn something outside of the box that you might cheerish for the rest of your life, or return to the prepackaged box life.
I'm convinced of one thing. I don't believe that a person can truly love Florida and Connecticut at the same time. I can see how some people may LIKE one or the other. But if a person loves Florida and everything it is, sadly, I don't think they will ever love the northeast. I don't see how it's possible. If you love heat and humidity 9-10 months out of the year, how can you possibly love the weather here? If you love chains and having everything laid out nice and neat, there is no way you are going to love it up here.
I hated Florida and so while it was an adjustment for me when I left, it wasn't a very hard one. I was just glad to be gone. But Shoehoard, I truly hope you grow to love it here, but honestly, I don't see that happening. I've known too many die hard Floridians, and they don't adjust well to change because the rest of the US is so, so different from Florida. The only place you will find the Tampa bay area is in Tampa Bay. I don't know if you plan on living here forever.
I just know for me, I didn't like Florida the first year I moved there, and 15 years later, I STILL didn't like it. People can say "oh it will grow on you" but if you HATE where you are, and LOVED the place you left, I don't think it will grow on you. Know what I mean? The only people I've met who could say they loved living up north and down south were the snowbirds who lived half the year in Florida and the other half up north. They got the best of both worlds. For everyone who is not retired and rich, you gotta pick one or the other.
People, people, people. West Haven is not the hell hole that it's being made out to be on here. Are there better places in CT? Sure. Are there worse places in CT? You better believe it. But i disagree with the characterization of it being a "waste".
Let me explain my stance.
Hell hole? No...but I do really mean "Waste Haven" and so do many others when they say it. I think Milford, Stratford etc have a lot more going for them...heck, I'll even go so far to say EAST Haven has more going for it. At least they keep their waterfront neat and clean and have a nice park to utilize.
Why do I say it's Waste Haven? The city is dirty, gritty, and they WASTE so much of their natural resources such as this little thing called the WATERFRONT! The beach IMO is dirty, the streets are dirty with overgrown weeds etc, most places of business are old and unkempt.
Are there some "nice" neighborhoods? Sure, but to me if New Haven is a 1 and a place like Westport or FF is a 10 and Milford is an 8 West Haven is a 3. BTW I would put my own city at a 5, maybe 6 in that rank FWIW.
Does West Have have a TON of potential? YES! Has it changed much in the last 20 years? For the worse maybe.
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Originally Posted by Yankeerose00
I agree and that's why I hated the chain Ukrop's that was in VA. Pretty store, but totally overpriced. However, while I hate saying anything nice about Florida, Publix is kind of the store that has it all. It's pretty, very clean and modern, the selection of foods was fantastic, and the prices were competitive. Mind you, competitive for Florida. Still higher priced than here, believe it or not. When I moved to Florida in 1989, Publix was pretty expensive. Then they lowered their prices and became everyone's go-to store. When I moved to Va from Florida, I did miss it terribly. Now that I've been gone from Florida for 5 years, I've moved on. But I can see how it is an adjustment for people moving here.
I agree that Publix is a good store. No doubt. I have a good friend I made in Florida - almost became my brother in-law, who started in the produce section as a teen back in the late 80's. He's still there and actually took a pay CUT as they reorganized.
Do you have any idea what they pay their people? DIRT! IMO that may be where some of their savings comes from.
As for Florida itself...I can't say I "hated" it there. It was not my favorite places to be for sure, but I'm glad I experienced it.
Returning after 5 years away, I'm very glad I moved out of there. Maybe it's me getting older, but the zinca crowd, thump thump thump beach scene just doesn't appeal to me over a nice natural seashore...nor do the ENDLESS sea of sprawl homes and over crowded streets.
And yes, I'm a cold weather person. I can tollerate just about anything I have too, but I find myself very cranky and miserable in anything 80+ with high humidity. (Yes I've been very miserable this Summer. ) More so then a nice crisp fall day or a brisk walk on a pure sunny Winter day of 30 degree weather.
Hell hole? No...but I do really mean "Waste Haven" and so do many others when they say it. I think Milford, Stratford etc have a lot more going for them...heck, I'll even go so far to say EAST Haven has more going for it. At least they keep their waterfront neat and clean and have a nice park to utilize.
Why do I say it's Waste Haven? The city is dirty, gritty, and they WASTE so much of their natural resources such as this little thing called the WATERFRONT! The beach IMO is dirty, the streets are dirty with overgrown weeds etc, most places of business are old and unkempt.
Are there some "nice" neighborhoods? Sure, but to me if New Haven is a 1 and a place like Westport or FF is a 10 and Milford is an 8 West Haven is a 3. BTW I would put my own city at a 5, maybe 6 in that rank FWIW.
Does West Have have a TON of potential? YES! Has it changed much in the last 20 years? For the worse maybe.
Fair enough. Swing by Saw Mill Rd. next time you're in the area though. It's really beginning to shape up now. Hopefully it will be a catalyst for the rest of their city.
Do you have any idea what they pay their people? DIRT! IMO that may be where some of their savings comes from.
