I see what Puppage means. It’s a little different when you describe a CT town to others, and even to those entrenched in that town.
A friend of mine (RIP Last week, actually) lived at the base of that hill in Cheshire/Southington where the castle is. That neighborhood is awesome. Go to the end of the street and the whole picture changes. It turns into a nice neighborhood in the Bronx.
As a lower income person from BPT I learned that the further things were from BPT the more expensive. I could afford, at best, to get to Ansonia. I couldn’t even afford Wallingford.
But I helped a friend of mine who broke down on the highway enroute to MA. He lived in Lowell.
The gas station we met at Wallingford was a warzone ! There was a guy who appeared to be employed there, but the cashier wouldn’t allow him behind the glass. The crowd that formed there was described as “typical” and had nothing but Obama’s sons hanging out in the parking lot, tons of sport bikes escalades and pitbulls causing a general ruckus.
My friend from LOWELL said “This place is bad, man”
Lowell is one of the worst towns in the US.