Connecticut has a reputation of being a nice place to settle down. It’s not as well-known as a place for starting out.

State and local leaders have been working to retain young talent, in part by promoting economic development and adding new housing in city centers. But what do members of the Gen Z labor force actually want from the places they live?

To find out, The Connecticut Mirror spoke with five recent graduates from both public and private universities in the state about their hopes for life after graduation, and whether Connecticut fits into that vision.

While their paths diverge — some planning to stay, others preparing to leave — they share a common concern: affordability. Whether dreaming of bigger cities, warmer climates, or simply more walkable neighborhoods, each of them is weighing the cost of staying in a state where housing is expensive, public transit is limited, and opportunities can feel unevenly distributed.

Yet their stories also reveal what makes Connecticut worth holding onto — and what might convince them to stick around. Here’s what they had to say.

A community that’s easy to navigate

Ruby Clarke, 23, Wesleyan University ’24, living in Middletown

Ruby Clarke cited three things as most important to her when deciding where to live after college: “friends, affordability and the potential for community.”

Originally from a rural town in California, Clarke came to Connecticut to attend Wesleyan University. She’d only been to campus once, and was unable to visit again due to the pandemic. But she said she fell in love with the idea of going to Wesleyan by watching videos of people hiking the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut. 

“It didn’t occur to me that Connecticut could have nature,” Clarke said. “Now I do a lot of hiking in the state, which I really love.”

Clarke lives in Middletown, near her alma mater. She praised the city’s walkability and its abundance of easily accessible small businesses.

“I keep on being astounded by how Middletown has so many things I want a town to have,” Clarke said. “I love that in Middletown, if I want to, I can just walk to basically all the things I need. In a lot of other towns in Connecticut, you don’t necessarily have it being super walkable from your home unless you’re willing to pay a lot of money in rent.”

Though Clarke’s job pays for her transportation and health care, she said the cost of living in the state is still “heinous,” and she said she thinks lawmakers should institute rent control and increase the minimum wage to mitigate the issue. She said affordability could be pushing many young people out.

“I’m able to navigate the state with so much less of a financial burden,” Clarke said, but “it’s all about having a certain type of job that provides me with a certain amount of financial security that makes being a resident of the state possible.”

Leaving ‘cow town’

Lilah Moley, 22, University of Connecticut ’25, living in Harwinton

Lilah Moley has lived in Connecticut her whole life, but after graduating from the University of Connecticut this spring, she’s heading to Boston to start work as an audit associate at an accounting firm.

“I’m not in love with Connecticut,” she admitted. “There’s not really much to do, or not stuff that I love.”

Moley grew up in Harwinton. She chose an in-state school for the tuition benefits but she said she’s ready for a change both personally and professionally.

“That’s more how my parents feel, that I’m deserting them,” she said. “They’re like ‘You know, everything’s here,’ and I’m like, ‘Not really.’ I don’t feel a reason to stay and I’m excited to go somewhere else.”

Calling herself “someone who comes from cow town,” Moley said her view of Connecticut might have been different if she’d spent more time in places like Stamford or New Haven. While she sees potential in those cities, she’s more excited by the energy and public transit options available in Boston.

“That’s the thing that [Connecticut] is missing,” she said. “In Connecticut I can’t just hop on a bus and get to Hartford. There’s just a lot of ways to get in and out of the city in Boston.”

Though Boston is one of the most expensive places to live in the country, Moley doesn’t see Connecticut as being all hat much more affordable. It’s “way too expensive for what you get,” she said.

“It is like the sandwich. It’s in between two really nice, better options, so it’s like, why would you choose Connecticut?… It’s a state you drive through. It’s not a state you live in.”

Blue state values

Luciel Sanchez, 23, Wesleyan University ’24, living in Hartford

Originally from southern Texas, Luciel Sanchez moved to Connecticut to attend Wesleyan University seeking a fresh start. However, they quickly found that the cold winters and humid summers did not agree with them. Sanchez said they were able to withstand the recent winters through “just sheer force of will, and also I just didn’t go out much.”

