Soon enough there came cell phones (and with them text
halfway between Hartford and New Haven. The closest I came
messaging), DVDs by mail, fast fashion stores, et cetera.
to Stars Hollow was living down the street from the private
Connection wasn’t exactly a buzzword in those days, and so
prep school that inspired Rory Gilmore’s Chilton Academy.
the idea of "small town" community was left behind. In one town I moved to, I didn’t even know my neighbors’ names.
Eventually I saw my lack of small-town community reflected
When I moved to New England, I figured my hopes for
businesses like family-owned restaurants and tiny shops
community may have an opportunity to be rekindled.
tucked into unsuspecting storefronts abounded. Rather than
Connecticut was, in fact, the home of my longed-for Stars
shopping and dining locally, however, I was locked in my
Hollow, a beautiful hamlet with a quirky but well-meaning
commercialized mindset, blind to a local deli when a Panera
cast of characters around every corner. Never mind the
was on hand.
particularly handsome and brooding diner-owner in the
in my lifestyle choices rather than my surroundings. Local
center of town.
Ironically, I didn’t connect with my community by just
As dreamy as it was, Stars Hollow had one big drawback: the
over chain stores: instead, I took my curiosity to social
town didn't actually exist. Instead of the charming village
media. I read reviews by other locals, followed neighborhood
tucked into Connecticut’s Litchfield County, this fictional
businesses on Instagram, and kept an eye on Facebook events
place was constructed in a California studio to look like a New
going on around me. After much research, I decided to start
England town. Ah, the "magic" of Hollywood.
having some fun.
For the first few years of my "new" life, I continued on with
One of my first stops was a local eatery for lunch over a
my cookie-cutter, Midwest, suburbia lifestyle in a town just
drive-thru or a plate of leftovers at home. I was greeted by
T h e PE R PE T UAL YOU
changing my habits and walking into local establishments