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We have Yale, but Boston, unlike almost any other city, has a cluster of superb, nationally recognized universities in a distance smaller than the city of New Haven. Being a significant city, it also retains a large quantity of that educated, young workforce.
We can't compete with that cluster of great universities to attract from, which is why I fault no government official over losing Lego.
Not sure why Boston is put on a pedestal here besides the concentration of universities. It's nightlife is mediocre and for a place with such a hub of education, it really lacks in creativity and the ability to think beyond its own borders (surprisingly a bit of a provincial place - I find New Haven and Providence more worldly in their own ways at times).
I suggest CT takes a look at many examples (including but definitely not limited to Boston) to study how we can improve innovation in this state and then execute on that well. The good news is that the quality of life in CT is already at a high bar yet we must innovate as well.
Wesleyan can stand with BC or BU, but not SHU, Fairfield U or the rest named. They are nice local universities, though.
We have nothing to compete with MIT when it comes to their amazing ability to help foster innovation. That's not Yale's niche.
I find LEGO and MIT brilliant to have partnered together. A simple building block company gets to this stage! Amazing.
Fairfield University is ranked No. 115 nationally out of 440 universities so it’s in the top third. Sacred Heart is No. 219 and University of Hartford is No. 234 out of 440 universities, so they are middle of the pact. That’s not bad either. Jay
Fairfield University is ranked No. 115 nationally out of 440 universities so it’s in the top third. Sacred Heart is No. 219 and University of Hartford is No. 234 out of 440 universities, so they are middle of the pact. That’s not bad either. Jay
They are all nice local universities, but when your 3rd, 4th and 5th bananas in a modest square mile city like Boston are Tufts, BU and BC, all in the top 10%, with MIT and Harvard, your jewels 2nd, 3rd, per USA rankings, as we both said here, you have the nation's best cluster of universities, and maybe the worlds. We cannot counter that, and Lego will not be the last corp to exit a region in favor of attracting the talent of Boston college grad cluster. The best corps try to exceed middle of the pack. They want top talent, and Boston offers it, amongst young grads, in an unparalled way.
There is nothing wrong with nice local universities, but every state has some. They are not a game changer.
Boston has 5 in that ranking's top 10%. Amazing!!!
MIT's relationships with corps is often a game changer, and corps are paying extra attention to attracting young talent.
I am very glad Lego is giving the affected staff such a lengthy period to transition. That is a gift most are not given at corps today.
Last edited by BobNJ1960; 01-27-2023 at 04:39 AM..
I'm always perplexed by that take. It's not like any of those universities are new. Why was Connecticut as a whole and even Hartford such a better place in say, 1985?
Boston is the same Boston it has always been. Yet things are different today. Why?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BHW2436
The internet.
“Back in the day” it was harder to get information, move far distances, etc etc etc. The internet brought about access to more information. People can find jobs easier, research places easier and the world is different than in 1985
IMHO, the difference between the two cities is the emphasis on multiple industries and moving to the new. Hartford was happy being the insurance capital of the world from the 50's on and that was it. Boston at that time was a bit like New Haven focused on industrial manufacturing. As that went away, the city and region moved on to high tech in the 80's and 90's, added internet in the 00's, and now biotech.
Much of that was a result of the universities in the area as they realized that they could foster innovation and new technologies. So many of the startups in the region have some connection to the universities including direct investment. Some schools have departments whose sole purpose is to seek investment from corporations to partner with their research. The best students want to be here to get a piece of that.
Part of what’s funny about this is I’ve seen all the posts about CT in the past 10 years on this forum. Some of you don’t realize what impact you are having on casual readers or posters when they ask about CT and where to live. I’ve never seen anything positive about Enfield, and not much positive about anything north of Hartford.
Hartford is dead, Windsor and Enfield are “bad schools, meh”, Suffield is nice but small and airplane noise, etc.
Everyone RAVES about West Hartford and Glastonbury. Rightfully so, wonderful towns. HOWEVER, imagine I’m thinking about taking a LEGO job in Enfield CT and I want entertainment, culture, activities to do AND I have to relocate to the area for it. I’ve honestly not seen much from this forum that would promote much close to Enfield as desirable and attractive. So the best someone can do is live in West Hartford or Glastonbury, drive 30+ mins to work via car only and then on their lunch break get Panera Bread? The greatest positive is cost of living is low.
FFC gets all the love here, and New Heaven. WeHa and Glastonbury, Avon, Simsbury are wonderful towns. Now where’s the place someone without 2 kids and a golden retriever want to be and why the compelling reason to move here with no family, to work in Enfield? It just wasn’t there.
Not trying to stir debate or get off topic, it’s all related to LEGO leaving Enfield. Again, this comes from someone that has read thousands of posts from you all. Google Enfield city data forum. Read the posts. Not flattering. You don’t think that’s one of the first things someone does when considering a job when they think to themselves “where and what is Enfield CT”.
You are so correct. It's funny because I grew up in one of those "bad school" towns and they were known for good schools then. Maybe things have changed, but I was surprised to read that here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikefromCT
There's much more to Connecticut than Fairfield County.
That is very true but BHW is right. And a high concentration of posters live/work in FFC so this forum is really skewed that way. You see it when talking about pizza, diners, anything. And if it's not FFC, it's New Haven or West Hartford. If you want charm you get Essex.
