My bigger reasons for being an unhappy resident of CT are below.

The budget issues are a big factor. Most of the public doesn't see how bad it really is. Our State Government has been mismanaged for so long, that we are in an insane amount of debt. We haven't even began to address the long term health of the State. Our representatives try every year to stop the bleeding, but, it's like putting a band aid on an amputation. If you dig deep enough, you'll see how bad the situation really is. You'll see we are in way deeper than anyone can imagine. Taxes will continue to go up at every turn, and services for the working stiff, will continue to be cut for years to come. That's just to stay status quo. To target the problem, it's going to take even more money, that nobody has. Just the unfunded pensions alone are enough to give us all nightmares.

We have made the climate for business so terrible in CT, most of the large anchor companies have left, or have announced they are leaving. All this does is, take even more of the decent paying jobs out of the State, and drill more holes in our long term budget health. Uninformed people complain when a company gets tax breaks to be here, but nobody stops to think about taking every single employee on their payroll, and calculating the amount of income tax, sales tax, property tax, and so on that they pay into the system. Then take every single subcontractor they use, and do the same. Then take the stores, car dealerships, restaurants, and such, that those employees frequent, and do the same there. It's a huge domino effect when a large company leaves. I would hate to even take a guess as to how many jobs will be effected by each and every job that leaves our State, when an anchor company goes. In my opinion, we haven't even began to bleed from the loss of the companies that have recently announced they are leaving.

Malloy announced this past week that we are closing another prison in I think it was Enfield because crime levels were so low, we didn't need it any longer. Truth is, we aren't following through with sentences because it's too expensive to house inmates. We have mismanaged ourselves into a corner, where we have no choice but to let criminals walk. Every time there is a new occurrence in the news, the State runs to make the public feel good by writing new laws, even though the ones already on the books aren't being enforced.

Examples: Drug dealers are continuously let back out on the street with 10 or 20 weapons violations, but as law abiding citizens, we have to jump through hoops to legally obtain firearms and ammo, because that makes the general public feel safer.

I for one, have had several incidents where I have been broken into, had things stolen, or just vandalized. Twice, through my own hard work, the people were caught. I followed them all the way through the system, to do my part, so they were sentenced appropriately. Both times, it turned out to be a joke.

The first time, a gentleman who had a record a mile long, that stole, cut up, and parted out a matching numbers Super Sport Chevelle from me, was given probation and no prison time.

The second time, two girls came onto the family farm after skipping school. They spent the day tearing down fences, breaking windows in all the trucks, smashing the glass out of every gage, on all five tractors. I came home, and caught them in the act. The police came, did a less than thorough investigation. If I didn't go and sit down with the Deputy Police Chief in town, they never would have been charged. Even when they were charged, and I went to court with them, I was informed that the laws in CT had been changed to where Parents aren't responsible for any damage that their Children do, and being they were underage, with no income, they had no way of paying me back, so they were each given 50 hours of community service, and set free. (Why weren't they forced to put in 50 hours mending the fences, and cleaning the broken glass out of the trucks they damaged?) I asked the Judge if anyone could investigate the net worth of the girls, to see if they had any inheritances, or trusts in their name, but he told me, "sadly, we don't have the resources to do that".

Look at the poaching arrests we read about DEEP making, that are not being enforced in the Courts....... The laws in place, in our State, have no bite, because it's too expensive to impose the sentences that go along with them. It's not the prosecutors either, because they're just doing what they're instructed to do. In my opinion, I think we're going to suffer as a society, because of all this leniency. That's going to make it even more difficult to live here.

I don't see any of it changing anytime soon either. We are at the point where, the residents of the CT's largest cities can elect who ever they choose, and they aren't going to vote in the people that are looking to truly change the way we do things. There's a reason why politicians cater to Social Service climate these days. They'll always go out and vote for the people that are promising to give them more, regardless of it's effect on the long term health of the State.

I think many people are moving out, and selling their houses because they want to get out before CT turns into another Chicago. If all this comes to a head, and implodes one day, real estate will be worth only a fraction of what it once was. Nobody wants to work their full life paying off an expensive house, only to have it's worth drop to $50k when they go to retire.

OK, sorry to take up so much time. Rant over, I'll step down from the soap box and make it available to the next CTF'er

#1) Every year, Connecticut comes out in the top three on the list of the worst places to retire to. I've been retired for 5 years, and we are almost 8 years into our nest egg. I need to get out while I still have money in the moving fund.

#2) Driving. Seriously. The traffic congestion on the roads is abysmal.

#3) The state seems incapable of electing anything close to fiscally responsible leadership.

