‘Gilmore Girls’: 4 Things the Series Gets Wrong About Connecticut
Gilmore Girls has quite the following. With Fall slowly approaching, many of these fans will probably be bingeing the show yet another time. Gilmore Girls ended 15 years ago, but there are new fans every year.
Connecticut is the iconic home of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, and their stories create an idealistic view of the state. Interestingly, there are a few things that the show gets wrong about Connecticut.
Richard and Emily Gilmore wouldn’t live in Hartford
The grandparents of Rory, Richard and Emily Gilmore, live in Hartford in Gilmore Girls. Their life is portrayed as old-money lavish, full of shopping, palatial homes, and social responsibilities.
The truth is that Richard and Emily would more likely live in West Hartford or one of the other wealthy communities in Fairfield County, in towns like Greenwich, New Canaan, or Darien. There are indeed some big homes in Hartford, but it is definitely not what is seen in the show.
It also isn’t far-fetched the Gilmores would have settled on the Connecticut coastline in wealthy towns like Madison or Mystic.
John R. Lepore, a real estate agent for Berkshire Hathaway in West Hartford, described the city to the New York Times as, “West Hartford is nicely positioned because it’s close to highways … It’s an inclusive community, and it’s cosmopolitan in feeling. People moving in from major markets like it because of its energy and town center and reputation as a dining destination.”
‘Gilmore Girls’ forgets Connecticut has a coastline
Gilmore Girls does a good job of making Connecticut feel like a really small state. The characters seem to only bounce around a few towns. There’s Stars Hollow, Hartford, and New Haven as the main ones. Sometimes another town earns a mention, but it definitely doesn’t go much beyond a small mention.
The truth is that Connecticut is a much bigger state with far more notable towns, especially along the coastline. Throughout the series, the Gilmores mention going to Maine for lobster, despite there being many famous seafood restaurants along the Connecticut coast.
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life had multiple opportunities to incorporate the Connecticut coastline. Instead of Rory and Lorelai sunning at the community pool, they could have explored one of Connecticut’s many beaches. In the revival, Emily even purchases a beachside home outside of the state, despite the Connecticut coastline having plenty of wealthy neighborhoods she could have settled.
New Haven is not a dump
When Rory starts voicing her interest in going to Yale in New Haven, Lorelai doesn’t hesitate to share her own opinions. She equates New Haven to a coffee pot before it is cleaned.
While there are some definite differences between the Yale campus and the City of New Haven, there is beauty to be found throughout the city’s neighborhoods. It is far from being a dump, nor is it a coffee pot before it is cleaned.
New Haven has plenty of fine dining and local eateries within walking distance from Yale’s campus. Students can also enjoy the changing of the seasons by walking across campus to East Point, where they can enjoy the park and can climb up the mountain.
Neighbors can be friendly but also more reserved
The people of Stars Hollow are shown to have no secrets from their neighbors. Everyone is a part of everyone’s lives and very neighborly with each other. Everyone is kind and listens intently to whatever the daily gossip has to offer.
While there are truly lovely people in the Northeast, some are far more reserved than the citizens of Stars Hollow. New England is known for its idyllic towns, and while people are friendly, it’s rare for communities to have a Stars Hollow-esque rapport.
