I've lived in and around New Haven all my life (37 years).
I think LASH has done a good job of describing N.H. and CT.
I wasn't aware of "the Bloods" being here but I remember the Hartford Latin King days
and, after some TV special, I now also fear the MS13 will be a threat to be considered.
That police "gang unit" obviously needs to be brought back.
And the Mayor needs to stop giving out those ID cards...

Now, I'm not saying I'll NEVER move away, but New Haven isn't really so bad.
New Haven is just like any other city, any old city.
There are beautiful areas and homes that are right next to the war zone.
Some neighborhoods can change in a matter of months.

In 1995 or so I lived on Warren St. which is the first right off Wooster.
I really liked living down there and there was a real feeling of community.
It is known as the "little Italy" section of New Haven and it's nice when the cherry blossoms are out.
I miss smelling Sally's Pizza everyday, BEST white clam pizza in all the U.S. (IMO haha).

But a mile away is Grand Avenue Fair Haven and it can be rough over there.
Just like anywhere else, if you go looking for trouble you WILL find it.
Sometimes the trouble finds you but I don't think that's a N.H. problem alone.
An increase in shootings in the city can be attributed to a general decline in society
and a lack of the value of human life that I think the whole country is experiencing.

I'm living on the other end of New Haven now, Westville, and it's the same thing.
Go down one street, you have million dollar homes, go down another and they are boarding homes up.
The home mortgage crisis is certainly escalating things, but this neighborhood has always been like this.
I've been in this 'hood for over 10 years now.
I hear gun shots and shit, cars get broken into sometimes.
But that stuff happens in the city.
I lived in Bethany and smelled cow shit, and I still had to drive back to N.H. for a slice after 9pm.
BTW, Bethany is beautiful, but it isn't the city.
That's the beauty of CT. You can go cow tipping with your cousin after the sun goes down
and then a 40 minute drive later and you can grab a drink with Yale students who are from Ethiopia.

It's a mix of people and cultures, that's the beauty of New Haven.
Birthplace of the pizza AND the Hamburger (disputable).
Oh, and George W. Bush (regrettably)... and me!

P.S.
After dark I greet most visitors in my parking lot and don't let girlfriends go out alone,
but that's just being proactive. Shit can happen to you anywhere.
P.P.S.
I've never actually been cow tipping.

Your 100% Dave !

My old neighbor moved here from Mass. and was in for a rude surprise. The first night I meet him a car was broken into. I meet him like an hour before in the hall. So around 11:30 he come franticly knocking on my door. "DUDE I just say this guy smash a car window grab something and walk off " he says. He also said I called the cops. I laughed and said good luck with that. The next day I asked him if he ever say a cop, nop he goes, I waited until 3 am then went to bed. He recently moved to Durham , next to him now is a farm.

There is no where like CT, the saying goes, if you don't like the weather, just go out the back door it may be different.

It sounds great--aside from the increase in gang activity.

If I ever was afraid for my gf to go out at night because of it, I'd move--especially if I knew moving was the best thing. Shit can happen anywhere, but if I see it coming, I get out of the way. If anything happened, there's no taking it back.

If MS-13 ever showed up and started doing their thing, I'd move with the quickness.

I say, all the good folks move on out, let the dumbasses run amok, level the place when it's nice and ripe, move back, rebuild, have a slice of pizza.

Wow I always thought of Connecticut as a sleepy hollow New England kinda state. Granted I was only there in 1994 for a few months to practice with a band in Danbury. Then again in 2001 on trips from NYC visit my then g/f in Middletown CT @ Wesleyan College (they have some amazing diner there called O'Rourkes) so I guess I avoided the bad areas. Sucks...

C.

MS13 is a big issue in certain sections of Boston and the surrounding areas including the area we live in. I've heard plenty of gun shots at night, we got robbed a month ago, and there is a lot of crime but as you say that's the city.

I know they're doing a lot up here to clean up the MS13 issue, but it's one of those things you can't completely escape in any metropolitan area.

Bah... wimps.

I live in Baltimore. Every single day of my life is like an episode of The Wire.

hahaha yeah.
It's not like The Wire here (I hope).
It's not like Robo Cop.