All that said I'm not that surprised about Lego. Weren't they outsourcing some departments a few years ago?
Big cities like Boston (let alone NY) have the social ecosystem. Young professional congregate into big cities to develop their careers, network, find their love, have some fun etc. Hartford, let alone suburbia is not the habitat for this species.
So if a corp wants to grow its young talent it has to look be in these ecosystems. I guess that's Lego.
If a corp, ahem GE, wants to cater to its middle and upper management then it needs to be in the suburbia.
Not sure why Boston is put on a pedestal here besides the concentration of universities. It's nightlife is mediocre and for a place with such a hub of education, it really lacks in creativity and the ability to think beyond its own borders (surprisingly a bit of a provincial place - I find New Haven and Providence more worldly in their own ways at times).
I suggest CT takes a look at many examples (including but definitely not limited to Boston) to study how we can improve innovation in this state and then execute on that well. The good news is that the quality of life in CT is already at a high bar yet we must innovate as well.
The nightlife is improving and still wayyy way deeper than anywhere else in New England. On any given night I can go to a dozen+ nightclubs or lounges (a small snippet of that). Even if that not a lot it's a lot more than elsewhere. You want to attract young people- Boston is excellent at that. Its the cost that drives them away eventually as they settle down for families. Boston has a very deep social network for young people and tons of entrepreneurs, yuppies, artists, etc. It's not all roses and sunshine in Boston- by any means- but it's got much to admire.
What are you talking about lack of creativity? Boston one of the most innovative cities in the US if not the world. In no way shape or form is New Haven or Providence more worldly. I don't even know how you could justify that statement. It's not close. Boston not looking beyond its borders is... I'm not even sure. Boston started the coalition of US Mayors against Gun Violence, and usually has a seat on all those national mayoral things. Its current mayor is from Chicago. The city is somewhat insular in a way (sports, social ties, quirky laws, colloquialism) but in its academia, demography, and political aspirations it's worldly and that's generally a lot more important. The World Cup, the Earthshot Prizes, the Embrace Ideas Festival
Boston is on a pedestal because for everywhere not close to NYC it is the economic engine for New England and a top 30 Global city by any ranking. Its also where LEGO went. It is one of the top 8 cities in the US in terms of GDP and top 3 for GDP per capita, a looking to it for collaboration or as a model in some way is just common sense. Even without college students it's still got more people than NH, Hartford, Bport combined... as a result the opportunities it offers cannot be had in Providence - I know that for a fact. Or New Haven.
Not to mention its safer and wealthier across demographics than most Southern NE cities.
If awarded, the funding would come from the Federal Railroad Administration's Fiscal Year 2022 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant program. While none of the construction would occur on Connecticut soil, the eventual east-west connection in Massachusetts would bridge the Hartford and New Haven stations to Boston.
"The fact that you can't take a convenient commuter rail from Connecticut's capital city to Boston is an indictment of the state of regional rail," Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said. "It's long past time that the critical link between Springfield and Worcester gets completed."
Connecticut riders could access the new connection by taking the Hartford line north to Springfield. Hartford riders who now try to reach Boston take a commercial bus or car, Bronin said.
"We often talk about Hartford's locations, you know, sitting between New York City and Boston as a major strategic asset," Bronin said. "But our ability to capitalize on that location is limited without better public transit connections."
Renato Muguerza, a Hartford resident, has become accustomed to driving when he wants to visit Boston. However, he said he'd much rather take a train.
"I pay the tolls and sit in traffic and deal with complications of driving around such a big city," Muguerza said.
He welcomed the news that Massachusetts was making moves to connect the cities.
"I find it just it doesn't make sense for us not to have a line straight through to get back," Muguerza said. "So it kind of was a little bit of a relief and a little bit of finally arriving at a point of common sense."
Jim Gildea, chair of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council, said in the past much of the transportation planning in Connecticut has focused on getting people to New York City.
He's hoping this grant will begin to change that approach in favor of a more regional perspective.
"I think whenever you see opportunities to move people to Hartford, move people to Springfield, move people to Massachusetts and also in the other parts of the state, moving people on the Shoreline East, you know, from New London, to Westerly, (R.I.) from Mystic to Westerly. I think we really have to start to look at rail transportation much bigger."
Gildea also highlighted the potential positive environmental impacts of reducing the number of cars on the road.
"It certainly would be an exciting opportunity to move people. It's certainly an exciting opportunity in the area of economic development, tourism," Gildea said. "So I'm cautiously optimistic."
This is the synergy needed. With more regional infra-connections and the possibility for connecting suburban Hartford with Suburban Worcester and Springfield and Boston you're minimizing the gulf and divide between the region's employment sheds and ultimately will create more expansive knit social networks in the region. Now we're now only lacking a Hartford-Providence connection.
Last edited by BostonBornMassMade; 01-27-2023 at 09:03 AM..
Wesleyan can stand with BC or BU, but not SHU, Fairfield U or the rest named. They are nice local universities, though.
We have nothing to compete with MIT when it comes to their amazing ability to help foster innovation. That's not Yale's niche.
I find LEGO and MIT brilliant to have partnered together. A simple building block company gets to this stage! Amazing.
The gems are Wesleyan, Trinity, Conn College, UConn, Yale
The rest are as you said, good local universities.
CCSU WCSU SCSU ECSU UNH and UofB even more so- very very regional.
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