There is always a tension between major urban universities and the communities. Harvard in Cambridge, BU and Northeastern in Boston (especially Northeastern in recent years.) Without a doubt, the schools are a net positive for the communities. I don't think Yale has ANY problem with staff retention. Well compensated professors can live in one of the several beautiful neighborhoods on NH and send their kids to Hopkins, etc or live in one the suburbs. Guilford, an absolutely classic NE town, is a 20 minute commute to Yale. Woodbridge is 15 minutes.

Yale invests a fair amount in the community. I am a NH public school teacher. They have an amazing partnership with the magnet performing arts high school as well as number of other programs.

I'll tell you this - I would not be living in CT if not for Yale. I relocated from Boston ~ 2 years ago. I would not have left Boston with being close to a city that had a lot to offer. Because of Yale, New Haven does. Without it, yeah, it's Bridgeport.