Hi there and welcome. Are you checking out this blog from Threads? Double welcome. I thought I would share top-line reasons why we love living in Connecticut. We thought of moving to Connecticut back in 2000 – moved in 2001 and have never looked back. We moved out of Manhattan which we loved but with a baby on the way (who is now a college grad and professional) we knew we needed to make the move to a larger home and a place with excellent schools. Here are a few reasons why we love Connecticut and encourage moving to Connecticut.

Political Climate

I don’t think in today’s fraught environment, you can ignore politics. Connecticut is a blue state – of course it has red areas. Our town in Fairfield County was red until a few years ago. After the 2016 election Democratic candidates began running and the town flipped blue. This varies around the state so if that is important to you – do your research.

What has that meant? Strong dedication to our excellent public schools. Parents care about the schools and while our taxes may be higher than other states – the schools and our rising real estate has made it worth it. You don’t need to send your kids to private or parochial schools. We have saved thousands and our home has appreciated as other parents wish to move here too.

The state also cares about its environment – many towns also have citizen led groups to protect the natural environment. We are also not denying climate change and are pro-science.

Excellent Public Schools

Let’s talk some more about schools. If you are moving to Connecticut this is likely one of the top reasons. Even if you are single or not planning on having children, your schools are tied to your real estate.

With the various downturns (2008 when my husband I both lost our jobs) we were so happy that we did not need to change our children’s schools over fear of not being able to pay pricey school tuition. Both our girls have thrived and excelled in college (and now professionally). This is an investment you need to make.

Also during Covid – we had sensible restrictions. None of that denying a deadly disease that you found elsewhere. And our schools provided choice when it was prudent to do so. Hybrid, completely online or in person. We wore masks, got vaccinated and carried on. Test scores did not suffer. If you are moving to Connecticut, check out each towns school ratings – while in general schools are excellent some towns are better than others. You can see some of the ratings here.

Natural Beauty and Sophistication

Connecticut is a beautiful state. We have gorgeous shoreline towns and beaches where you can sail, swim and enjoy the coast. Fairfield county is generally within commuting distance to New York City so there are jobs! There are smaller cities outside of New York that also have plenty of opportunities – White Plains and Stamford are two examples.

New York also has culture, shopping and a sophisticated lifestyle that is easily accessible by our train system. Our town also has its own theater (two actually), a world renowned museum, colonial attractions, a quaint downtown with an independent book store, movie theater and more. People are cultured and educated so they frequent all of these attractions.

A Bit More About Nature

Connecticut has a bit of everything. Our town values open space and has two acre zoning so there are beautiful forests and open spaces. State parks with hiking trails abound. There are even a couple of small ski mountains in Litchfield and Southington which are ideal for teaching kids to ski or just getting in a few runs yourself. Larger ski areas such as Stratton and Mount Snow are about 3 hours away in southern Vermont.

As noted above, the CT shore is beautiful. Long Island sound provides a place to sail, swim or even clam (read this blog and get my recipe for clam chowder!). There are also large lakes such as Candlewood Lake where you can also boat and a lucky few have beautiful waterfront homes.

These are some of the top reasons to consider moving to Connecticut. Please check out the blog to learn more – I share our tree cutting tailgate, picnics at the shore and more. Welcome and please contact me at sundaysbreadblog@gmail.com if you have any questions. Mimi