The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Happy with move all the way to Conn.
We’re just beginning to sample the Connecticut wine trail (hint: it’s not just about the wine), and the list goes on and on.
Last year, my husband and I did something rather unusual in America today: we moved to Connecticut from Colorado.
We are retired empty-nesters with kids and grandkids on the East Coast, and after more than a decade of drought and wildfires, followed by two years of COVID lockdown, we were ready for a change. Our friends in Colorado were mostly understanding, but once we got to Connecticut, almost everyone we encountered said “Why did you move from there to here?”
It was a decision based largely on instinct, but a year in, we are congratulating ourselves on our brilliant choice and enjoy reminding the locals what a true gem of a state they are lucky enough to inhabit. With that background, and a vestige of an outsider’s perspective, here are the things we love about Connecticut.
Civility. You’d have to have been living in an underground cave for the last decade to have failed to notice that a lot of folks in American are very angry at each other. But Connecticut is for the most part a delightful exception to this. The locals tell me there’s more discord than there used to be, but mostly folks in this state seem to still know how to walk away from a pointless argument.
We notice this on social media, at the grocery store, and at every concert, class and community event we attend. In addition, our neighbors are neighborly — we’ve had more walkable dinner invitations in one year here than in the preceding 20. Somewhat relatedly, our elected officials are friendly, listen to us, and seem to be everywhere. In a year we’ve met the mayor, our town council representative, our state representative, the governor, and one of our U.S. senators. They all asked our names, shook our hands, welcomed us to the state, and asked us if they could do anything to help.
Nature. You’d think coming from the front range of the Rocky Mountains, we’d be a tad disappointed by Connecticut scenery. But not at all!
First off, although it didn’t factor into our decision to move here, we love the shore. We walk along the beach weekly, and have encountered spectacular views, numerous shorebirds, lots of local history, and the fascinating horseshoe crab breeding season. Further north, everybody knows about our incredible state parks, but in addition, nearly every town seems to have at least one unspoiled, sylvan nature preserve, usually donated by a local family, and always beautiful.
And they benefit from another Connecticut practice heretofore unknown to us: blazed trails! No more losing the trail and spending the afternoon frantically searching for a way back to the car before the lightning starts. And for added interest, Connecticut forests are crisscrossed with those amazing old stone walls, which tell many a story about the history of the land, at least since the Colonial era.
The local stuff. We dutifully headed for Wooster Square a few months after our arrival, and Frank Pepe’s did not disappoint. Since then we’ve tried at least a dozen different pizza outlets, and even taken a class on how to make New Haven style pizza — we’ve embraced the char! Also in New Haven we visited Yale’s Beinecke Library, a real local treasure, with free admission and open to all, featuring among other fantastic items a rare perfect Gutenberg Bible.
We’ve become enthusiastic college basketball fans, thanks to Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and the rest of the exciting and powerful UConn Huskies lineup. We feel a little bit of local pride every time we see a news story featuring data from the Quinnipiac University poll, because, well, it’s right up the road.
We’re just beginning to sample the Connecticut wine trail (hint: it’s not just about the wine), and the list goes on and on. Connecticut, you’ve literally got nothing to be ashamed of, and so much to be proud of! From the bottom of our hearts, thanks for a great first year.