Well since our fine city officials have been unable to properly budget and plan for capital expenditures, the town is going further into debt. See article from the Advocate here. One of the reasons a town like Greenwich can keep its taxes so low, half those of Stamford, is that they operate on a “pay as you go” basis and carry virtually no debt.

What exactly is so important that the city needs money today versus budgeting and saving to fix later? Improvements to the Police Department HQ? Give me a break.

How much do people pay to get their driveway plowed around here? I think I am getting ripped off…$80 each time they come plow. Yesterday they had to come twice!

I do have a long, steep driveway, but it still seems excessive for about 5 minutes of work.

It was nice to see this article today from the Advocate. Some developers have plans to build a hotel on Harbor Point. Finnaly there appears to be some progress in developing Stamford’s coastline. I found this one quote particularity interesting:

Customer demand for waterfront hotels is high because Connecticut has fewer than 10 such properties,” said Susan Henrique, vice president of sales and marketing for the Norwalk-based Coastal Fairfield Convention & Visitor Bureau.

How is it that the state has only 10 waterfront hotels?? New Jersey must have at least 100 (albeit a lot of crummy ones). I wonder what has kept developers from building properties on the Long Island Sound before…

It appears the developers have plans to make this more than just hotel, but literly transform the area to a dining and shopping destination.

“Our dreams of redeveloping Harbor Point into a destination for living, dining, working and shopping are starting to come alive,” said James Cabrera, co-founder and managing partner of Antares Investment Partners, which has offices in Stamford and Greenwich.

OK, maybe I am not thinking about this identity problem in the right way. Maybe the problem is not so much that Stamford has an identity problem, but rather it has not yet met my expectations? I agree with many of the readers of this blog that living in a large city means living in a diverse (and I don’t just mean racial diverse) community with many different things to offer. I am probably being too ignorant to think that a large city can cater to my every needs. Yet, I moved to Stamford because I wanted to enjoy a nice suburban area that also offered the cultural, dining, and entertainment needs I looked to fulfill. I really did have high expectations for the city when I moved here…so far they just have not all been met.

• I expected MORE dining options that did not mean deciding between a cheap pizza parlor and a way overpriced restaurant like g/r/a/n/d. There are a lot of restaurants in this city, but 9 times out of 10 I feel like most options only offer mediocre food with mediocre service.
• I expected people to be nicer. This is more of a NYC area thing, but I find people in general around here to be very cold and unfriendly until you really get to know them.
• I expected there to be more dining/entertainment options around the water. With miles of beautiful coastline, there is barely anything to do near the water. Plus, Stamford’s beaches are kinda lame. I prefer other area beaches which offer way more in terms of walking/rollerblading trails and boat rentals etc. It is strange to live so close to the ocean yet feel I have to go out of my way to enjoy it.
• I expected better downtown shopping. I am glad to see they are making improvements to the mall, but I really feel that Stamford misses a nice concentrated downtown shopping area with fun, artsy, hip stores (maybe similar to a SoNo?). This may be my biggest complaint about Stamford, that the downtown area lacks much character or definition…like one main street with all the shopping and dinning.
• I expected more MTA parking options. I think its like a 8 month wait right now to get a parking spot at the Stamford train station. Makes me think the city seriously underestimated the number of people using Metro North.
• I expected to feel safer walking around the city. I realize Stamford has very low crime rates compared to other cities its size, but for whatever reason I never feel really safe walking around. In many ways I feel safer walking around Manhattan. Maybe its just that a lot of streets are deserted around here once it gets dark?
• I expected there to be more involvement in the local churches. The several different services I have attended only seem to be attended by people over 65 (no offense to those senior residents of Stamford)
• I did not expect everything to be so spread out. When its time to run errands I feel like it takes me 20 mins just to get from one place to the next. For being a big city, Stamford lacks some of the big chain department stores like Home Depot, Costco, Petco, etc.

