75 replies to this topic

[Rwarky]

What characteristics do you like or even love about life in the Northeast?  What things do you dislike or would love to see change in this part of the country?

[Hartfordfan]

i sometimes dislike the weather. it gets too cold sometimes.  too bad i can't change it. maybe if i keep polluting the area but that won't be a good idea.

[damus]

Hartfordfan, on May 21 2006, 07:54 PM, said:

i sometimes dislike the weather. it gets too cold sometimes.  too bad i can't change it. maybe if i keep polluting the area but that won't be a good idea.

I dislike the weather, but I like the weather. I, like many New Englanders, love having the different seasons. The terrible weather now and then makes you appreciate the really nice weather we get. I love the 50-60 degree weather in the Spring and revel in it. In the fall, I dread it. I also appreciate some of the bad weather. I love the snowstorms for their beauty until I have to drive in them and shovel heavy snow, and I love watching thunderstorms.

Other things I love about New England: apple cider, foliage, the historic charm of colonial-era buildings.

I have to say I hate the politics of the area, and I think the policy makers are what are making the northeast a tough place to compete in when conducting business. From what I can tell, CT's Governor Rell is actually pretty good. Moderate to liberal on social issues and Republican on the economic front. She's the opposite of the Republicans in Washington. She's campaigning on spending billions to improve mass-transit in the state and from what I can tell has been a lowering taxes kind of Republican. BTW... why does the northeast seem to be one of the big hotbeds of corruption in the country? I think we have the most educated populace, so the level of corruption in our city and state offices really intrigues me.

[SOCOM]

Like:

- the weather (4 seasons, lots of snow)
- the history
- the old "streetcar" suburbs
- the knowledge & wealth
- the high quality of major cities within a very short distance (the megalopolis)

Dislike:

- the people (too cold, standoffish, snobby)

[Recchia]

I dislike the fact that despite being an overall dense region with dense urban cores, we really only have two cities with good mass transit systems (NYC and Boston, maybe Philly).  That really grinds my gears.

[damus]

Recchia, on May 21 2006, 09:24 PM, said:

I dislike the fact that despite being an overall dense region with dense urban cores, we really only have two cities with good mass transit systems (NYC and Boston, maybe Philly).  That really grinds my gears.

Governor Rell of CT has been shoving a $2 billion plus mass-transit pacakge (featuring the New Haven to Springfield commuter rail) through congress.

[cloudship]

I both love and hate the weather. I love the change of sesons, and even the storms, but I hate how it can humid as heck all summer, gloomy all winter, and you never know what to expect, so it is hard to have a real nice outdoor life (not to mention our outdoor season is way too short).

I love hhow we have towns up here, how things change as you go through and there is such a mix within such a short area. We have our big stores, but we also have alot of small places too. We have the mountains, we have the rocky coast, the beaches and picturesque seaside towns and country villages. And we have a neat big city that is fun to wander around.

But I hate our economy. We were doing well up until about 7 years ago. Then suddenly all our little businesses and start-ups got bough out by huge coprorations, and all but the highest thinking jobs got moved elsewhere. Our home prices have now been drivien sky high, and our transportation system sucks - roads in New England can't be nice and straight and easy as they are out west. Fact is what I hate most about New England is that we have a lot of needs that aren't being addressed right now.

[Cotuit]

Recchia, on May 21 2006, 09:24 PM, said:

That really grinds my gears.

  

[Jerseyman4]

The long & very cold winters really turn me off the most. I think/believe the 1st year i was in NJ, i was suffering from a seasonal depression disorder [grew up in the south in a coniferous area]. Best way i overcame it was trying hard to adapt to the change of seasons by occupying my time with as many things to do as possible & be around people who are always happy. Playing ice hockey in the frozen ponds in rural Connecticut were one of my favorite things to do for winter activies  

Edited by Jerseyman4, 21 May 2006 - 09:42 PM.

[TheBostonian]

I love the weather, density and transit options.  I hate the housing costs.