I've lived about half my 49 years in CT, I was born and raised in the North Western Part of the State but have lived in these towns. New Hartford, Torrington, Colebrook, Ansonia, Cromwell and Vernon. There are things I like about CT such as the Fresh and Saltwater fishing and ample public lands to hunt on. But unfortunately CT is not the same state that it once was when I was younger.
But I've also lived in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Missouri and finally now Michigan.

But I've found my CT replacement for now. As far as the things I love about CTm Michigan, has it all minus the salt in the water. But often on windy days, you get a surf that is every bit of wild as the RI coast on the Lake Huron shore. It even has that familiar marine smell. Plus we have all the shore birds as well. The only thing Michigan doesn't have is Fluke, Stripers and Blues. But I'm more than happy with the replacement of Walleyes for fluke and Lake Trout for Stripers and Chinook for blues. And more public land to hunt than I could ever possibly utilize!
You can buy 20 acres of paradise next to National Forrest Land for 150K with a decent house to boot. When I registered my car it cost me $40 bucks and a 5 minute wait. You can't get that in CT. So I can deal with the snow for now.

Way to find value in CT George! There are deals if you look for them. I share the same outlook in retirement as you. Mostly, wherever my kids end up is where I’ll probably be.

I agree with you O-Bass, most of learning is 90% student driven and the other 10% institution, but if I could improve on the 10% in-any way I can, within reason, then I will. All of my success has come because of education, so I hold that and learning as a top priority.

A recurring theme that previous posters refer to as a downside to this state is the sad state of fiscal health this state is in. I don’t think that is special just to CT. The majority of states in our union have budget issues. Look at RI, NJ, MA just to name a few. The states that are in good fiscal health are mostly mid west/central US. Parts of the country that I dont necessarily want to be right now.

Not that my wife and I aren’t aware of the dire state of things in our state government. Her being a high school teacher, we’ve watched her pension slowly getting eroded away over the years. Contribution rates into the pension fund are drastically outpaced by withdrawal rates. Just google “ct teacher pension fund” and dozens of article will pop up explaing how it’s been underfunded for decades. Madoff’s ponzi scheme looks like better investment. We don’t actually count on it as a retirement vehicle, though, just like I don’t count on social security to fund any part of my retirement. Instead, we invest in our own taxed advantaged acccounts to rely on for retirement. Along with disability and termed life insurance. Problem solved. I don’t worry one milli-second about it. My priority right now is spending my emotional and mental energy for my family. If we get anything from the pension or social security, great, if we don’t it doesn’t affect our finances one bit.

True OnTheWater102, CT taxes are high. As a matter of fact, as far as total tax load, CT is in the top five states for total taxes paid per capita. This includes income, property, sales etc. CT is also one of the states that allow a tax deduction for contributions into their 529 plan. Up to 10k. I help out my kids on their education with tax free gains and also get a state tax break. Problem solved.....for now. And as far as lower taxed states. Many of them are a favorite of retirees, like Arizona and Florida being at the top of the list. But exactly how much lower is the tax load? I believe its more like 0.5%-2% depending on the specific state. For that amount I’ll consider it the dues I have to pay to be here instead of uprooting my family for a lower tax state AND living in a state that I don’t want to be in.

That’s great DannyK. It looks like you carved out a nice little niche out there in Michigan. Being from CT you can give a good perspective on things out of state compared to how it is here. But it’s more than just the bass, fluke and blues for me that I’m in love with CT. It’s also the clam cakes, crab cakes, lobster rolls, oysters in the half shell, fish-n-chips, sitting at a table for hours tearing through a bucket of blue crab and beers. And then wanting to die afterwards. Nothing beats that.

None of the above makes me resent CT or want to move out. Or does it even remotely affect my day to day mood. I feel that if I keep my own financial house in order and have a healthy fiscal in house plan, all the other things are in the far background and I get to enjoy my time with my family and friends. I’m not saying that those that have issues with CT are fiscally irresposible. This is just how it applies to myself. End rant.

Thanks for all the responses. Everyone has an interesting take on things. Keep-’em coming.

I'm with Jay 100%...cant add much other than bye ct. Hello Tn.2acres,bambi,turkey,quail....walleye,smallmouth,muskie,35 + lb cats...my property taxes were 164.00$ ...for 2017/...2018...due in Oct. Next year.pretty much all the electricity is hydro.. cheap....someone put a boot to my ass now...gollee ..and the overpaid propagandist teachers with cushy jobs now and even cushier pensions hanging over our heads like Damocles sword can kiss my ass as well.