In Connecticut you can live as anonymously as you wish or in as friendly a setting as you like. You can live on a country road, in a new suburb or on a picture postcard green and make a point of getting to know everybody in your village. In northwestern Connecticut, the winding roads take you from one scenic town to another. Since these towns were settled in the 1600s, many of the oldest houses are significant architecturally and many of the most charming houses are converted barns. From rural northeastern Connecticut, where the housing dollar still goes farther than anywhere else in Connecticut, Boston is one hour away, Providence is under an hour, the ferry to Block Island is one hour and 15 minutes drive, New Hampshire is an hour and a half and New York City is three and a half hours away. Living in Connecticut means you can choose your own lifestyle and go to the mountains skiing, go to the beach in the summer, and go to any one of three vibrant cities and back in a day. Anyone who is bored in Connecticut has chosen to be bored.

The weather is wonderful! The fall foliage that we are enjoying right now is superb. The snow in the winter is beautiful, the spring is delectable and the summer, except for a week or two, is warm but not horribly hot. The changes in the seasons make every day enjoyable.

The people are friendly wherever you go providing that you are friendly to them. That's because privacy is highly valued and formality is part of the New England tradition. The degree of formality depends on where you are.

If I were you, I would come east, rent a car and stay at inns in northwestern Connecticut. Explore the area. You may decide to stay for a lifetime.

Connecticut counties in which I have lived: Litchfield, Hartford, New Haven and Windham.

Well, I live in a Fairfield County town where, as they say, the people starch their underwear. It's very pretty, but also petty. You are largely defined by your country club and address. It's full of social climbers and conformists.

The school system is very good, but the kids can be as brutal as their parents, socially. As a single person you would not, of course, move to this town (if you did, people would stare), but who knows what might happen down the line?

I don't think the entertainment world has any pretensions the financial world (in which most people in town work) can't match.

My advice? Move to Joisey and pay the higher taxes!

I don't know how anyone can say that "living in CT is boring"? To me, living in the desert is boring. Where there is no culture, history, seasons or variety of people.
CT seems to me to be the ideal, where you live outside the city, yet close enough to be able to go in and visit.
I'm really curious to see what happened with LKL and if he made the move. If he did, I'm jealous...

I spotted this quite a while after you posted, but have been interested in reading the replies!

For info, I'm from CT, having been born there, and having worked and lived there all my life until we retired up here. We LOVE being up here, now! You want GREEN? Ha! THIS is where we got GREEN! But jobs are not always the greatest here, so we had to wait for retirement to find happiness on our mountaintop. Now we rejoice every day at the scenery and serenity on several acres up here.

Have you done anything about looking further into Connecticut (or other areas)?

As several people suggested, you owe it to yourself to sit down and REALLY try to think about what you want or need in life, generally -- beyond just housing costs.

You said you LOVE the warmth out there! Do you think you'd like changing seasons, varying between hot summers and cold, snowy, icy winters, for example?

Green? Sure, parts of CT are very green -- and very rural, too -- but you may also have to commute to a city, depending on what you do for a living. (What DO you do, by the way, if you care to share?)

I'd want to check out what was available in my line of work, obviously, before heading to any place.

Besides CT, you know, New England has Mass., R.I., NH, VT and ME!

Good luck in finding what you want.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful story with us! I've been interested in moving east for quite some time now. And it doesn't help to have a girlfriend in CT, who lives the kind of life I dream of living! I feel like I live through her every time I receive an email from her.
But the major problems are cost of living and getting hubby to move! He's a true Southern Calli boy.
I don't know what couples in our situation do. But I do know one thing, I'd move tomorrow if I could

Being originally from Rhode Island and having lived in Milford CT in the early 70s raising a family, I will say I remember CT as being very "community minded." Caroling, PTA, Newcomers, etc. Milford is between New Haven and Bridgeport and near the water. If you like skiing, beautiful mountains and frigid weather, it is within proximity of Vermont which is a whole other world, beautiful. Weather-wise it was always good to come back from Vermont and see the melted snow because of the warmer temperature..within two and half hours you can be in snow country or back in CT.

I now live in Austin, Texas. 300 days of sunny weather! The word is out because it is really growing. It is close to Houston and a beautiful drive between the two cities..if you like seeing longhorns and bluebonnets in the Spring which I do.

I don't know if you are a cosmopolitan type person and Texas is a little more primitive in my opinion than some of the Northeastern cities which are more sophisticated. Texans have a lot of pride in being tough. They say "Don't Mess with Texas" and they mean it!

Then there is Maine....that is a wonderful place to live - - I think about moving there myself when I go every summer!
Regards,
mentin

I just came across this thread, and since I have lived in Fairfield County, Connecticut all my life, it piqued my interest.

Reading LKL's comments, it's hard to say if CT would be a good fit, but "living the rat race" doesn't sound appealing to me.

Quite frankly, I feel very priviliged to be able to live here comfortably. Yes, it is expensive, but the value comes from what is important to you.

