[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by Nauticadon

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

No, that's not what it's about. The other posters are inferring that the OP is someone who has been on here many times before, under different(and banned) usernames repetitively posting that CT is influenced predominantly by NY. But, this is just being inferred of course. I'm not going to make any accusations because it's getting a bit lame. The best thing to do in these instances is to just ignore inane posts. Don't respond directly to them. Ooops, i'm going off-topic here.....

[Thruway]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

So too, is Newport. IMHO

Uh no...people have summer homes in Newport.
Nobody is flocking to New London for their summer break.

[Thruway]

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!

Yes, I am.
CT HAS NO CULTURE.

It has no real nightlife, no real city, and no real identity of it's own.
It is 8 counties looking for one state.
Most of the people are divided by the NY/BOS fault line...CT doesn't have a sports team or a mega city or a true flagship resort like Newport/Green Mountains...CT is scaled down NJ...a collection of sprawling suburbs that are overshadowed/overlapped and dependent upon NY or BOS for identity.

Sorry but this whole "I am a CTer" culture doesn't fly.

[Uconn97]

Originally Posted by tberg224

Uh no...people have summer homes in Newport.
Nobody is flocking to New London for their summer break.

No, but have you heard of Clinton, Westbrook, Branford, Guilford, etc....lots of summer homes there.

Not sure what your problem is, but get a grip already. CT has its own identity. People who can't see that haven't spent enough time here.

[Thruway]

Originally Posted by 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.

CT pros
-Less crowded density
-Litchfield County
-Some casinos
-Proximity to NY and BOS


CT cons
-Red Sox fans in NE CT
-Lack of identity
-Lack of culture
-Sprawl
-Lack of a true resort...no ocean and no real ski spots
-Expensive
-I-95 just as developed and congested as I-95 in NJ


NJ pros
-Closer to NY
-Closer to the beach
-More culture (the Jersey shore)
-Nightlife

NJ cons
-Expensive
-Sprawl
-Over crowded
-Less "civilized" towns


I think CT is a bit more slower paced and relaxing...but it has much less to do and less of a culture.

[Thruway]

Originally Posted by Nauticadon

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

Yea...they act so offended because I dare mention that CT is just a pass-over state for NY and BOS people.
Which it is...or a bedroom community.

[Thruway]

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?

Uh....people very much commute from New Haven County.
Milford...West Haven....they are an extenstion of FFC.
Metro north goes to New Haven and Waterbury....why do you think it goes there?
Uh COMMUTERS.

[Appias]

I've seen "culture" mentioned about NJ. (NJ has it, CT doesn't) Having lived in NJ, I am not sure what you are talking about. Please define "culture".

[GrotonMan]

Originally Posted by tberg224

Yes, I am.
CT HAS NO CULTURE.

It has no real nightlife, no real city, and no real identity of it's own.
It is 8 counties looking for one state.
Most of the people are divided by the NY/BOS fault line...CT doesn't have a sports team or a mega city or a true flagship resort like Newport/Green Mountains...CT is scaled down NJ...a collection of sprawling suburbs that are overshadowed/overlapped and dependent upon NY or BOS for identity.

Sorry but this whole "I am a CTer" culture doesn't fly.

Ok, for some people their life isn't about which city they are associated with, which sports team they like, or which resort brings tourists to their area. I think the difference is that you value those things and use them as a means of measuring. I think many of us that actually live here in CT and appreciate the culture find the subtlety of the state to be the biggest cultural aspect. The fact that we don't have a 250,000+ city means that the rest of the towns, with their individual feels and vibes, stand out more and draw their own unique demographic. Connecticut is not a state of cities, or a city with a state built around it, but rather a conglomeration of individual towns that form a common state government. To say that it is a bunch of sprawling suburbs, looking to NYC and Boston for identity is contradictive of another post that made inquiring as to why Northwestern CT is not a suburb of Boston.

This has nothing to do with a "Connecticut love train", but truth be told, nobody really likes somebody who goes around slamming people (individually and collectively) without good reason or seemingly any look into the reality of the area.

I'm done with responding to tberg. I hope this thread recovers to a civil discussion soon.

[metaljaybird]

Connecticut has the oldest museum, the oldest newspaper, one of the oldest colleges, the oldest parkway, the first constitution, great history, great history preservation, and some of the greatest authors chose to live here.

Culture develops based on history. Since the history is so fantastic in this tiny state, and so influential to the Union and nation, it is rich in culture. If you can't see it, because you think culture equals hipsters sipping on starbucks on every corner, while a plethora of immigrants coexist in that neighborhood, then you have no understanding as to what true culture is.

And nothing against new immigrants.