I don't normally go to Starbucks, for a variety of reasons (too expensive, too weird, etc.). I wound up at a Starbucks today for an informal business meeting. I had assumed that I would be able to go online with my laptop, because Starbucks makes a big fuss about being a wifi hotspot. It turns out that you have to set up an account with T-Mobile (or another similar company) to be able to use the wifi at Starbucks.
At the places I consider to be "real" coffee shops (locally owned, not massive corporations), the wifi is free for customers. All you have to do is ask for that day's password. And you don't have to order a tall mochafrappacchino when all you really want is a small coffee.
Brass City Buzz and the John Bale Bookstore have great coffee, great food, a great atmosphere and you can use the wifi without registering with yet another faceless corporation. Maybe some of the customers at Starbucks will figure out that there's a better choice.
3 comments:
Hello,
I enjoyed your blog, interesting writing and nice photos. We are new to CT, living in Stratford. We're renting a beach house until the summer. Some of husband's co-workers are urging us to move to the Naugatuck area. We found a house online in Waterbury, it looks great in photos. The area is Robinwood. The co-workers are advising us to beware of Waterbury, that it is a high crime area. The online statistics back this up. All types of crime are higher in Waterbury than the national average. I am surprised by this, it looked so quiet up there when we visited Naugatuck for the first time last weekend. Of course, it is winter. I think a local realtor might downplay high crime and I wanted to ask you about Waterbury, is it a safe place? It sounds nice in your blog, I enjoy opera, too. I don't know anyone to ask locally about Waterbury and I thought maybe an online blogger would know what's up.
Best regards,
SJM
Stratford, CT
pjblogger@yahoo.com
I wanted to add that I found your blog through a Google search for Waterbury, CT, looking for info on the area. Thanks.
SJM
I find it difficult to believe that there are more crimes in Waterbury than in Bridgeport or Hartford. Make that impossible to believe.... National statistics can be misleading -- they are comparing cities with small towns and quiet suburbs. Waterbury is a city of 100,000 people -- of course there are crimes. But I have lived and worked in Waterbury for years without any problems. Mostly Waterbury has a bad reputation that it no longer deserves. The worst thing about Waterbury these days is the mill rate -- 53 and climbing!
The Robinwood neighborhood is very nice, and as far as I know, it's one of the safer neighborhoods (whereas certain other neighborhoods are not so safe). Bunker Hill, next to Robinwood, is also a pretty quiet neighborhood. Very suburban. The surrounding towns, like Naugatuck, also have a mixture of neighborhood types. I lived on Hillside Avenue in Naugatuck for a couple of years when I was a kid, and I loved it. I walked to school with the other girls on my block, and it seemed like there were always plenty of things to do.
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