If you know anything about Hartford, you've probably seen the nickname 'Insurance Capital of the World.'

Connecticut is a region where the insurance industry is particularly concentrated in the U.S., with numerous insurance companies, related businesses, and professionals gathered here.

A representative company is The Hartford. Founded in 1810, it has been selling insurance since the early days of America as a young nation.

Travelers is another company that started its history in this area, famous for its red umbrella logo. Aetna is also significant. It began in Hartford in 1853 and grew to represent health insurance in the U.S., and although it is now part of CVS Health, its historical ties to Hartford remain strong.

The Cigna group also has deep connections to Connecticut. So, it's no coincidence that you see many buildings named after insurance companies while driving around Hartford. In this neighborhood, it's not unusual to hear stories of families where grandfathers and fathers worked for insurance companies.

However, Hartford is not a city that survives solely on insurance.

If you broaden the scope to Greater Hartford, there is another significant sector: aerospace and defense.

Right next door in East Hartford is Pratt & Whitney, an aircraft engine company that develops and produces various aircraft engines.

If you expand the scope to all of Connecticut, you'll also find Sikorsky. You've heard of the Black Hawk helicopter, right?

That company was founded in Connecticut. This small state is not just about making insurance policies; it also manufactures aircraft engines and military helicopters.

And when you enter downtown Hartford, the economic structure changes a bit. Hospitals, medical institutions, social services, state and local governments, and schools make up a significant portion of employment. There are large medical institutions like Hartford Hospital and Saint Francis, and being the state capital, there are many government-related jobs.

This is the interesting aspect of Hartford's economy. On the surface, it appears to be a quiet city with many old buildings, but looking deeper, you find insurance, finance, healthcare, and government, and when you include surrounding cities, it connects to aerospace and advanced manufacturing.

For immigrants like us, this industrial structure is quite important. A region with a diverse employment base is generally more stable than one where the entire city collapses if one industry falters.

Even if you don't work directly for an insurance company, related jobs in IT, accounting, law, healthcare, administration, and logistics are available.

Of course, it's not all good news. Downtown Hartford has long faced issues like population decline, poverty, and office vacancy, and there is a significant economic disparity between the suburbs and the city center. Just because there are many big-name corporations doesn't mean all Hartford residents benefit equally.

Still, it feels a bit unfair to think of this city as just 'an old small town in Connecticut.' It has nurtured the insurance industry for over 200 years, is right next to a world-class aircraft engine manufacturer, and has large hospitals and state government agencies operating in its downtown.

Ultimately, Hartford is better described as a city that endures on a long-established industrial base rather than a rapidly growing emerging city. After all, insurance is fundamentally a business that involves paying today and trusting in promises for the future.

In that sense, perhaps what has sustained Hartford all this time is trust. And for us immigrants establishing new roots in America, knowing that a city has a solid foundation to endure for a long time provides a reassuring sense of trust.