[runawayjim]

i love the weather... it keeps you on your toes.  i love being able to enjoy some fine beaches as well as awesome skiing all within a few hours of each other.

as for the mass transit... there's too much sprawl outside boston, new york, and philly to really support those types of transit systems.  there need to be more railroads (hartford, new haven, providence, and worcester all need better railway systems, maybe even a manchester to boston railroad).  but aside from improving the bus systems, there isn't much that can be done in the smaller cities.

i dislike all the traffic and the idiot drivers with cell phones and all the freaking SUV's.  i love that our major cities aren't loaded with sprawl like those in other parts of the country.

and i love that we have the yankees.

[HartfordTycoon]

I love the diversity and fairly open minded population.

I love the summer and hate the winter, but tolorate a harsh winter for a tolorable summer. (When I can afford to have seasonal residences I will not be here for the Winters!!!!)

I hate the lack of regional cooperation, however I love having so many historically significant towns and cities.

I love the food, no one said food yet. I love being able to get authentic spanish, west indian, american, asian, and italian foods whenever I want to.

[damus]

HartfordTycoon, on May 24 2006, 04:11 PM, said:

I love the food, no one said food yet. I love being able to get authentic spanish, west indian, american, asian, and italian foods whenever I want to.

Also the Polish food. One of the great things about living in CT is you can go to Big Y and pick up Martin Rosel's kielbasa (based in New Britain). I'm also a big fan of gilabki.

[HartfordTycoon]

damus, on May 24 2006, 04:15 PM, said:

Also the Polish food. One of the great things about living in CT is you can go to Big Y and pick up Martin Rosel's kielbasa (based in New Britain). I'm also a big fan of gilabki.

Yeah, the polish food is good too.  Everyone in New Britain eats Porogis (sp?). If I lived elsewhere I wouldn't even know these things though.

[damus]

HartfordTycoon, on May 24 2006, 05:00 PM, said:

Yeah, the polish food is good too.  Everyone in New Britain eats Porogis (sp?). If I lived elsewhere I wouldn't even know these things though.

The ones I learned how to make are pronounced "pee-doggies". Farmers cheese and spearmint are used for the filling. Once you put enough mint in there it gets this unique taste. Not cheesy, not minty.

[runawayjim]

damus, on May 24 2006, 05:07 PM, said:

The ones I learned how to make are pronounced "pee-doggies". Farmers cheese and spearmint are used for the filling. Once you put enough mint in there it gets this unique taste. Not cheesy, not minty.

pierogies

i'm half polish.      never heard of having mint inside them... the standard is potato.  basically, it's like a thick ravioli filled with potato and fried, usually with onions.  they're my favorite.  the cheese ones are pretty good too (i think i've had them with potato and cheddar inside but i prefer the potato ones).  my mom's aunt used to make the best... too bad she's now deceased.

it's more pronounced like peh-doh'-gies with the accent where i put it.  i'm a stickler for pronouncing ethnic food properly (except gyro, for some reason i have to say it like it's spelled).  manicotti and ricotta are my biggest pet peeves for pronunciation.

other foods the northeast has that the rest of the country can't touch... PIZZA!!!  new haven has hands down the best pizza.

Edited by runawayjim, 24 May 2006 - 03:27 PM.

[damus]

runawayjim, on May 24 2006, 05:19 PM, said:

pierogies

i'm half polish.      never heard of having mint inside them... the standard is potato.  b

I think it's got something to do with the region of Poland the people around here came from. I actually put mashed potatoes and some of the leftover potato water in the dough. It's a real pain to make though... I usually make an afternoon out of it.

[Cotuit]

I missed linguica like mad when I lived in New York.

[runawayjim]

Cotuit, on May 24 2006, 07:11 PM, said:

I missed linguica like mad when I lived in New York.

linguica?

[Cotuit]

runawayjim, on May 24 2006, 07:16 PM, said:

linguica?