Despite the freezing temperatures, Sanchez decided to stick it out in Connecticut for another year after graduating last year, doing freelance theater electrician jobs. Looking to the future, Sanchez is interested in moving to California because of the state’s warmer climate and liberal politics. 

“As of recently, Texas has had some interesting laws coming up that have made me go… ‘Let me go somewhere where I can actually be myself.’” Sanchez said.

Though they wouldn’t want to move back to Texas, Sanchez did appreciate the lower housing costs in the Lone Star State, noting that they could afford a nicer place in Texas for the same price they pay to live in Hartford. Sanchez said the housing market in Connecticut is “brutal” and that navigating it has been “very, very stressful.”

Though Sanchez’s current trajectory is to eventually leave Connecticut, they said they could be convinced to stay if the state “contributed more to public transportation, walkability, the arts, things to do here, cost of living.” 

“It’s hard to live here because everything makes it hard to live here,” they said. “It’s not necessarily that we don’t want to try.”

Connected to nature

Vance Morris, 23, Central CT State University ’25, living in Hamden

After Vance Morris graduates from Central Connecticut State University this spring, he’s considering attending trade school to learn more about the construction field and how to apply his mechanical engineering degree. The two main options he’s looking at — Lincoln Tech and Porter and Chester Institute — both have campuses in Connecticut, so it’s likely he’ll remain in the state if he chooses to go this route. However, Morris’ long-term plan is to eventually leave Connecticut.

“I kind of want to pull some pages from some of my family members who lived in Connecticut all their lives [then] moved down south… Because the difference, when it comes down to cost, is pretty staggering,” Morris said.

Morris’ ideal place to live would be a suburb of Atlanta. He has cousins in the area that have vouched for the vibrant community and beautiful scenery — two factors that are important to Morris when deciding where to live. 

“I really prefer seeing more greenery versus more concrete. It kind of just makes me feel, as corny as it may sound, a little bit more connected to the earth. It kind of brings me a little bit more of a peaceful mind.”

Morris said he enjoyed attending high school in New Haven because of the convenience, walkability, and public transportation available in the city. But now, Connecticut’s taxes and housing costs are pushing him to consider other options.

“It comes down to taxes,” he said. “Connecticut is known for its high tax rates, especially when it comes down to income tax…. So I feel like, if Connecticut can find a way to drive down its prices a little bit —” he paused.

“Will it happen? I feel like most likely not, unfortunately, but I don’t know.” 

Following his dreams

Kevin Baffour, 21, University of Connecticut ’25, living in South Windsor

After Kevin Baffour graduates from UConn this spring, he hopes to get a job in sports journalism, do some modeling and work toward his goal of eventually becoming an actor. 

“You gotta leave your hometown to seek the opportunity,” he said. “At the end of the day, I really just want to make it.”

Baffour grew up in East Hartford, but his family now lives in South Windsor. He said one of his favorite things about Connecticut was growing up in a community surrounded by people with shared backgrounds.

“My parents are from Ghana. I’m a Ghanaian. So I’d probably say like, community, you know, some people — they’re from home. So I know people that are like me.”

Though he could see himself staying in Connecticut short-term after graduation, Baffour hopes to eventually move to New York City because of the opportunities for acting and modeling he could pursue there. He’s also looking forward to the social life in New York City.

He said events in Connecticut tend to be “a little bit small, not too big, not too exciting,” and he wants to be in a place with seasonal events like the Big E, a fair that takes place in Massachusetts.

“I feel like people have to leave Connecticut in order to have some fun,” he said.

Baffour said he would consider staying in Connecticut long-term if he was able to get a job at WWE, headquartered in Stamford, or ESPN, headquartered in Bristol. Ultimately, though, he doesn’t see Connecticut offering the kinds of professional opportunities he’s seeking. 

“You have this, ‘Connecticut is boring,’ this and that, this and that. What makes it boring? What do you want to see? Ask yourself that question.

“What I want to see is probably just more opportunities in different areas…. If there was acting [opportunities] here that could elevate me, I would stay here.”