Submitted by muwen1234 t3_zqenm8 in Connecticut
Want to stir some discussion here and see if folks here share the same sentiment as me. Sure CT has its fair share of problems and issues to deal with. But I think most places in America aren't much better. In fact, the majority of places in this country are probably worse than CT.
Some personal anecdote:
I'm a 23M who grew up in a suburban town in central CT. Thought Connecticut was the most boring and bland place on Earth for my entire childhood. So after graduating from UConn, I went out of state for work. The first job I had was in Denver.
Denver and Colorado were interesting for like the first month and then quickly lost their appeal to me. Horrible traffic everywhere I go, bland and truly boring areas in the surrounding suburbs, homeless people/druggies on the streets, having to deal with wildfires, extremely dry climate, car theft, catalytic converter theft rampant, studio apartments in an okay area going for $2500+... the list could go on.
Then I recently just relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area. Personally, I prefer here slightly more to Denver but it's not a paradise either. I also think the western portion of the country in general lacks actual culture so what you see is just long boulevards and avenues, chain restaurants, strip malls everywhere, and downtowns with very little charm.
To give you all an idea, traffic is so bad here in the Bay Area that the express lanes, which you have to pay to use, are backed up half the time on 880 and 101. And this is in spite of the fact that this is a region that has multiple large public transportation systems.
Anyways just 2 cents about my experience being away from CT for about a year and a half.