[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JViello

What's next, are you going to say we are all "Yankess fans" too. LOL

Only in a perfect world!

But yes, I agree with the troll alert.

[metaljaybird]

I grew up in North Central Connecticut. Enfield, to be exact. I spent the first 20 years of my life in the Hartford metropolitan area, and roughly the next 10 years in the NY metro, most of that in Northern NJ. I can't say one is better than the other, though I do have pros and cons about both states.

NJ Pros - Easy access to the city. Yes, it is easier to get to the city from the northern counties, than it is from any of the counties in CT and LI for that matter.
The Shore - The Jersey Shore is awesome. You can find the quiet beaches, or the party beach towns up and down the long coast. This is a definite plus.
Pizza - Sorry, but NJ has the best pizza. And yes, I've tried New Haven pizza a few times. Still doesn't beat the thin crust pizza inherited from NY.

NJ Cons - The congestion. It is probably 2x more congested than CT. NJ has 8 million legal residences! That's a lot of people to shove into one of the tiniest states in the union. When I visit home, I constantly remark on how large the average CT resident's yards are.
Gun laws - It is impossible to get a right to carry license. This state is anti-second amendment.
The crime - see the previous statement. Because of that, I think NJ suffers from some of the highest crime rates of any state.
Property Taxes - Just terrible.

CT Pros - More Red Sox fans - this is a plus in my book.
The village greens - I miss these terribly. There are only a few in NJ, and they don't match up. I do like Morristown's green, though.
Hartford - I have a special place in my heart for this city. Small, but historical. It has a ton of potential. Not too many cities of similar size in NJ are as clean.
Raw Milk - legal.
Gun laws - much better
Fiscal conservatism - was in place when I left, still existent?
Taxes - better (see above)

CT Cons - The weather - just slightly cooler winters, no big deal.
ML Sport Teams - where are they?
Major City - Where is it? Of course, I can't say that NJ has one, but Hudson county is becoming a city on its own.
Yankee fans - they are more rabid in CT than NJ.
The LI Sound - pretty, but kind of boring. RI is nice, though.
Fairfield County - Too rich for my blood. Walking around downtown Greenwich was a most unremarkable experience, except that residents looked at my wife and I as if we were from the planet Mars. We're just simple middle class folk.
Nightlife - kind of dead.

I like both states for what they are. I wouldn't mind living in CT if the opportunity came up, but I'm also content with Morris County, NJ. If you haven't ventured west of the GSP towards Morris, do so. It is quite beautiful.

[Nauticadon]

Wow.......no CT bias in this thread at all

I like CT. It has a lot of similarities to NJ but as someone mentioned it has no culture or identity.

The word "Jersey" is a name brand. It's not only synonymous with a place but also a mentality and attitude. Anywhere in the world you go if you tell someone that's where you're from they automatically have an opinion about it, whether good or bad. When you say "Connecticut" you think Ivy League, wealthy, upper crust type of place.

I look at the Tri-State as siblings. NY State (particulary NYC) is the big brother that everyone looks up to. NJ is that middle brother that isn't quite as cool but people still respect him. CT is the baby brother that is more clean cut and polished but not as well known as his older brothers.

[Nauticadon]

Originally Posted by ctcoldplay11

Wow. I'm not even going to waste my breath! Are you even from Connecticut? Stop trolling and keep such inane claims elsewhere. Thanks!

So because one person doesn't go along with the Connecticut love fest that means they're trolling?

[GrotonMan]

I like CT. It has a lot of similarities to NJ but as someone mentioned it has no culture or identity.

When you say "Connecticut" you think Ivy League, wealthy, upper crust type of place.

Oh, sorry, I thought that was an identity.

This thread is in the Connecticut forum, so of course most of the people posting are going to have stronger feelings towards Connecticut. However, if you didn't notice, nobody had a problem with anybody who liked New Jersey over Connecticut until ludicrous claims started being made. I blame it on the extent of emphasis that the Connecticut culture puts on education, but if you look at any topic on this forum you will see that people get on just fine even with differing views as long as the opinions are placed as opinions, and the facts are placed as facts. The moment somebody starts stating a subjective opinion as if it were an objective fact, the fact squad comes to town and tries to clean things up. I can almost promise you that if the opinions above had been presented differently, they would have been met with a much less violent reaction.

