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Yes in the sense that both areas are very upwardly mobile mixed with some very old money. There is also the charm that is unmistakeable, such as the existence of the New England town green concept and rotaries (i.e roundabouts). Like you can just feel the charm mixed with pretentiousness at the Darien Metro-North station. Vineyard Vines is based in CT, but got its start in MA (they make some quality clothing too).
No in the sense that the NYC orbit is pretty present in lower FFC and parts of New Haven Co. given the faster pace, love for Manhattan cultural sites/shopping, and general tendency to look first at what NYC is doing (a la trends) compared to Boston (you can get alcohol to-go in CT for example and Gov. Lamont clearly pays close attention to what's happening with NYS/NYC being a financier from Greenwich). Let's not also forget the direct train links and powerful NYC media. I also find as a Black person just more of an ease navigating the bougie FFC towns (far from perfect though) vs. MetroWest Boston, which can be uncomfortable despite the great income/educational stats on paper.
Parts of FFC also share similarities with affluent NNJ, Westchester and Suffolk County towns such as Alpine (NJ), Montclair (NJ), Rye (used to be a part of CT ages ago), Summit (NJ), and Southampton.
In short, SW CT can feel a bit bi-polar (not necessarily bad, can be interesting), but is really nice.
SWCT is more like MetroWest than NNJ It's simply not urban(e) enough and not diverse enough. It's too bucolic and preppy and the town division are set in stone. I don't find navigating FFC comfortable at all as a black person outside of Stratford, Stamford, Norwalk. Places like Wilton Rowayton and Norton are not welcoming compared to Newton Brookline. Can't forget they arrested and jailed a black woman form Bridgeport for sending her kid to school in Shelton. Additionally, white people from FFC look down heavily on NNJ and much prefer Boston. But also Metro West is huuuge. Middlesex County alone has 1.7M people. Most of the black suburban population in MA is south of Boston in Norfolk/Plymouth counties, not Metrowest.
There's NYC presence for sure but it really doesn't feel different than Norfolk County MA which feels fairly similar to Westchester County.
Last edited by BostonBornMassMade; 07-12-2021 at 12:07 PM..
I think DC needs to be reclaimed by Maryland as the Virginia side did a long time ago with a special restriction made for federal buildings (and only buildings) like the White House so they are independent from Maryland. And people in DC not having the same amount of representation as the rest of us is wrong. However, DC should not be it's own state, no single city should have as much power as an entire state, even if the state is Vermont or Wyoming.
I am personally a fan of consolidation of small governments. I think most counties should be consolidated. And I think many states can be consolidated as well. But it needs to be done in a way that makes sense. For example, I think the Dakotas make a strong case for consolidation. While I don't think all the northeastern states should combine, I could see cases made for Rhode Island, Delaware, and Connecticut. Maybe Vermont and New Hampshire too. The states are small in land, hold little in population, and are similar to their neighbors. Just like the Dakotas are to each other. But consolidation needs to be in a way that makes sense as I said earlier. There should be cultural and political similarities.
Oh i thought they werent. Maybe im mistaking something else…
I just remember reading something about a month ago and thinking those puritans up there. Il come across it one day.
There was a 12 hour period where Governor Baker hadn't extended COVID emergency measures because the legislature couldnt agree on some details. But it was always going to be extended. Idk where yall are getting the info on Boston specifically *shrug*
In general, the new mayor in Boston is very permissive of those sorts of things (as is the other front runner, Micheel Wu) and I wouldn't classify her as anything near Puritan.
SWCT is more like MetroWest than NNJ It's simply not urban(e) enough and not diverse enough. It's too bucolic and preppy and the town division are set in stone. I don't find navigating FFC comfortable at all as a black person outside of Stratford, Stamford, Norwalk. Places like Wilton Rowayton and Norton are not welcoming compared to Newton Brookline. Can't forget they arrested and jailed a black woman form Bridgeport for sending her kid to school in Shelton. Additionally, white people from FFC look down heavily on NNJ and much prefer Boston. But also Metro West is huuuge. Middlesex County alone has 1.7M people. Most of the black suburban population in MA is south of Boston in Norfolk/Plymouth counties, not Metrowest.
There's NYC presence for sure but it really doesn't feel different than Norfolk County MA which feels fairly similar to Westchester County.
We'll have to agree to disagree given that I actually live in Connecticut and went to college with tons of folks from the MetroWest area. You'd be surprised at how "Black" Greenwich can be at times.
We'll have to agree to disagree given that I actually live in Connecticut and went to college with tons of folks from the MetroWest area. You'd be surprised at how "Black" Greenwich can be at times.
Well I did live in CT... but not FFC, it was Hartford. The big difference is the presence of Stamford Danbury Bridgeport Norwalk and Stratford. Black people emanate out from those areas and shop in Greenwich I am aware Greenwich has some diversity. Overall FFC is diverse because of the towns mentioned. Which really is enough for me, and it seems for you.
But the true Metro West towns are pretty decently west of Boston and so that doesn't include Brookline newton Cambridge etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MetroWest Not even Waltham apparently... Brookline, Newton, Waltham, Framingham, Cambridge, Medford, Woburn are towns that arent MetroWest but are close to it with measurable diversity and places where "black" gatherings and culture occasionally manifests. a But I guess that's really "Metro Boston" not MetroWest. You get more of the Stratford/West Haven vibe in MetroSouth
place like Hudson Northborough Shrewsbury, Medfield, Medway?? Naw not so much
So in using a traditional definition of MetroWest are towns well west of Boston with minimal diversity sans Framingham. Moston of the suburbs inside 128 are significantly more diverse than the true Metro Wes towns. In a way Greenwich is different because in the scheme/scale of the NY MSA its much closer to NYC than Metro West towns are to Boston, I think Northern FFC /Litchfield Couty but more so Middlesex County has similarities to Metro West/Central MA.
Suburban Fairfield County people drive nicer cars than their MA counterparts and the towns are more manicured in their public spaces but they are equally bucolic and pretentious. Having met many Blakc people from FFC they're far more like those in Boston albeit they look to New York for everything first. Just their speech demeanor and upbringings are firmly New England/ The NY/NJers are much more brash and urbane. When I went to school in CT the black kids form MA and CT were sort of in juxtaposition with the ones from NJ/NY to an extent. and only on occasion
Overall I really do like Connecticut and I'm glad they're a part of New England I just wish it was a little more exciting/things to do. Very very family/suburban oriented.
Connecticut + Rhode Island + Massachusetts + Vermont + New Hampshire + Maine
New York + North New Jersey
Maryland + Delaware + Pennsylvania + South New Jersey
West Virginia + Virginia
swct to ny nnj
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