We are "relatively" close to many airports: LGA, JFK, Westchester County, Hartford, Providence. A decent train system and good roadways.

I wouldn't move from Trumbull, CT if you paid me. It is 45 miles SW of Hartford and 60 +/- miles east of NYC. This year, Money Magazine named Trumbull one of the top 100 (medium-size) towns in the U.S.A. to live.

Average home price is about $510,000. Education is the drawing card in Trumbull (recipient of many educational awards). Many families move here because of what the town offers for families, specifically for children: 2 outdoor pools, 1 indoor pool, BMX bike track, Ampitheater, 21 ball fields, soccer fields, hiking trails, 1,600 acres preserved as parkland. Also an 18-hole and 9-hole golf course with banquet facilities. A huge movie theater complex.

Trumbull Shopping Mall is anchored by Lord & Taylor, Macy's, J.C. Penny's. And, if you want to drive, or hop a train, you're in NYC in an hour, or if you want to visit Beantown that's another option.

The past few weeks have been gorgeous with the beautiful fall colors on the trees. The winter holidays are close to "storybook" perfect. Yes, the cold and the snow will be here, but we love being inside with the fireplace on.

The shore/beach is just 20 minutes south, and there is lots of boating, and ferries that take you across Long Island Sound to Port Jefferson, NY.

As other people have mentioned, you can go to northern CT and ski in the winter. If you're so inclined there's always Foxwoods Casino and Mohegan Sun Casino.

Connecticut, in general has a lot of top-notch entertainers who perform in various cities on their circuits.

Yes, cleaning up the leaves is a pain, the shorter days in winter, removing snow (most people have a plow come by or use a snow thrower), cost of fuel is high, driving on snowy/icy roads is a challenge, but you couldn't drag me from this place!

If I had the money I would attempt to live in Trumbull. However for a single, it's simply not possible....Kathy Lee Griffith does a good representiation of life in CT. $$$.

mentin,

To be perfectly honest, I, personally, don't know of any "youngish" singles who live here.

There are however; older women who either by divorce or death of a spouse, who have been able to stay in their homes - and maintain them. I admire these single women, who continued to work outside the home, raise children, etc.

If I were young and single, Trumbull wouldn't attract me as a place to put down roots because it doesn't offer amenities for a "singles" lifestyle. However lovely, this is a family-oriented town.

Oh, and I forgot to mention all the old stone walls, which are everywhere, and so beautiful. Not so pretty today...it's raining.

I live in CT and whenever I travel (which I do often), I realize just how lucky I am to live where I do.

Pretentious? Yes, some are, but we have great friends and great times, it's very social, there's always someone throwing a party or organizing an outing, and those outings could be to the city (manhattan), which is where most of our friends work.

My husband commutes into the city every day and says he thanks god daily on his drive home that he gets to live in such a fantastic place.

It's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, go walk around Southport (summer or winter), or to Stonington, Old Lyme, the Litchfield Hills, Sachems Head, Guilford,the smaller Fairfield county towns, Greenfield Hill, Back country Greenwich, etc. and you'll be blown away by how gorgeous it is.

If I were single I'd look into SoNo if you want a more urban feel.

Yes, it's expensive, but look what you get...you're close to Manhattan, close to the Cape and Islands, the sound, close to Boston, close to Vermont and New Hampshire for skiing. The area is stunningly beautiful in all seasons.

I've lived here for most of my life and whenever I get the itch to go somewhere else, I start looking at the neighborhoods and day to day life and I have to say, Connecticut is a tough act to follow.

So far I haven't seen anything better.

Hi I am Kane, I love our stone walls, even though they're starting to crumble!

I've lived most of life in various parts of CT and based on LKL's posts, I can't think of many places I've been outside of CT that have potential to be a better fit. It's pretentious in a different way than LA, not nouveau riche, but, eh, vieux riche, I guess. And there is a general Darwinian nastiness to the place. Drive on the Merrit Parkway during rush hour and life in LA will look like slo motion.

If I wasn't anchored to work I would move to VT or NH. Once my wife got fed up with the snow, I'd move to norther CA/Oregon border. I think Medford often shows up on lists of one of the best places to live that reminds me a bit of the things I like about CT without the things I hate about CT.

CT is great if you have the attitude that you're ready to take on the world. I'm getting tired of fighting that battle.

Hi Nina,

Trumbull is almost all used up...developers are buying one-acre parcels, and building new houses in mature neighborhoods. Some are buying older houses, tearing them down and building bigger houses on the property.

There just isn't a lot of land left in these towns...they have matured, and I think that's part of what I love about Fairfield County. On my (dead-end) street, some houses have only turned over owners once in 50+ years.

Oh, yes...I think the Southport Library is not only unique, but outstanding as well.

