7/25/08: If only Connecticut had someplace to go

Last week, I accused central Connecticut of parochialism. I suggested that the town-by-town loyalties characterizing our region are no longer appropriate in a global society. I mentioned bus-riding chickens.

This week, the big reveal: Why did I insult us all and naysay everything we seem to care about?

The short answer is that I did it for our own good.

The longer answer is that things are about to change, and we need to prepare ourselves to take advantage of those changes. The only way to do that is to begin thinking outside our borders, asking ourselves what we have to offer to people who are new to Connecticut, or who are considering relocating — particularly young people.

We have been losing the battle to keep Connecticut residents in the state for awhile now. Connecticut’s population of young adults 20 to 35 years old declined significantly between 1990 and 2000. The median age in Connecticut, 37, is higher than the national median age by two years.

This may not sound like much, but it reflects the fact that the state’s 3 percent growth in that time is only half the national average, landing us at 47th on the list of fastest-growing states. In other words, we’re the third slowest.

Clearly, we’re doing something wrong.

I’m not an economist, and I’m not a sociologist, but I can say from personal experience that the trouble with Connecticut is that it’s boring.

As high schoolers, my friends and I spent most of our hang-out time driving back and forth between malls. As a college student on break, I found myself staying in most nights and watching PBS or checking movies out of the library.

You may be thinking, "Well, you sound like a boring person, Alicia. Why should Connecticut be blamed for that?"

True. No state can be blamed for my lack of imagination.

But what if being in Connecticut made it easier for me to engage my imagination, instead of harder? What if, instead of imagining some place I might like to hang out with my friends — centrally located, with shops that interested me, coffeehouses and restaurants that served food I liked, that I could get to easily and cheaply by walking or taking a bus — this place actually existed?

From what I can tell, it does. It’s called Middletown.

Middletown’s Main Street seems to be doing well by any casual observer’s standards. With Wesleyan and Middlesex Community College in town, Main Street can count on an influx of college students looking for entertainment — restaurants, a movie theater, shopping and coffeehouses run the length of the street. It’s no wonder New Britain’s downtown development plan uses Middletown’s as a model.

But trying to recreate Middletown’s apparent success isn’t as easy as following its lead in the types of retail or restaurants they offer. After all, New Britain has Central Connecticut State University, and Bristol is between Briarwood College and Tunxis Community College, but this hasn’t meant automatic success for downtown Bristol or New Britain retailers. Something else is missing.

And when it comes to figuring out where to live and work, even the entertainment, dining and employment options of Main Street seem anemic in comparison with New York City or Boston. But that’s fine. We’re not New York or Boston. We never will be.

We will always be exactly what we are, which is located right between New York and Boston.

This is our advantage over every other state, and central Connecticut’s advantage over other counties. This is what we have to offer newcomers and college students who consider staying. All of our planning and development should focus on this advantage.

More on that next week.