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Renting an Apartment in Connecticut
What You Should Know
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the United States,
located in the northeastern part of the country. Southwestern Connecticut is
part of the Tri-State Region or New York metropolitan area, which also includes
northern New Jersey and southern New York.
Connecticut was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule
in the American Revolution. Residents of Connecticut are sometimes referred to
as Nutmeggers or Yankees.
Connecticut has the highest per capita income in the country, and ranks 1st in
median household income. It also is one of the most densely populated states
in the nation.
Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on the west by New
York State, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The
state capital is Hartford, and the other major cities include New Haven, New
London, New Britain, Norwich, Milford, Norwalk, Stamford, Waterbury, Danbury and
Bridgeport. There are 169 incorporated towns in Connecticut. There is an ongoing
civic pride and economic competition between Hartford and New Haven, which stems back to the days when the two cities shared the state's
capital, and even back to the rivalry between New Haven Colony and Connecticut
Colony.
The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest
corner of the state. The highest point is just east of where Connecticut,
Massachusetts, and New York meet (42 3' N; 73 29' W), on the southern slope of
Mount Frissell, whose peak lies nearby in Massachusetts.
The Connecticut River cuts through the center of the state, flowing into Long
Island Sound, Connecticut's outlet to the Atlantic Ocean.
Despite its size, the state has regional variations in its landscape and culture
from the wealthy estates of Fairfield County's "Gold Coast" to the rolling
mountains and horse-farms of the Litchfield Hills of northwestern Connecticut.
Connecticut's rural areas and small towns in the northeast and northwest corners
of the state contrast sharply with its industrial cities, located along the
coastal highways from the New York border to New Haven, then northwards to
Hartford, as well as further up the coast near New London. Many towns center
around a small park, known as a "green," (such as the New Haven Green). Near the
green may stand a small white church, a town meeting hall, a tavern and several
colonial houses. Forests, rivers, lakes, waterfalls and a sandy shore add to the
state's beauty.
The northern boundary of the state with Massachusetts is marked by the
distinctive Southwick Jog/Granby Notch, an approximately 2.5 mile (4.0 km)
square detour into Connecticut slightly west of the center of the border.
Somewhat surprisingly, the actual origin of this anomaly is not absolutely
certain, with stories ranging from surveyors who were drunk, attempting to avoid
hostile Native Americans, or taking a shortcut up the Connecticut River;
Massachusetts residents attempting to avoid Massachusetts' high taxes for the
low taxes of Connecticut; Massachusetts' interest in the resources represented
by the Congamond Lakes which lie on the border of the jog; and the need to
compensate Massachusetts for an amount of land given to Connecticut due to
inaccurate survey work. The dispute over the border retarded development in the
region, since neither state would invest in public services for the area until
the dispute had been settled.
The southwestern border of Connecticut, where it abuts New York State, is marked
by a panhandle in Fairfield County, containing Greenwich, Stamford, Fairfield,
Westport, Wilton and Darien. This irregularity in the boundary is the result of
territorial disputes in the late 1600s, culminating with New York giving up its
claim to this area, whose residents considered themselves part of Connecticut,
in exchange for an equivalent area extending northwards from Ridgefield,
Connecticut to the Massachusetts border as well as undisputed claim to Rye, New
York.
Areas maintained by the National Park Service include: Appalachian National
Scenic Trail; Quinebaug & Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor;
and Weir Farm National Historic Site