Pondering a relocation to New London, CT

I currently live in NC. I am originally from Long Island. There is a possible opportunity to relocate to New London. We are a family of 4. My daughters are 7 & 9. Can anybody offer up some insight?
TIA

 

There are several FChatters who live in that area and so you should get some good advice from them. I'm in CT and along the coastline but on the other end of the state. The good news for you is that the eastern half of CT has a lot of nice, beautiful towns along the coast and the cost of living is pretty reasonable for the northeast.

 

I usually tell families to stay away from CT unless you make a lot of money. CT is a horrible state to live in for middle class and lower income families...terrible.
Gas, groceries, taxes, purchases, construction, cigarettes, heating fuel, everything.
Some around the US will say it is the same where they are........only Hawaii is more expensive.

My heart breaks when I see the many families I know struggle that live here. I've always encourage them to leave if they can.

Other than that, it's a beautiful state.

 

I'm on board with Peter K. Trying my best to survive this place until I can get to your area. seriously love western NC and Eastern TN. Planning on retiring someplace near Johnson City.
A recent article in Forbes magazine (attached) garnered mild national attention on the internet. Connecticut is rated at or near the bottom of almost every single category worth considering. Our governor whined like a pig about the statistical results.

How Did Rich Connecticut Morph Into One Of America's Worst Performing Economies? - Forbes

 

Yeah, that just crazy.

Unfortunately, I can not move. I can not relocate my business. I have, on several occasions, sat down with a Google map and basically drew an hour or so line to see what states I could move to. I think PA, at 70 minutes from Danbury, would have been the best out of the tri state and MA area.

But I'm still in CT for now.

 

Taxes, especially on property like houses and automobiles are high and going higher. New London has some attractive areas around it especially the coast but nice means pricey. The more affordable parts are so so. If you can afford Old Lyme that's where the best schools are found if that's a consideration. Our policy makers in Hartford think just like the ones in Washington but lack a printing press. That's where we citizens come in......

Good luck,

John

 

All of this is true, unfortunately. Connecticut consistently ranks near the bottom of the 50 states, along with NY, NJ, CA and some others, in being the most unfriendly to business. Despite high income, sales, estate and property taxes, the state consistently also ranks near the bottom in fiscal management issues and seems to lurch from one fiscal crisis to another in both good times and bad.

It's a shame because the state has a lot of natural attractions of having a nice shoreline, access to the oceans and mountains and a lot of other nice aspects that make it a generally nice place to live. Maybe the high costs and bad state management are cleverly designed to keep the state from being overrun with new people moving in!

 

Hahahah... Always the optimist John.

 

Most of my family still lives in CT and sometimes I wonder how they do it financially...

During the last visit we stopped by the Clinton Harbor; quaint, inviting and tempting!

 

And I95, the Merit parkway and I84 are designed to prevent you from getting out!

 

This is true!

Is/was there ever a time when I95 did not have any on-going roadwork?

 

Give us a jingle next time you stop by. I live about 10 miles from there.

 

I will, thanks Lane.

 

Good afternoon i've grown up in CT for nearly 30 years. Went to school in CT @ UCONN.

New London is an industrial hub of CT with the sub-base nearby, electric boat, several colleges, and the casinos all within 20mins.. New london is a "stabilizing" place in CT in that it historical would be considered a lower-middle class area when surrounded by Mystic, Stonington, And Groton Long-Point

If you have kids i would look to locate yourself in surrounding areas that are striking distance to NL.. that being said there ARE some very nice areas in New London.
I would look at Mytic, Stonington, and Niantic .. But depending on your price point for home you probably would get more value in NL.

I love in Madison down the shoreline a bit and i'm happy to be a pair of eyes on the ground here for you

 

I spent two years at the New London Coast Guard academy many years ago, and still go their to volunteer and teach, so know the area well. There are some areas in/near New London, if enjoy the water and country side, it can be very exclusive living. Where to live is subjective as we all have different wants and needs.

The downside with Connecticut is its financial debt and excessive taxes that will continue to increase. This link provides some insight.

Connecticut’s debt clock ticking | HartfordBusiness.com

Hope this assists you some.

 

I work in New London. It's not too bad for work, but you really do not want to bring your family here, especially kids. Worst performing schools in the state, sketchy poor neighborhoods, rampant crime, hoodlums, drug dealing

New London, Connecticut (CT 06320) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news

There are several towns within an easy 15-30 minutes commute from New London that are much more sensible - Old Lyme is a nice town for a family, close to the beach but not much to do - lived where for a while , feels a bit isolated. Other nearby towns to consider - East Lyme, Stonington, Mystic, Westerly - all have pro's and con's, depends on what you looking for

 

I really don't care for CT

The winters are cold w little snow, taxes are high, Govt is very left wing, worst gun laws in USA, mostly fat ugly women & crappy night life.

I'd take NC over CT

 

man a little rough on the (conn) women but I am with you i would easily take N C over conn.
better yet Virginia..among the most favorable gun control laws around..

 

Yeah, that was a pretty doochy thing to say.

 

Don't limit yourself to CT. Rhode Island is an easy commute and is beautiful, especially along the coast line.

 

I agree but I would love to see a comparison of taxes (income, sales, property etc.) between the two states. CT is pretty bad but I have heard that RI might be even worse. Is that true?

 

RI taxes are about the same/ a bit higher than CT.

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news BUT this is a factual post. I owned a weekend home in CT for a few years until I sold it for a place in the Hamptons. The housing is much cheaper in CT than the east end of Long Island and for good reason. Property taxes are double what they are in the Hamptons for a similarly priced home, boring social scene, lackluster cultural events, lousy restaurants and a left over from the 60's hippy crowd.

 

Here is just a little bit of last years snow!
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spot on my good man... the casinos are fun at night, but there is much much better to be offered.

originally from california, and i am dying to get out of this state, hopefully i will be able to do so in this coming year.

as far as new london goes, i wouldnt bring a family to the area. like someone else posted, it is not the best area in ct and the schools are poor. i live in guilford currently, and the taxes are a bit higher then the average in ct, but you get that quaint new england townie feeling with it. guilford was voted as having the best greene in new england a few years ago by some home magazine and the town went nuts over it haha. but otherwise its a nice town to raise a family in. you have the water right there and a town beach that just got revamped after the last two hurricanes, and a brand new high school that should be ready in 2 years.