We have a lot of great things in Connecticut. Our outdoor resources are certainly one of them, and at times many people Overlook just how good outdoor recreation in Connecticut can be. But there's a major reason for this, that being Connecticut as a whole for its citizens and because of this politically is not very friendly when it comes to outdoor activities.

I love living in Connecticut, and if it is NOT Maine it will be even further into northwest Connecticut that I buy my next house in the next two years. All the reasons you cited apply, especially the close proximity for just about anything you could want.

But the highlight my reason, I live in an awesome town with some wonderful people, and low crime thankfully. There are five reservoirs filled with fish within just a few moments of my house, and I have access to none of them. As difficult as that is, it would be even worse if I decided to start hunting, because none of that land is open to hunting and the few small areas that are are extremely difficult to have access granted to.

This mentality changes almost immediately when you cross the border into rural New York, Vermont New Hampshire or Maine. Even most of the areas I've been to in Massachusetts are a lot more forgiving than Connecticut. Permissions can be granted for someone with some honest intentions and the clear itinerary of what they're going to be doing. I have reached out to so many places to be able to Grant fishing access, to be denied over and over again no matter the offer. Boats, work, performances from my Ensemble... You name it I would donate it to fish several areas that are technically open to the public and not water company property or controlled by the government. No dice.

With two new kids one of our main concerns is the quality of the public school education, but being a teacher, I can tell you that it's not as horrible elsewhere as people think. Like most things in life education is what you make of it. They hand you a certain amount of stuff but you have to reach out and grab the rest.

We are very fortunate to have met so many wonderful people, and carved out a small happy and prosperous life within this state.

Pretty cool story about moving to Connecticut from way less than what it would cost to live on Long Island. That same mentality is why I want to move to Maine. You took the money that you had out there, and spread it out so much further here. I would be doing the same thing, the cost of living in Maine is substantially less. I really appreciated your Insight on that, I haven't seen you much here on the site but thanks very much for sharing George.

Great thread, kind of reminded me how much I do enjoy living here. Connecticut has some really good secrets that if you look hard enough you can find. when you do find one, it really is wonderful and worth the effort. You're never too young or too old, too skilled or two inexperienced to find these things either.