Whether you heard of New Haven, Connecticut, you may have instead heard about Yale University or the state that influenced the Haunting in Connecticut movie based on real-life events in this state. Either way, Connecticut has its ups and downs, as all states do. Here, we will focus our attention on the city of New Haven.
New Haven, as said briefly, has one of the eight ivy league schools, Yale University. It is safe to say that this city will be based around this university and that can be a good or a bad thing. Let’s explore some reasons why someone should not move to New Haven, Connecticut.
1. Yale University
Cities like New Haven that house these large and highly prestigious universities will most likely be based around it which can influence the general culture of the city itself. The school is very diverse in its students and with much diversity flowing comes, perhaps too much, culture.
Culture is fine but some may find it hard to really settle into one particular culture while many more are constantly pouring in, overwhelming the residents with too many options when instead, they like the simplicity. Another note is the status of the school. Since it is a prestigious school, you would think one must maintain professional behavior to represent the school in a positive light. Lastly, though it is Yale University, it still makes New Haven a college town that can be rambunctious for the residents.
2. Professional Outlook
As just mentioned, Yale University is highly prestigious and maintains a status of professionalism. Everywhere you go in the University or even around it, there will be many who will ask you to maintain a professional outlook for the sake of Yale’s image. If you don’t do your best to maintain such, you will most likely be looked at with grim looks and attitudes.
Even students who attend the university will get reprimanded often by those who feel they should represent Yale University better. They may not go far to the extent of kicking them out of school based on this, but instead will probably lose trust and other connections at the university and opportunities in New Haven, if any. There are times to be silly, but most times encourage a more mature and professional image. Yale’s reputation is what seems to matter the most regarding looks and attitudes.
3. No Fun Allowed
According to some, New Haven and perhaps the university itself is not really an enjoyable place to have fun (source). What we mean by this is that there is no fun to be had, rather, the full extension of fun that an average college-age student may be seeking is best found somewhere else rather than in New Haven. For the most part, the population around Yale University is primarily focused on the studying aspect of their college careers, and though you might think that’s obvious, it is higher on the priority list to maintain an excellent performance for each student admitted.
Some fun may be had, but not enough to warrant a stay at New Haven. In other words, if you plan to live in New Haven as a young adult, get to studying, since most other people your age are attending the university.
4. Not for Practicing Lawyers
Though Yale University has some of the best law programs in the country, in fact, is the premier school for law, ironically, New Haven is not the place where you should remain once you receive your degree or equivalent to earn the award for law. The main issue is that connections for practicing lawyers are limited and should find other places around the country for better opportunities.
The only reason one would remain in New Haven would be to attend Yale University to complete a Doctor of Juridical Science (JSD). We may also see the reason for this is that since Yale is there for the students, they are learning and being educated about Law. The professors there are primarily focused on teaching and may not all be current practicing lawyers. Thereby narrowing any true lawyers actively practicing that would be somewhat of a connection.
5. Expensive Cost of Living
For the cost of living in New Haven, Connecticut, and in comparison, to the United States standard index mean of 100, New Haven does fairly well in all categories. The two main categories in this list are both housing and utilities, where housing is 74.4 and utilities is surprisingly at 130. I feel that both balances each other out, meaning the less housing cost contains high utility costs to compensate.
This may be fine for some but not exciting for many others, assuming that if the home is cheap, the utility should be cheap too. Most people I know expect to get what they initially paid for regarding housing. If someone is fine with minimal amenities and other utilities, then it should be as cheap as the housing itself if it was cheap too. Housing and utility differences will perhaps be where your money goes the most.
6. Other Schools Not as Popular
For all other schools in New Haven, Connecticut, and nearby cities such as The University of New Haven and Albertus Magnus College, there is no other school that shadows them all than Yale University. The university has become so known and iconic to the point that all other schools are barely mentioned when one talks about New Haven, Connecticut. Especially that outside of Connecticut itself will usually refer to Yale University than all other schools offered.
Those wanting to receive more recognition for their school will not get it as much as Yale has already gotten. It is impossible to be at the forefront of talk about Connecticut without the mention of Yale. Yale simply dominates the playing field in discussions and is a key attribute to New Haven and Connecticut. Finally, this may not allow other schools nearby to admit as many as they could.
7. Everything You Do Could Be Controversial
This next reason can tie back to the professional outlook that Yale University wants to always maintain. For this, according to many, no matter what we do, it can be subject to controversy and make headlines in local, statewide, national, or even international news. It is weird to see such measures be taken if something that was considered controversial, no matter how minimal it is, to address via news outlets. I suppose it is because it is Yale University.
Anything that happens within a prestigious school such as Yale may strengthen or weaken its reputation. In this case, anything “bad” you do will most likely be publicized by others looking to get a scoop on Yale and its students, whether it is good or not for Yale itself. There is no real safe place from news exaggerating the details if found out.
8. Poor Mental Health Support
As stated before, the cost of living is reasonable with a few exceptions such as housing and utilities. Returning to this, health is ranked at 99.9, just .1 below the US standard cost of living index mean of 100. Though the health area is fair, according to some, it seems that Yale University does not handle mental health well. Finding an appointment can last from a few weeks up to a few months. Finding someone outside of New Haven will be the better option for a quicker and shorter wait time.
