Living in Hartford CT

[Nancyg56]

Hi neighbor and OP! I vote that you should consider Granby! We moved here 2 years ago this week, after 4 years in Simsbury. We love this whole area. Don't discount Granby - seems that the people who grew up in CT still view Granby as being 'lower' than Avon, Farmington, etc. We have 3 children and chose to move here from Simsbury because there is a great and active community of young families here. AND the schools are great! The high school was recently given a state wide award for excellence and Granby ranks well when compared to area schools in the CT magazine each year. We can walk to a farm and learning center where the kids can go to camp, take classes and pick veggies! Hartford is a close commute but Granby feels like the country!

My DH is an East Granby farm boy.....the area is lovely! We are in West Suffield, right down the road

 

[Aristomommy]

Thank you so much for all the info. It looks like many of the towns mentioned here are within our price range. The taxes are about $800-1000 higher, but DH would make much more there than in Ohio.

I would love to find a family oriented community similar to our current one. We lived in a "snooty suburb" for a couple of years and didn't fit in. We are both college educated, down to earth kind of people and I don't mind small town or country type living either (as long as we have some neighbors around us). I also love the fact that we can walk to our current library and town center which is the heart of our community.

I don't mind the cold weather mentioned by some, because Ohio isn't a tropical paradise exactly and we love the snow. We love skating and DD learned to ski last winter.

Thank you for sharing your suggestions. I have a lot of thinking to do....

 

[Hoyt31]

I've lived in CT all of my life with the exception of college. Been in all sections of the state, I grew up in Fairfield county (uppity rich section) came back and lived in New Haven, Hamden, Branford (all along the shoreline). And now I live in Central CT. I prefer this area because everything is no further than one hour away. In terms of cities and things to do I am more preferential to New Haven so I like the ability to be between NH and Hartford.

The other day I saw a list on Money of the best places to live in the US. Here are some of the towns in CT.

27. Tolland (Love this town - near hartford)
55. Somers (North of Hartford - not to familiar with it)
57. Simsbury (Love this town - near hartford)
72. Cheshire (Love this town - located in Central CT)
75. East Lyme (on the shoreline a bit of a commute to Hartford)
77. Trumbull (in Fairfield county a bit of a commute to hartford)

Good luck and welcome

 

[kerrynic78]

Hi neighbor and OP! I vote that you should consider Granby! We moved here 2 years ago this week, after 4 years in Simsbury. We love this whole area. Don't discount Granby - seems that the people who grew up in CT still view Granby as being 'lower' than Avon, Farmington, etc. We have 3 children and chose to move here from Simsbury because there is a great and active community of young families here. AND the schools are great! The high school was recently given a state wide award for excellence and Granby ranks well when compared to area schools in the CT magazine each year. We can walk to a farm and learning center where the kids can go to camp, take classes and pick veggies! Hartford is a close commute but Granby feels like the country!

HI!! I agree, Granby is definitely a town to consider. I have to admit I am not used to having a Target or WalMart close by, but I love everything else about it...especially being able to take a quick ride up to the Scoop in Granville, yummy!!

 

[Nancyg56]

Kerry- I love the Granvalle Scoop! I also head to Nestrovich (sp) a little further up for peaches and apples

In West Suffield we are close to Enfield so will once ion a while go down the mountain to Collins Creamery. My DS went to VOAG with one of the Collins boys so we love to enjoy their homemade ice cream! I think it is even better than the Scoop but I am a bit biased !

 

[nfceagles]

Would your DH's job be in downtown Hartford or a suburb? What kind of commute are you open to? Some of the towns mentioned above are beyond what I would consider the Hartford area, but are beautiful country towns if your DH is willing to commute a little farther.

West Hartford is a snootier town, but the downtown area is awesome and living in one of the neighborhoods near there would be fun. Commute would be awesome too. The downside for us was the type of housing available. There is little to no newer neighborhoods. The homes are older, think 1930's, and the lots can be pretty small. 3 car garage was near the top of our list and this is very hard to find in W Hartford.

Simsbury has a nice downtown area, but most of the housing is out in the woods, not walking distance.

Do you want public utilities? We felt strongly that we did not want well water. Septic tanks were fine, but we have a fear of living off a well for some reason. The eliminated a lot of towns for us.

 

[monorailsilver]

I've lived in CT all of my life with the exception of college. Been in all sections of the state, I grew up in Fairfield county (uppity rich section) came back and lived in New Haven, Hamden, Branford (all along the shoreline). And now I live in Central CT. I prefer this area because everything is no further than one hour away. In terms of cities and things to do I am more preferential to New Haven so I like the ability to be between NH and Hartford.

The other day I saw a list on Money of the best places to live in the US. Here are some of the towns in CT.

27. Tolland (Love this town - near hartford)
55. Somers (North of Hartford - not to familiar with it)
57. Simsbury (Love this town - near hartford)
72. Cheshire (Love this town - located in Central CT)
75. East Lyme (on the shoreline a bit of a commute to Hartford)
77. Trumbull (in Fairfield county a bit of a commute to hartford)

Good luck and welcome

I grew up in Trumbull & yes it is a commute to Hartford. I moved out 9 years ago when I got married & when I go home & visit my parents I see changes. Heck my neices are 2 spoiled rotten girls (not that I wasn't spoiled but they are as are their friends).