My dad worked for them for a while and hated it. They pay their people horribly but so do all Florida businesses. Yet, I have a cousin who has worked for them for the past 20 years and is now a manager and she loves it. I guess it's worked out for her.
I know nothing about West Haven, but I have gotten lost in New Haven and I went quickly from thinking "oh there's Yale, this is pretty nice, this isn't so bad...what are people talking about saying New Haven is so bad....whoah, where am I.....oh boy.....are the doors locked, why don't I have GPS!!!!" lol.
But if West Haven is not that nice of a town, factor that in with not liking colder weather, and liking chains, and well.... I feel sorry for her because I don't think she will ever like it here.
After wasting 15 years of my life living someplace I hated, my advice to anyone is, if you hate where you are, get out if you can. If you're stuck, then oh well. But nobody on a message board can really change your mind. Just like nobody in Florida could make me believe that 10 months of heat and humidity was good, and flat land is prettier than hills, and scrubby palm trees are nicer than maples.
Why do I say it's Waste Haven? The city is dirty, gritty, and they WASTE so much of their natural resources such as this little thing called the WATERFRONT! The beach IMO is dirty, the streets are dirty with overgrown weeds etc, most places of business are old and unkempt.
I have always liked Savin Rock. IMO it's more that some of the people there are wastes rather than the view of the shore. I may get flamed for saying this, but there is a LOT of white trash in West Haven who don't care about much. Milford too.
Generally I'm not a fan of the shoreline between Bridgeport and New Haven at all. I may get flamed for saying this too, but it is very congested, people are disgustingly rude/careless and it is way overdeveloped. If I had to choose between Stratford, Milford, WH or Orange, I'd choose Stratford. No brainer.
Fair enough. Swing by Saw Mill Rd. next time you're in the area though. It's really beginning to shape up now. Hopefully it will be a catalyst for the rest of their city.
I will! Trust me when I say this, I think West Haven has HUGE potential and I hope finally something happens. Can you imagine another city next to a city that is the core of a medium sized metropolitan area and has the resources such as Yale etc WITH train service to one of the greatest cities in the world who would NOT totally take advantage of their location on the coast?
OMG, people in other places would KILL for their town's location. IMO Real Estate in WH should be through the friggin roof!
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Originally Posted by Yankeerose00
My dad worked for them for a while and hated it. They pay their people horribly but so do all Florida businesses. Yet, I have a cousin who has worked for them for the past 20 years and is now a manager and she loves it. I guess it's worked out for her.
I know nothing about West Haven, but I have gotten lost in New Haven and I went quickly from thinking "oh there's Yale, this is pretty nice, this isn't so bad...what are people talking about saying New Haven is so bad....whoah, where am I.....oh boy.....are the doors locked, why don't I have GPS!!!!" lol.
But if West Haven is not that nice of a town, factor that in with not liking colder weather, and liking chains, and well.... I feel sorry for her because I don't think she will ever like it here.
After wasting 15 years of my life living someplace I hated, my advice to anyone is, if you hate where you are, get out if you can. If you're stuck, then oh well. But nobody on a message board can really change your mind. Just like nobody in Florida could make me believe that 10 months of heat and humidity was good, and flat land is prettier than hills, and scrubby palm trees are nicer than maples.
LOL at the New Haven comments. That's about spot on.
I agree with you about Shoehoard. I hope she finds some solace here, because it's way WAY different then she is used too.
On the grocery store front...I was in Big Y tonight with my son just doing a quick stop and thought about it walking around. We have tons and TONS of the finest products in the world at our doorstep and yet we b-tch about things like "the package was kind of yuckie" or "This floor surface is so 10 years ago". Someone from New Delhi would freak the F out to have access to what we take for granted and complain about. You want "yuckie" and "ew" factor according to those standards? Go to an open air Asian market where they slaughter the chicken right there or fry up what was moving 20 seconds ago before your eyes...refridgeration is optional. My God...how we have become a nation of insatiable ingrates in many regards.
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Originally Posted by kidyankee764
I have always liked Savin Rock. IMO it's more that some of the people there are wastes rather than the view of the shore. I may get flamed for saying this, but there is a LOT of white trash in West Haven who don't care about much. Milford too.
Generally I'm not a fan of the shoreline between Bridgeport and New Haven at all. I may get flamed for saying this too, but it is very congested, people are disgustingly rude/careless and it is way overdeveloped. If I had to choose between Stratford, Milford, WH or Orange, I'd choose Stratford. No brainer.
Well said, I agree! Good to see you again. I hope things settle out for you. I'll forget and forgive about what you REALLY think of me on DM's to others.
I'll forget and forgive about what you REALLY think of me on DM's to others.
I didn't ask you to forgive and forget anything (which is actually nothing at all, but you can take "other's" word for it). If I'd like to get a point across to you, I certainly will. You should know that by now.
Jeesh, sometimes I feel like I've entered a first grade classroom when I log onto these boards.
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People, people, people. West Haven is not the hell hole that it's being made out to be on here. Are there better places in CT? Sure. Are there worse places in CT? You better believe it. But i disagree with the characterization of it being a "waste".
) More so then a nice crisp fall day or a brisk walk on a pure sunny Winter day of 30 degree weather.
