Alban Murtishi, a 19-year-old fifth-semester UConn economics major from Danbury, Conn., said that while there are many things he likes about Connecticut, he will go where the jobs and opportunities take him after graduation.
That willingness to migrate runs counter to some of the initiatives that have been undertaken to keep students in Connecticut. The university’s reputation in the state largely judged on how readily it can improve Connecticut’s economy, making retaining UConn graduates an important task for both the university and the state.
It also works against efforts in cities like Hartford to attract young professionals, and make the city a more interesting destination for college graduates.
That lack of a magnetic “urban environment” in Connecticut and what needs to be done to fix the problem has been a talking point between Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Tom Foley over the course of the gubernatorial race, and it is one of a few factors contributing to Murtishi’s openness to exploring other opportunities in larger cities.
To Stay or Not to Stay?
Living in an interesting, diverse city is always a bonus. But students also have to consider Connecticut’s economic reputation.
Connecticut’s unemployment rate currently stands at 6.6 percent, half a percent above the national average of 6.1 percent. In major cities like Hartford, however, the rate is even worse, hovering around 7 percent. Despite those statistics, Murtishi said he feels confident that an economics degree will lead him to a job, in Connecticut or elsewhere.
He added that, while Connecticut is certainly a wealthy state, that does not necessarily make it a destination for a graduate with an economics degree.
Connecticut Still Choice No. 1
Murtishi, like many other college students, said he is willing to leave Connecticut if out-of-state employment opportunities are available. However, if offered a job in Connecticut, he would give that opportunity more weight than he would a job in another state.
Hartford: The Insurance Capital of the World
While Connecticut isn’t known as a global financial center, its capital, Hartford, is a major hub of the insurance industry. It was also ranked No. 140 on Forbes’ “Best Places for Business and Careers” list.
The laundry list of major insurance companies that call Hartford home – which includes Aetna and The Hartford, both ranked in the Fortune 500 – make it an intriguing destination for a UConn economics graduate, Murtishi said.
The Journey and the Destination
While Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states in the country – it ranked No. 1 with an average per capita income of $58,908 in 2013 – Murtishi said he sees it as a future destination, not a place he’d necessarily like to start out as a college graduate. The costs of living in Connecticut are influencing whether or not he’ll stay in the state, he said.
The cost of living in Hartford, for example, is 10.5 percent above the national average, while Fairfield County is nearly 37 percent above the national average. Several Connecticut zip codes, including New Canaan and Greenwich, are among America’s wealthiest.
The average gas price in Connecticut is about 30 cents above the national average, and ranks fifth highest nationally. For every $1,000, Connecticut collects $103.56 in taxes, a rate that ranks 27th nationally.
Mark McNulty, communications director for the Tom Foley gubernatorial campaign, said Foley will work to make Connecticut more affordable.
“It’s a two-pronged approach of making Connecticut more business friendly and also bringing down the cost of living in Connecticut so that people can keep more of the money that they make,” McNulty said.
Despite the high cost of living in many parts of Connecticut, Murtishi said he will always have a special to connection to his home state, and that it is an excellent place to potentially raise a family.
If he does well enough in his career, he said, he will work his way back to Connecticut eventually.