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LoveIsLove75 t1_ixv9tw7 wrote

We've been in CT for 12 years now. It's tough if you don't have kids or dogs to meet people in the burbs. We were in Norwalk for the first 11 and moved to Stratford in April. We had a lot better luck in Norwalk meeting other middle-aged childfree couples. So far, the Stratford/Shelton area is very isolating and the people are "different". We found our neighbors in Norwalk a lot more welcoming and friendly. The people in Stratford/Shelton are very standoffish. After being here half a year I have narrowed it down to Norwalk having a lot more immigrants / people not from CT than this area. Coming from Norwalk, it's very jarring. We are counting down the months until our lease expires. We hope to buy back into the Norwalk area, if possible.

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Time_Yam301 t1_ixvfzyo wrote

Buying in Norwalk today is much more expensive than Shelton or Stratford.

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LoveIsLove75 t1_ixvg9my wrote

Agreed. However, I'd rather have a smaller place in Norwalk than continue to live in Stratford after our lease is up. We REALLY don't like this area. It doesn't feel like home.

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Time_Yam301 t1_ixw17mj wrote

Well, live where you'd like. But don't rent for life. I don't know how old you are, but at 44, I wish I had settled down and bought something a lot sooner.

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CatsNSquirrels OP t1_ixvi2bs wrote

Great info. Thank you so much! I can’t tell you how many times my husband and I have expressed being unable to make friends because we don’t have kids or a dog! So I really felt that statement. We have two rescue cats.

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LoveIsLove75 t1_ixvjag0 wrote

Glad I could help. We lucked into a unicorn situation when we first moved up. Our next door neighbors were a few years older and childfree. Through them we met their other friends who are childfree, as well. We still hang out with them to this day. After we moved, we realized how lucky we were in meeting them. A few years later, the F45 Westport studio opened and we made friends there, as well. The studio has a lot of 40-60+ members vs other studios in the area which skew younger and transient. The studio does a good job of cultivating a community-like feel. The other gyms/group fitness places in the area that I went to before (Planet Fitness/Edge/OTF) you can feel like a ghost there.

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Holl0wayTape t1_ixx14un wrote

Curious what you mean by Stratford/Shelton people being "different."

Not offended, just sincerely curious.

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LoveIsLove75 t1_ixyjbt8 wrote

TLDR: Norwalk is a lot friendlier to transplants like myself than Stratford/Shelton.

I was thinking about this after I posted. I came to a realization that in Norwalk there were a lot more "transplants", while in the Stratford/Shelton area there were very little and most people that I met were from the area. I think transplants, like myself, go out and seek to make connections so we can be comfortable in our "home". Meanwhile, people that grew up in the area already have established social groups and aren't particularly open to new people. I don't think it's isolated to Stratford/Shelton. Any town that doesn't have a lot of transplants in it will probably be like this.

Picture going to work and you're used to saying good morning to each other as you walk by. Now picture your co-workers walking by you in the morning like you do not exist and only communicating with you if they need something from you. That's what I mean by "different". I feel like a "ghost" in this area.

I guess I am finally noticing the standoffishness that New Englanders are famous for which I never had to deal with in Norwalk.

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GoPikachuGo1 t1_ixzm35o wrote

If people don't like you in Stratford or Shelton, i'm sorry to tell you, but it isn't because you're a transplant.

If you said Darien or New Canaan, maybe.

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