Even if you get an appointment and it follows through, professional and medical advice is lacking. The environment that New Haven is in expects hardiness which cannot afford to waste time with “weak-willed” people since it is more on the challenging side in terms of schooling and lifestyle to maintain.
9. You Must Own a Car
According to a friend, New Haven is an area where the essentials are nowhere nearby, and taking public transportation may be your best bet. But even public transportation is lacking in diverse routes and destinations that one can effectively travel to. Having one’s own car is perhaps the best option to solve this issue. Anything that isn’t essential is fair game, however, we need essentials such as food and personal hygiene. Finding a place that is fair in price cannot be found on campus or downtown. Driving some ways in the outskirts of New Haven is primarily what most residents of New Haven do. Just like me in Rexburg, Idaho, the nearest Walmart that has affordable prices are located just 10 minutes of a drive to Sugar City, ID. It’s not a big deal for me but for many the hassle to do this constantly may be an annoyance.
10. Too Much Like New York?
New Haven has their own uniqueness to it but not to the point where it doesn’t look like New York. Surprisingly, New Haven is always compared to looking like New York and most people find that annoying. They are trying to be unique but since it is geographically close to New York, there are comparisons made between it and New York.
Native New Haven residents also seem to not like being called or compared to New Yorkers. The stereotype of New York is something they do not want to be associated with them, though they are close enough to be considered part of them. Overall, if you don’t like being called a New Yorkian though you live in a different, or simply don’t like New York, better just live somewhere else rather than New Haven.
11. Drug and Alcohol Problems
New Haven is fundamentally a ghetto town (we will address this later) and naturally has a drug and alcohol problem. This is applicable to Yale University itself. Since New Haven is a college town, regardless of its prestige, there are instances of students directing themselves toward drinking and drugs.
Considering Yale University is a challenging endeavor to make it through from freshman to senior year and beyond, it is no surprise that those with high-stress levels will find remedies for these issues, and drinking, and drugs are the main route to satisfy their burden. And others are just simply kids and will want to enjoy their time here as much as possible in their own way. Ironically, when we addressed that there is not much fun to be had here, some students will take the fun into their own hands to combat this lack of “fun-ness”.
12. Too Crowded
It’s to no one’s surprise that the closer you are to any university, you will have a high population density. Take Yale University, for example, it is one of the most notable schools in the world and because of this, will attract more opportunities to enroll there, therefore crowding this university like no other. The native New Haven residents are subjugated to the constant influx of students from all around the world. They may not mind the diversity that is flowing in, but the general size of the students is overwhelming, and may be hard to properly go about their business without any hassles such as traffic, parking, and even finding a house to stay in.
13. Suitable Housing is Challenging
Because of the nature of New Haven and the busyness of Yale and other universities, it is a hardship to find proper housing. Housing, in general, is something that all college students will have to face and whether they get into the housing they want or not, they must deal with whatever they finally get. For New Haven and the student population, housing is especially hard. In fact, some places have more roommates than they do rooms.
Apparently, some homes were only built to accompany only a certain number of tenets, but because of the increase in popularity of Yale and other related schools, they may not have any choice but to house more people in tightly cramped homes until they can find a new method of properly housing this many people.
14. Yale’s Stigma
Just like with all prestigious schools, there is an image to be maintained and sometimes that image is good or bad for the individual. For example, if you attend Yale University, people will assume you are incredibly smart and have a bright future, while on the other hand, people will also think you are a spoiled brat who had parents with connections that allowed them to get in.
The stigma that is associated with rich and wealth may be true, but most are false. It is a shame that honest, bright students are ridiculed because of their excellent performance. If you come to New Haven, even as a non-student, people will think you “have” to be smart or “spoiled” to get in. They will immediately associate you with the currently enrolled students and think otherwise, regardless of your own enrollment status.
15. In the Middle of Ghettos
As briefly mentioned before, New Haven is surprisingly ghetto in some areas. So, Yale University and other schools are surrounded by some rough neighborhoods. It is generally safe to travel around and near the university, but going beyond this, outside of the school’s boundary, may have you end up in a neighborhood you don’t want to be in. New Haven, Connecticut is considered a highly crime-ridden area that exceeds the US average by 22 at 51 for violent crimes and 59 for property crimes. Safety should be the priority when exploring anywhere far beyond the university’s boundaries.
16. Lack of Upkeep in Street Cleaning
My same buddy who lived in New Haven, Connecticut, said that no matter the seasonal change, the streets, and sidewalks are barely touched regarding cleaning and general upkeep maintenance. They all look rough and old-timey that haven’t been fixed or even updated in a long while. The appearance of New Haven is ok but nothing special. The only good appearance is the ground of Yale University and other nearby schools. Outside of this, there is nothing to look at except busted streets and sidewalks.
17. Going to School Does Not Guarantee a Job
Finally, to conclude this article, going to Yale University, for example, does not guarantee a job after earning a degree. Just like many other schools, not just the highly prestigious ones, one must continue to work hard after graduation to earn the job one wants. Rarely are the desired job results from a handout.
Though having a school like Yale University associated with your name is an excellent look on your resume, it is not the deciding factor in attaining any job. No one receives special treatment, and if you think that moving to New Haven, and attending this university will get you a job straight out of graduation, you will be sorely disappointed. Having a degree will help but this is not the only factor that will determine your future. Gaining experience outside of New Haven where opportunities are better will be the mainstay of your post-graduation experience.
