[tgrazor]

I moved here a year and a half ago from California and have to say that I can't wait to move again. The weather, snotty people, old run down cities, just name a few is just too depressing!

[hansen83]

just like every other states, their are snotty people in certain places. i've been to Cali before and noticed some very snotty people just like i find snotty people in FL, NY, Arizona, they are everywhere. As for the weather, I think that everywhere in the US people are not pleased with their weather. I am in FL right now and just had a month of 45-65 degree weather, not fun when your expecting 80.

where do you live? and what part of Cali are you coming from?

[Rich Cabeza]

You wouldn't believe how this state has changed in the last 35 years. At one time we were a society of mechanics and toolmakers now we're a society of landscapers and service workers. Just look at the gap between rich and poor.

[Appias]

I love the weather. It's nice to have the changing seasons. How wonderful the past week has been (today aside). You can really feel that Spring is just around the corner. I do wish there was better public transportation outside of Fairfield county though. And I'm kind of "meh" on the grocery stores. It's hard to find good produce on a regular basis at places like Stop and Shop. Socially people have been very warm and invitations have been frequent, so no complaints there either. I guess the experiences and expectations just vary from person to person. I hope you find a place that suits you better.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Rich Cabeza

You wouldn't believe how this state has changed in the last 35 years. At one time we were a society of mechanics and toolmakers now we're a society of landscapers and service workers. Just look at the gap between rich and poor.

Exactly. Very poor, rundown cities and very wealthy, upper class suburbs. I can only think of a handful of true middle class suburbs in CT (Stratford, Hamden, Manchester and a few others dotted here and there).

And I must say that one can't even compare CA weather to CT weather. 70 degrees year round compared to four seasons. Anyone who moves here from CA not expecting a change in the weather needs to pull their head out from down under, lol...

I dislike CT for a few reasons, and love it for many. I think the people here are brusque and tend to be cold. Drivers here are incredibly selfish, more than anywhere else I've been. But if you have the money and can live a middle class or upper middle class lifestlye, then CT is a great place to call home with excellent schools, access to fantastic restaurants, in the shadows of NYC and a quick jump from Boston.

Comparing CT to CA cannot be done - CT is the size of one metro area in CA.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by tgrazor

I moved here a year and a half ago from California and have to say that I can't wait to move again. The weather, snotty people, old run down cities, just name a few is just too depressing!

Hey, look at it this way...you can move back and have English as a second language, a collapsed economy, "dah tourmanator", your choice of gangs to join, barbie dolls galore, politics that make the USSR look conservative and a budget deficit the Federal government would be proud of. AND you can live in "not run down cities" like Oxnard!

Originally Posted by Rich Cabeza

You wouldn't believe how this state has changed in the last 35 years. At one time we were a society of mechanics and toolmakers now we're a society of landscapers and service workers. Just look at the gap between rich and poor.

As someone who grew up in Waterbury watching 10's of thousands of jobs walk away and a city go into decay, I can only 100% agree.

There was such a large population of out of work, intelligent people who hung around the city till about the late 80's and when it was obvious nothing else was coming down the pike...they left and it was back filled by NYC welfare escapees when they started "reform" before we did.

In current times, the people 40ish and below who are just trying to start out are struggling with insane real estate costs and taxes that make you want to vomit. IMHO the very last of our middle class is aging quickly - the people who are 55+, purchased their home when it was still "affordable", work in middle management somewhere...etc I don't think it's going to be a pretty picture when all the "boomers" retire or pass on. There is not a lot of backfill or industry to support the "working man" in CT unless you are in a service business...Heck, I am.

Some of this is common across the United States too, but we are ahead of the curve IMO of what our country is heading to become. Too much government, overtaxed, little growth, and no room for the "working man".

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Exactly. Very poor, rundown cities and very wealthy, upper class suburbs. I can only think of a handful of true middle class suburbs in CT (Stratford, Hamden, Manchester and a few others dotted here and there).

And I must say that one can't even compare CA weather to CT weather. 70 degrees year round compared to four seasons. Anyone who moves here from CA not expecting a change in the weather needs to pull their head out from down under, lol...