Look at Metaljaybird's post: they posted good and bad things about both states, (and particularly controversial points with the baseball teams) but posted them as an opinion, and nobody flipped, actually I thought about repping them. It's all about presentation, you can't just run into the middle of a Red Sox convention and yell that the Yankees are #1, regardless of if that is the case in the league standings.

[Nauticadon]

Originally Posted by GrotonMan

Oh, sorry, I thought that was an identity.

This thread is in the Connecticut forum, so of course most of the people posting are going to have stronger feelings towards Connecticut. However, if you didn't notice, nobody had a problem with anybody who liked New Jersey over Connecticut until ludicrous claims started being made. I blame it on the extent of emphasis that the Connecticut culture puts on education, but if you look at any topic on this forum you will see that people get on just fine even with differing views as long as the opinions are placed as opinions, and the facts are placed as facts. The moment somebody starts stating a subjective opinion as if it were an objective fact, the fact squad comes to town and tries to clean things up. I can almost promise you that if the opinions above had been presented differently, they would have been met with a much less violent reaction.

Look at Metaljaybird's post: they posted good and bad things about both states, (and particularly controversial points with the baseball teams) but posted them as an opinion, and nobody flipped, actually I thought about repping them. It's all about presentation, you can't just run into the middle of a Red Sox convention and yell that the Yankees are #1, regardless of if that is the case in the league standings.

Well if you want to consider that an identity to lay claim to then go right ahead.

And unless backed up by sources pretty much everything said in this thread is an opinion, mine no different than anyone else's in here.

[Uconn97]

Well, when I think NJ I think dirt and mob, but hey thats just my opinion. Both states have their pros and cons to try to say that this one or that one is the big brother, little brother, cousin, blah, blah gets a bit ridiculous...dontchya think??

And the NJ comment in a joke, i have been to some very nice areas of Jersey.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Nauticadon

Well if you want to consider that an identity to lay claim to then go right ahead.

And unless backed up by sources pretty much everything said in this thread is an opinion, mine no different than anyone else's in here.

I agree with you regarding opinions, because it really gets to me when a debate about opinions turns into both parties stating theirs as a fact.

But that said - the following were not presented as opinions:

Originally Posted by tberg224

Most people in the state commute to NY or relate to NY or BOS for their cultural and regional alliances.

The state also lacks a major tourist attraction, like Newport.

1 - Only people in one county commute to NYC.

and

2 - I guess the poster has never heard of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun (second largest in the world). People DO come from all over.

And if we have no tourist attractions, why do cruise ships stop in the New London harbor?

[Uconn97]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I agree with you regarding opinions, because it really gets to me when a debate about opinions turns into both parties stating theirs as a fact.

But that said - the following were not presented as opinions:



1 - Only people in one county commute to NYC.

and

2 - I guess the poster has never heard of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun (second largest in the world). People DO come from all over.

And if we have no tourist attractions, why do cruise ships stop in the New London harbor?

Good points and while people may or may not acknowledge it, Mystic and the shoreline in general are huge tourist attractions. Check out all the out of state plates during the summer months. I also have cousins who live in NY and drive to our beaches, not NY and not NJ. There is plenty to do here.

[GrotonMan]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I agree with you regarding opinions, because it really gets to me when a debate about opinions turns into both parties stating theirs as a fact.

But that said - the following were not presented as opinions:

1 - Only people in one county commute to NYC.

and

2 - I guess the poster has never heard of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun (second largest in the world). People DO come from all over.

And if we have no tourist attractions, why do cruise ships stop in the New London harbor?

I completely agree that just about everything in this thread is an opinion, but like you alluded to: it is all about the presentation of those opinions. Like it or not, an opinion is not a fact and ought not to be represented as such except in a satirical manner.

And amen to the latter half there. People do come from all over the world to visit those places. My brother is a taxi driver in the area and he tells me story after story of people the he picks up to go to these places that are from all parts of the world, just over here to visit the casinos or Mystic in particular. Check out all of the out of state plates and rental cars that pack the area all summer long and when the leaves really turn.