A couple of things I DO like about Stamford:

• Some of the most beautiful real estate in the country
• Taxes are much lower than Westchester
• Stamford offers better real estate value than neighboring towns. A 2500sq ft home in Stamford may run $750-900k while a similar home in Darien might be $1.3 million
• Stamford Train station. While I hate the parking situtaion, Stamford has a ton of express trains into Grand Central
• Potential. Stamford has a lot of potential to grow to become a more desirable city. I think this untapped potential makes it a good real estate investment
• Traffic on the Merritt and 95 does not seem as bad as it is further up North
• Stamford Hospital…I have received great care there

I realize this blog has been very negative, but I do use it to mostly vent my frustrations. On the positive side, a lot of your comments help make me realize things are maybe not as bad as they seem. So flame away but I actually find it somewhat therapeutic.

UPDATE: The Fairfield Weekly ran an editorial about Mr. Stamford and this topic.

Thank you Stamford for reconstructing exit 34 of the Merritt Parkway. This exit use to be a death trap to some drivers exiting Northbound. Now they have replaced it with a long ramp which does not require a 70mph to 15mph de-acceleration in 100 feet. The city has also updated the stop lights and traffic patterns around this exit on Long Ridge. These changes have gone a long way to improve traffic flow in the area.

Anyway, since basically every post on this blog has been negative thus far, I though I would share something that Stamford has actually gotten right!

What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions Hartford? Capital? New Haven = Yale. Norwalk = SoNo. Greenwich = Money. Westport = Martha Stewart. Now what about Stamford?? I draw a blank…What defines this city?

Why do I draw a blank? Well I think Stamford has an identity problem. Compared to other towns/cities in the area, I believe Stamford’s residential and commercial real estate markets are not in sync. Greenwich has sky high real estate values and high end commercial properties to match it. Larger cities like New Haven have a fairly depressed commercial market, yet its residential market is in the same boat. Stamford, on the other hand, has this weird mix of expensive real estate and a commercial market that has not caught up. Some of Stamford’s nicest restaurants are next door to check cashing stores. You have some of the nicest houses in Fairfield County sharing the same zip code as run down warehouses near the water. Then you have huge boring fortune 500 companies that call Stamford home but offer nothing in return to the city except traffic (and perhaps misused tax revenue). This sort of leads Stamford to an identity crises. When you have a city trying to cater to the blue collar workers, upper class, and large businesses, it makes it difficult to totally gratify any one group. The end result is blah.

While it will take some time, I think eventually Stamford will become a very high class cosmopolitan city. Real estate prices will continue to climb, the commercial real estate market will catch up, and the city will be forced to develop for this growing segment of the population. Of course for many people this is not all positive. Many residents may flee the city to seek more affordable housing.

What can Stamford do to solve this problem? Is it a problem? I don’t know for sure, but for now I am just venting my frustrations with a city that has not met my expectations. Maybe it all just means that Stamford and I do not make a good fit.

Where do people park at this movie theater? Yesterday I went to go see No Country for Old Men (pretty good movie) and I had to pay $5 just to park underneath the theater. I guess it is easier to park at the mall and walk over? You really cannot go anywhere in Stamford without paying for parking.

I think this is why I keep going to New Canaan  or Bedford to watch movies, free street parking. Although, Stamford always has a bigger selection of movies.

Greenwich = wealth, class, History, Greenwich ave, beautiful beach
New Canaan = good restaurants, close knit community, good schools
Norwalk = Nightlife, SoNo, Maritime Aquarium

Stamford = corporate parks, crime, higher taxes than surrounding community

Yawn………..

I just got back from having some brake service done on my car at Midas at 41 Main St in Stamford. Man, that area of Stamford is a dump! Homeless people wandering the streets, a crazy man blocking traffic…all just a few blocks from downtown Stamford. No wonder Stamford needs 5000 police officers. Half of this town appears to be a crime infested waste land.

Where can I take my car to be serviced without feeling like I need to pack some heat? This was just one of those days where I questioned why I live in this city. I like the quiet North Stamford area I live in, but step two feet out of that boundary and I might as well be in a different world.