Our pharmaceautical company was purchased recently by another very large pharma company. One of my co-workers has been offered a position in Groton CT. Is there anyone here who can shed some light on life in that region?
Thanks
Groton is up there in Connecticut, near Mystic I believe. The area is nice but pretty far up from New York City (at least 2 hours by car, faster by train). Which means that pricewise, it is more affordable than say, Stamford.
I would advise a visit via the Internet: http://www.town.groton.ct.us/
Thanks. It seems to be about the same distance to Boston as NYC.
I checked the web site out before I posted. There’s only so much you can tell from a city’s own web site though. I want to hear from people who’ve lived there or know the area and get a persons-eye-view.
I used to live in New Haven, about an hour or so from Groton. Groton is in the southeastern corner of the state, near the Rhode Island border. It’s actually considerably closer to Boston (1.5 hours, tops) than NYC (more like 2.5-3 hours). It’s probably 45 minutes from downtown Providence, RI.
That area of the state had some nasty economic times a number of years ago when the big shipbuilding yard closed. They still have a naval base there (submarines), and the Foxwoods Indian Casino is nearby. Otherwise, not too much excitement, although it’s fairly pretty, especially if you like living on the coast. Not too much in the way of beaches, I don’t think, but the area has a very rich maritime history.
That’s about what I know. I hope it helps.
Steven
You would be close to the epicenter of the fife and drum corps world ( If you ever thought of fifing or drumming):
http://companyoffifeanddrum.org/calendar.html
You would be close to Providence:
http://www.rhodeirish.net/
And there is always Mystic:
http://www.mysticseaport.org/source/show_course.cfm?mcourse=13&mkind=visit
I don’t live there, but, I think there are a few places that aren’t too far away that might be of interest.
Good luck!
What company is it?
I grew up close to Groton – my father worked there. It’s a lovely area; tell your buddy not to judge the area by the immediate surroundings (downtown Groton and New London).
The coast of CT is on Long Island Sound, which means surfing is impossible, but it’s very conducive to sailing, waterskiing, etc. Property right on the shore is expensive, but it gets pretty reasonable one town, or in some towns, one mile inland.
There’s a definite small-town New England feel to many of the towns in the area. I think that gives them a friendly feel, some would say they’re just plain boring. Groton is within an hour of four medium-sized cities (Hartford, Providence, New Haven, and Worcester); an hour and a half from Boston, and 2.5 hours from New York. So even if you can’t stand small-town America, you’ve still got daytrip access to plenty of culture.
Thanks for all the tips. I think he’ll be glad to hear it’s got a small town feel.
One thing I’ve noticed when talking to collegues in New Jersey and New York is everything is very fast fast fast fast. People speak quickly and seem to be all type A personalities. I’m suprised the life expectency is past thirty at that pace. Is this the same in Connecticut?
Here we tend to be much more relaxed. Of course compared to the deep south we are also faster paced.
My only experience with the east coast of the US was being stationed for four miserable years in Norfolk VA. That’s another tale.
One thing that’s unusual about New England is that virtually everyplace is incorporated. So rather than a bunch of unincorporated area in a county, with very little personality, there are a bunch of towns with very little population, but each with its own identity. Towns with small populations band together for “regional” high schools, but usually each has its own little elementary school.
One thing I’ve noticed when talking to collegues in New Jersey and New York is everything is very fast fast fast fast. People speak quickly and seem to be all type A personalities. I’m suprised the life expectency is past thirty at that pace. Is this the same in Connecticut?
Here we tend to be much more relaxed. Of course compared to the deep south we are also faster paced.
It depends on where “here” is. I haven’t lived away from the East Coast, just visited, but I would say CT is on a par with Ohio; is probably at a somewhat faster pace than Indiana or Kentucky; similar to Washington, less hectic than California. As with anyplace, it’s pretty locality dependent, and if you live in an urban area, it will be much faster than in a small town.
My only experience with the east coast of the US was being stationed for four miserable years in Norfolk VA. That’s another tale.
I will say that I suffered severe culture shock moving to Charlottesville from New England, but grew quite fond of it. Don’t take the Tidewater region as representative of Virginia, nor of the East Coast.