I dislike CT for a few reasons, and love it for many. I think the people here are brusque and tend to be cold. Drivers here are incredibly selfish, more than anywhere else I've been. But if you have the money and can live a middle class or upper middle class lifestlye, then CT is a great place to call home with excellent schools, access to fantastic restaurants, in the shadows of NYC and a quick jump from Boston.

Comparing CT to CA cannot be done - CT is the size of one metro area in CA.

Well said.

It is a struggle. I never thought I would see the day that two young families who both earn 120K + household income could sit down and compare notes on how hard it is to survive. (I'm sure Homie G is about to chime in and say how crazy that is and how great and affordable Waterbury or Meriden is and that we are racist to say otherwise. )

It also sucks that my home state has gotten to this. There are many things here that you just will not find in the nation and/or even in New England.

For instance: I can go to City Fish in Hartford (Okay Wethersfield) and get the freshest seafood you'll find. In fact it's the very same seafood you'll find at the docks in Boston, trucked down daily without having to live in Boston.

Or the ability to have a world class act from NYC stop by the Bushnell for a performance or three.

The landscape you just don't get many other places with the rolling hills, random streams and rivers etc etc.

The history.

On and on...But then you drive through Albany Ave in Hartford, or see the decay of the last few "livable" cities in CT, or look at your friggin tax bill, and you just want to "get out" while you still can.

Yes, it sucks indeed. First I got pushed out of my hometown, and now I feel like I'm being pushed out of my home state for similar reasons.

[Appias]

Fair and true, there are not many middle class towns left in CT apart from the ones noted. I haven't found people to be cold in CT and no more cold than in Westchester county. I think of it more as a Northeast/ New England thing than a CT specific thing. I'd also say that the drivers from NJ and MA are worse than the ones from CT.

[Rickd203]

Originally Posted by tgrazor

I moved here a year and a half ago from California and have to say that I can't wait to move again. The weather, snotty people, old run down cities, just name a few is just too depressing!

I was born and raised here but I would be out of here in a heartbeat if I could sell my house!

You forgot to mention the the outragously high taxes that disappear into city and state budgets with very little to show for it. Then there's the oppressive greed that is rampant here. It's getting so bad that I may have to start selling drugs just to pay the taxes and utilities!

[MikefromCT]

If you're used to summer temps year round, you're in for a rude surprise coming to Connecticut. But I'd still take the 4 seasons over it. Why? Because atleast in the northeast you have green. When I think of SoCal, I think of dead yellow and brown grass, cities covered in concrete, the smog belt that covers most of LA, Kern and Riverside Counties, the gangs, the endless shopping plazas jammed with fast food joints and cheap chain stores, the 6-lane freeways that are always jammed, you get the idea. Of course it has its virtues, but its drawbacks overshadow it IMO.

Snotty people? Please. These are everywhere. I realize there's a reason the Beach Boys said "I wish they all could be California girls", and I know why very well. But there's also a reason why the San Fernando Valley is called silicone valley. I can't tell you what exactly goes on in some of those ranch houses. . . except to say that if there's a filming van in the driveway and there's black curtains in the windows, it's not a funeral. I'm glad this doesn't go on here in CT. I wish I could show you some of the people I've met in that area - they were so dumb they made ME question evolution.

I agree the cost of living in CT is high, but I can name several places where it's much worse (New Jersey's are highest in the nation by far, and Long Island's are notoriously steep as well). Our financial crisis may be severe but nowhere nearly as bad as Cali, which is on the verge of bankruptcy - $30 billion in the red? Are you kidding me? I wouldn't want to live there until this is over, which unfortunately isn't likely to happen anytime soon.

So I guess it's a matter of taste. There are many reasons to bemoan living here but there are also many reasons to love it. The scenery, the history, proximity to Boston and New York. Personally the way I feel about the Northeast vs. SoCal is probably the same way Woody Allen views Manhattan vs. Los Angeles (for anyone who saw Annie Hall you'll know what I mean.)

I'm sorry you haven't had a good experience out here.

[DanBev]

I am going to visit our recently bought home in Vernon to do the repair work for one month,April-May and than put it up for sale.Never realized until to late how bad a decision we had made,it is a shame that an average person cannot afford Ct,even after being born and raised there with roots going back to around the civil war.
For us to live in a paid for home would cost us around $7000,price of electric is ridiculous and add to that water and sewer and as the saying goes the gov't owns your property.