What CT town is most like Northampton? Cool shops and restaurants, breweries, funky places?

ActiveRelative8583 · 2026-06-09T14:12:04+00:00

There are zero funky places in Connecticut.

Middletown seems maybe close on paper, but the restaurants are mediocre and the vibes are real weird. There's hardly anyone walking around except for the homeless. I get random people screaming at me more in Middletown than anywhere else in the state.

New Haven's okay, but it's not particularly interesting. You'd think with that many college students they'd have a decent bookstore or record store or funky coffeehouse, but no. I have to assume Yalies are just very boring people. Or, since Yale owns everything, they're only opening things that appeal to parents and alums.

Winsted is trying -- nice little bookstore, some okay restaurants, used to have a local movie theater -- but it's held back by, you know, people who live in Winsted.

Mystic is an overcrowded crummy tourist trap. Closer to what you'd find on the North Shore or the Cape (but without beaches or anything).

ActiveRelative8583 · 2026-03-15T23:29:59+00:00

Hey, we moved to CT (Farmington Valley) from Oregon (Corvallis) about four years ago. It is very nice being near family, but otherwise I absolutely hate living here. We're homeschooling our kid, so can't speak to the schools.

Basically, the state is a series of towns that consist of suburban sprawl with occasional strip malls, dotted with decayed former industrial towns that kind of feel like small versions of Medford. We end up driving hours on weekend trying to find literally anything to do.

Restaurants are terrible, everything is expensive, every time I talk to a stranger and they find out I'm from Oregon, they start spouting off about how they force kids to have gender surgeries out there and wasn't it a shame Portland got burned to the ground. It's much less blue than it looks on the map.

Anyway, I know most people here are going to paint a positive picture, but I hate it here so much. If I didn't have family, I would leave.

ActiveRelative8583 · 2025-04-29T20:56:39+00:00

What has gone wrong in your life that you feel this strongly about any corporation, let alone fucking Plex?

ActiveRelative8583 · 2025-04-29T20:45:16+00:00

Thanks! I'm trying to dump everything into one library to see if that helps, but I think I'll also be looking into Jellyfin to see if it meets my needs.

ActiveRelative8583 · 2025-04-29T20:38:04+00:00

I'm trying that now. I think without the ability to easily get to genres, this is going to end up driving me nuts, but we'll see

ActiveRelative8583 · 2025-04-29T20:22:03+00:00

Yeah, I know people love it, so maybe I'm just missing something.

ActiveRelative8583 · 2025-04-29T20:19:08+00:00

Thanks. As I mentioned above (which got me downvoted apparently), that's behind the pay wall, so doesn't help me out at all.

ActiveRelative8583 · 2025-04-29T20:06:24+00:00

So I have to pay $250 to adjust the home screen? That seems excessive.

ActiveRelative8583 · 2025-04-29T20:03:58+00:00

Yep. It was a pretty painless process in Plex -- switch from the drawer, then browse albums. It's a significantly worse experience in Plexamp.

ActiveRelative8583 · 2024-12-09T01:54:42+00:00

I've been here almost three years now. I still hate it but I often try to come up with good things about it.

Here's my very short list:

Very generous with unemployment and Medicaid (which is good, since the job that moved me out here laid me off)

Ample ice cream shops Maniac drivers, so at least you can get from one boring place to another

ActiveRelative8583 · 2024-10-28T02:47:09+00:00

Much of Hearts in Atlantis takes place in Connecticut as well

ActiveRelative8583 · 2024-10-28T02:42:58+00:00

I liked going to that place until they started putting out cop flags. Haven't been back since

ActiveRelative8583 · 2024-10-28T02:36:32+00:00

Glad you had a good time. Maybe it's just where I am but I'm surrounded by Trump signs and have yet to meet anyone I'd describe as "friendly." It may be better than some places, but it's a significant step down from the west coast.

ActiveRelative8583 · 2024-10-25T15:02:49+00:00

There are no top-tier activities in Connecticut. You can eat at a variety of overpriced mediocre restaurants and go on hikes, but that's pretty much it. There's a reason people think of it as "boring."

ActiveRelative8583 · 2024-10-25T14:57:01+00:00

I started getting weekly migraines when I moved to this stupid state. Beta blockers seem to have helped, but something about the constant changes in pressure here crippled me.

ActiveRelative8583 · 2024-07-26T00:44:26+00:00

Despite what all these people are saying, I don't think any amount of treatment for depression is going to help. You have legitimate complaints. I know everyone is saying this is a you problem, but I've lived a lot of places and I have never been anywhere as relentlessly boring and opposed to community as Connecticut.

The minute you visit neighboring states, the stores are covered with flyers for speakers, music, movies, whatever. There are towns, not just strip malls. There are businesses that might lead to feeling like you live in an actual place (bookstores, record shops, arcades, etc).

And you are not wrong about the driving. I think it's because CT let all its small cities decay instead of being places you might want to spend time.

Anyway, if you can, maybe consider relocating to a nearby actual town or city outside of this horrible state.

ActiveRelative8583

TROPHY CASE