<p>DocT, I'm afraid I don't quite buy the story of no students from your D's school applying to Yale b.c. it was in New Haven. Perhaps they didn't want to be so close to their parents. I went to an exceptionally competitive high school less than 25 miles from New Haven, and I knew at least 5 ppl who applied to Yale. I also have to ask, which "slums" do you have to drive through to get to downtown? Whether you're coming from Rt. 15, Rt. 34, or 95, I can't see where you hit "slums". Poorer neighborhoods, yes. But out-and-out slums? No.</p>
<p>New Haven has experienced substantial economic growth. My friend's house sold for $150,000 a few years ago; now, his neighbor's will sell for $300,000. I think that once again, the most impt thing to remember is that (sadly) economic growth and rehabilitiaton do not occur uniformly. This drags down the average values for the city; however, it's somewhat deceptive: homes in East Rock cost alot more than they used to, but nobody wants to live in the Hill so prices remain the same.</p>
<p>Finally, I would argue that the area surrounding the Yale Divinity School (between Prospect and Orange, going towards Hamden; St. Ronan's Street, etc.) is really lovely and quite well-to-do. New Haven's a city; it has neighborhoods just like any other, good and bad. For that matter, few towns are nearly as socio-economically homogenous as those you mentioned. (Or those in Ffld Cty in general.)</p>
<p>And, yes, the pizza is amazing here. It can't hold a candle to anything in Cambridge, or Boston for that matter. (I've lived there as well.)</p>