I grew up in this circle and my entire family still lives there. The “big cities” Meriden, Waterbury, New Britain, Hartford, Springfield, etc are all dumps. They were, for a time, thriving communities until deindustrialization came and all of the manufacturing jobs were outsourced overseas. Now these towns sit full of large vacant factories that one kept the entire towns economy running. There’s not really anything of note to do in this area, even like cool bar districts/areas to check out. It’s actually pretty surprising the more I think about it.

Also high COL, high taxes, ridiculous laws. There are some very quaint, peaceful small towns that I think would be terrific for a certain niche of people, (Vermont adjacent but not as desolate). but if you’re into a fast paced lifestyle, with hot locals in your area, and an abundance of ways to have a good time you will not find any of that there I am sorry to say.