New to New England

Hello all!  This is my first ever blog post so......it could be bad.

Anyway, my name is Tara.  My husband is Rich (that's his name also) and we recently moved out to Wilton, CT from Pleasant Grove, UT, with our dog, Bilbo.  Neither of us have EVER lived out east so it's really an eye-opening experience in a way.  It's pretty cool to be so close to NYC - though we haven't been yet.  Here is a list of things that are way different here.

1. Architecture - the houses/buildings here look like doll houses.  I don't know if the buildings are actually old/colonial buildings or if they are just made to look like that way or what - either way they are beautiful. I've told a lot of my family that I feel like I'm living in the set of a movie - it doesn't seem like a real life place, where people actually have their LIVES.

2. Trees - there are woods EVERYWHERE!!  I'm not complaining about this at all, don't get me wrong - it feels like I'm in the mountains but....I'm not.  There's a Walmart 10 minutes away from where I live (again, not complaining)!  Rich and I were walking Bilbo recently and he made the comment that, it feels like we're in the woods...but the air isn't quite as crisp and cold as it is when you are actually in the mountains (like in UT).  I agreed with him and sniffed their air to confirm.  It's true!  Almost deceiving!  I am just so excited to see what this place looks like in the Spring/Summer/FALL!!  All the trees are leafless and bare right now (except for the pines), so I'm really looking forward when they start budding out.

3. Alcohol - Living in UT, where there's Mormons (like ourselves) everywhere...there's not as much alcohol. Here, there's the "Wilton Wine Shop" and the "Little Pub" and many many more!  This, is more of a shock to me because I've never lived outside of UT, Rich however has lived in Argentina and Puerto Rico for 4 years of his life - so it's more news to me than to him.  He did mention that his coworkers love to drink and frequently do "happy hour"!  I wonder what people will think when they realize that we don't drink at all!

4. Humidity and EXTREME temperatures - UT is a desert.  It's dry.  Here, we're only about 30 minutes from the beach and so the air is much more humid.  Because it's winter - I haven't noticed much of a difference, but when we first moved in the temperatures were EXTREMELY COLD!!!!!  Rich's mother told us we were moving into a "POLAR VORTEX" - and that's basically what it felt like!!  I felt like I'd freeze to death if I were outside more than 5 minutes - no joke!!

5. Pizza Restaurants - It's pretty unbelievable how many pizza places there are.  There are like 5 pizza restaurants within walking distance from where we live.  And I swear we see a new place everywhere we go (within Wilton).  We've lived here a week (almost) and we've already tried 2 of them.  Pinocchio's Pizza and Wilton Pizza - where you can get the best pizza in town or your money back!  It was quite good pizza - so we didn't ask for our money back haha.

6. No Sidewalks - How am I supposed to walk the dog around here?  There's a few sidewalks here and there in random places, but they end suddenly, or lead to nowhere.  As Rich has been at work the past few days (the reason why we moved to Wilton in the first place - he got a job at Nielsen - yay for supporting the hubz), I've been in charge of the dog.  As I'm out walking him I have to walk along the grass or the narrow road and people look at me like "She must be new to town...doesn't she know we don't have sidewalks?"  Of course I know that - but the dog needs to get his exercise!  I don't really understand why any town wouldn't have sidewalks....anyone want to answer that question for me?

7. Cost of living is HIGH -  Ok, we're paying what most people out in UT pay for a MORTGAGE!  And we have a dinky little 1 bed 1 bath apartment!  And I've been told by a few realtors in the area that what we pay is a GREAT deal and is low for New England.  Groceries are about the same as they are in UT, as well as restaurants.  Movies are a bit more, but not too bad.  It's been crazy how much we've eaten out the past two weeks (with the move and getting settled and such).  I definitely feel it taking a toll!  And I think I'm done with pizza for a while.....

8. EVERYTHING CLOSES EARLY!  I'm learning to love our new home town of Wilton but I don't love that most of the shops close between 5 and 7 pm!  It seems like as soon as the sun goes down, the city goes to sleep!  5 is when Rich gets off work and we want to go walk around together, but when we do - everything is already closed, it seems like.  In UT stores stay open til about 8 - 10.

9. Everything is close!  Local stores are close for us (I can literally walk to the local Stop and Shop), and so are major cities - like NYC and Boston!  So far, it's been pretty convenient.

I couldn't think of a 10th thing, so if anyone reading this has OCD, my apologies.  Overall - we like Wilton.  It's definitely a change - and we're working on making friends!  I start nanny and tutoring next week so hopefully I won't be quite as bored!  Rich is liking his new job - although it's mostly just been training - which can also be boring.

Prayers are still appreciated and welcomed.  We also welcome anyone willing to come out and visit!

Sincerely,
The Wilton Wilkins