Hi-I grew up in Connecticut and also felt very lucky that is where my family settled. We live in Fairfield County and I am not going to spend my time defending it. I also waited to post to this because I got sick of reading that Ct "is the most boring state". Phewy! Whatever....anyway, if you are youngish and single I highly recommend Stamford, Greenwich, or South Norwalk. I'm not going to go into housing costs, etc. because I know a lot of singles who live in these areas and they seem pretty happy to me. If you reach out and get connected with some people I think you will find you have lots of social options. I live in the city and sometimes I feel my CT friends have more going on than I do!

It's a lovely state and a great place to visit when I go to see my family and friends. I wouldn't trade it for the world!

You don't really mention what you do - and if you are going to have to work, what you do is a big part of making the decision on where to live in the East. I lived in CT about 15 years - around the Hartford area. There is no one price for CT - it ranges from crazy expensive near NY, to very inexpensive when you get in some of the small towns. If you like LA weather, you probably wouldn't like CT's. It does get cold there. Also, the job market isn't that strong in CT - so if you looking for a job - try the DC area (TONS of jobs in this area) and Atlanta. Both places have weather more in line with CA than CT. CT wasn't bad - but every part of CT is exceptionally different, so you'd have to determine the whole work thing to figure out where it makes sense to live. Most of the East Coast is very green - it's gorgeous in Virginia - and actually anywhere North of Florida.... Take some trips and check it out - but DO determine the whole work thing first.....

I absolutely love reading all these positive replies about CT. It sounds absolutely wonderful and I dream of living there one day.
Fairfield sounds like the ideal. Being in a beautiful suburb, close enough to be able to take the train into the city. We visited Fairfield, Southport, Greenfield, Westport, New Canaan, Hartford and Mystic on our trip and I enjoyed Fairfield the most. That's where I can see myself living for sure.
Does it really get that cold and for how long?? And how about the humidity during summertime?

We have relatives who used to live in Ridgefield and now live outside Boston. The part of Connecticut they lived in was completely family oriented, singles had a hard time unless they grew up in the area and were connected to everyone else living there. The people were nice, but not really friendly...their friends were all people from work or from families with kids in the same "play groups." Oh and they got quite a bit of snow in winter...they were just far enough inland to get some heavy snowfalls a few times a winter.

It was very expensive and there was pressure to keep up with the Jones'.

FWIW, if I were in the OP's shoes and wanted to move to New England, I'd take a very close look at Portsmouth, NH. A small city with its own life, yet not far from Boston, and easy access to gorgeous countryside. There are plenty of condos for sale in the area as well.

Schnookies,

I'll try to answer your question about the cold and humidity here in southwestern Connecticut.

We have had wide swings with the weather the past few years. For example, at the beginning of December, 2006, it was so warm in my house (temp set at 67) that I had to open the kitchen door. It didn't get really cold until January-February when I needed a down jacket.

One poster wrote it can go down as low as 0's, but in my lifetime, in Fairfield County, I may have experienced six +/- days where the temp was that low. A more realistic low would be 10-15 degrees for a couple of weeks. (Maybe in the most northern parts of the state the temperature drops that much.)

The humidity can be oppressive from the middle of July to the end of August. Most people go from their air-conditioned houses to AC in the car to AC at work to AC at shopping malls and restaurants. However,if you are engaged in outdoor activities, it will definitely affect you. It is rarely constant...we do get breaks even in the hottest months.

Thank you for all your nice comments about our little jewel of a state.

Thank YOU for all the lovely information you've shared with us!
I know that this is where I want to end up one day. Hopefully sooner than later....It has everything I feel that I need to have around me to be happy and content on where I live. To be able to actually say that "I love where I live"! I dream of that. Have you seen the movie "Reservation Road" yet by the way? It was filmed in Fairfield

Schnookies,

No, I haven't seen "Reservation Road" yet (didn't know it was released). 2007 has brought Hollywood to Connecticut because of (recent) generous tax breaks for the film makers.

I live adjacent to a golf course, and this past summer, as I drove into the golf/recreation park, there were LOTS of large, upscale RVs parked in the lots...didn't know they were there. (You can't see through the trees!) Martin Lawrence was filming his new movie "College Road Trip." Some of the film crew were friendly and talked with Trumbull residents.

Our area had quite a bit of filming in 2007:

"Righteous Kill" starring Al Pacino, Robert DiNero

"Old Dogs" starring John Travolta, Robin Williams

"For One More Day" starring Ellen Burstyn, Michael Imperioli

"Made for Each Other" starring George Segal

"Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (II?)" starring America Ferrara, Alexis Bledel

"Marker" starring Steven Seagal

"What Just Happened?" starring Sean Penn, Robert DeNiro, Bruce Willis

"New Balance" sneakers also filed a commercial in Bridgeport.

From what I could see, residents were slightly inconvenienced when roads were blocked off for filming, but never longer than a few days. Also, some filming was done throughout the night, which didn't disrupt the area.

I was amazed at how quietly the crews set up for the films, and then leave without any fanfare. They are good "guests."