I've been to 46 of our great states, and I don't know if the residents of CT know how lovely their small roads and hwys are? Get off the Interstate at almost any exit and within 15 min. you should be driving thru woods and farms, past all manor of homes and over streams, up hills and around bends in the road, it's part of the reason I fell in love with this little State.

I had a friend who moved from California to CT as her husband had a job in New Haven, I told her to rent in Branford or Guilford. They found a place in Branford and liked it so much they wound up buying a place, and what was supposed to be a couple of years turned into a decade. I would give you the same advice, those are still two great towns which will feel more like Wisconsin.

Yep, it has its good points, but this is not where I want to spend the rest of my life. I really like seasons, weather and trees and well LA doesn't have so much of, the only thing I will really miss is good cheep Mexican food.

I couldn't agree more, hope to be leaving L.A. in the near future to relocate to CT.

Very nice long exposure, I love the mood and composition. I have to say there are a ton of beautiful small hwys around the country, but as far as major Hwys go, I think the Merritt is prettiest I have seen, especially in the autumn. Thanks for sharing!

Well in So. Cal. we have brown trees, brown grass, brown air even the ocean is kinda brown. I gotta get the hell out of here.

Yep, I remember visiting Seattle in the early 90's and thinking what a cool town, like everything change comes and some things are better and some are worse. I will say my brother left Seattle and moved to Gig Harbor and I really liked it over there(very different vibe, but its growing quick) so I hope he is happy. Spring and Fall will be similar to Washington although more sun in general. The big difference will be winter and summer, CT winter will be much more sunny but way colder, and snowier. My California wife was afraid of driving in the snow, but they clear the roads pretty quick in most towns, unless its a huge storm(in that case stay home). The summer in the PNW is pretty ideal and sunny, CT will be hot and humid with frequent thunderstorms. For me I find the winter snow and summer thunderstorms beautiful and I love that they force you to slow down and work on mother natures schedule. Good luck.

With your list of interests, I think you will really like the Northeast.

Museums--Check(every small town seems to have some kind of museum)

Art--Check(tons of art gallerias/museums especially if you branch out to NYC/Bos)

Hiking---Check(there is great hiking throughout the Northeast, more hills then mts.)

Photography--Check(I am a photographer and the landscape changes with the seasons and is always interesting, and so many subjects to photograph)

Driving--?(not sure what that means, but for me the back roads and small hwys of New England are some of the most enjoyable and beautiful drives I have ever done)

Food--Check!Check! (between Boston, CT, and NY, you can find anything and a lot of great food, but if you are gonna be a Nutmegger you must go to New Haven and try the 3 big apizza(sallys, pepes, modern) and choose your tribe.)

Drink--Check(CT has a strong micro-brew scene)

Supporting Small Business---Check(CT & NE is small business)

Haunted or spooky places---Hell yeah, Check(there are so many you just got to go explore)

I'm glad you said you had a sense of humor, because my brother and best friend move to Seattle a few yrs ago I have visited often and did not vibe with the people (no offense to you, just in general) they did not seem to have a sense of humor(maybe it's the Seattle freeze?). Having said that Northeasterners have a wicked sense of humor, but they are also reserved and it can take a while to make friends. As long as you are getting out and doing things that interest you, you will eventually make friends, and those friends will bust your balls, but also have your back. Enjoy your adventure and welcome to New England.