East Lyme would also be a bit far too. I am about 10 min from there on the other side of the river.

 

[Aristomommy]

Would your DH's job be in downtown Hartford or a suburb? What kind of commute are you open to? Some of the towns mentioned above are beyond what I would consider the Hartford area, but are beautiful country towns if your DH is willing to commute a little farther.

West Hartford is a snootier town, but the downtown area is awesome and living in one of the neighborhoods near there would be fun. Commute would be awesome too. The downside for us was the type of housing available. There is little to no newer neighborhoods. The homes are older, think 1930's, and the lots can be pretty small. 3 car garage was near the top of our list and this is very hard to find in W Hartford.

Simsbury has a nice downtown area, but most of the housing is out in the woods, not walking distance.

Do you want public utilities? We felt strongly that we did not want well water. Septic tanks were fine, but we have a fear of living off a well for some reason. The eliminated a lot of towns for us.

I am not sure if the office he would be out of is in Hartford or West Hartford, but his work will require some local travel and mostly a commute to his office. He would like the commute to be 30-45min. but he can avoid major rush hour as his hours are flexible. I looked into West Hartford but it seems to have more older housing in our price range whereas we could get a newer home in the suburbs. I would like public utilities, at least that's what we've always had.

I know many have recommended Granby and it seems like an affordable area. Are there many activities there for families/children? DD has been accelerated in school and I hope we could find a school that would be flexible with her placement in classes. I know it's a long list of requirements, but I think there are many family oriented towns that we could find a great place to call home.

 

[Nancyg56]

I cannot speak for Granby other than the library has activities. In my area in W Suffield I have a well but the newer homes have water. Most of Suffield has public utilities. My DGD goes to Suffield school system, ratio of children to teacher is 1 to under 20. The PTO is tremendously active. There is assistance in reading and math, it extends through the summer. My DGD was offered services even before my DD requested them. There are plenty of after school activities if you choose to take advantage of them. There is Sunrise park which has a lovely pond and summer camp if you are interested. My DH takes Kady swimming there all summer long, it is quiet in the late afternoon. Picnic areas available and fishing too. Commute to Hartford is under 30 minutes from my home.

 

[KristinU]

We live in Manchester, which is just east of Hartford. We moved here almost 10 years ago from the Minneapolis area and really like it here. The cold winters I could do without, but the first couple of years coming from MN it seemed like tropical paradise LOL! If you've lived in metro areas the traffic will seem like nothing. If you're especially not nuts about traffic and will be commuting into Downtown Hartford check out the communities around 384: Manchester (though the schools are just OK here), Bolton, Coventry. 384 is a spur from 84 that was meant at one point to connect Hartford and Providence. That dream is all but dead and we're left with a very underused 6 lane highway that ends out in Bolton. My commute door to desk in downtown is 15 minutes - not something I could say in Minneapolis even though we were closer into the city there as well.

There's a brand new science center in Hartford and lots of outdoor activities and state parks for families. In 5 minutes we can be at a lake in Bolton to go kayaking, in 5 minutes we can be at some great hiking and mountain biking trails, in an hour we can be at a beach, a couple of hours to the woods, mountains, NYC, Boston. We have a saying at work: "Hartford, great place to live but I wouldn't want to visit" LOL! Most definitely NOT the hot spot for singles and young folks, but as a family we really like it here.

If you're into alternative energy you might want to look into a development in Colchester that we're kind of toying with: www.ctgreenhomes.com . I have a friend/colleague who lives in Colchester and I was picking her brain about commute, convenience, etc. She says the commute isn't bad at all and I'm liking what I'm reading about the schools. They don't have as much in the way of stores, etc. But there is a major grocery store in town, a major drug store, and a Starbucks (as well as a few smaller stores).

 

[Aristomommy]

Well, DH just returned from Hartford and is working on details for the job. If the offer etc. looks good, we will make the move. I hate change, but I can go anywhere as long as I have my kids and DH. I will go along with DH next time, if everything goes well so I can get a feel for the area and different communities around Hartford.

 

[monorailsilver]

Good Luck!

I really think CT & pretty much all of New England & the Tri State are are perfect weather wise. You get pretty much everything-heat & humidity, beautiful crisp fall days, lovely snowy days (and nights) with a few weeks of bitter cold (if we are lucky) & then the flowers start to peek out from the snow.

It is rare that we get a tornado (OK there were 2 in the state in August but not big ones) & rarely get hurricanes.

There is great pizza, great seafood-the real stuff, not Red Lobster & you can be in another state in an hour or less. Plus living up by Hartford, the airport is so close for those Disney trips in your future.

 

[Aristomommy]

Good Luck!

Plus living up by Hartford, the airport is so close for those Disney trips in your future.

I LOVE how you think!! I wish we were considering a move closer to Disney, but this would be closer to my family in Europe.

 

[micheleq]

Best of luck! Next time if you come with your DH I hope it's fall -- the changing of the leaves is beautiful in New England.

 

[emh1129]

I grew up in the Mystic area but we now live in Colchester. We really like it and the surrounding rural towns (and the lack of Volvos that were so prevalent in Stonington- haha).
I commute into Hartford for my clinicals (graduating soon to be a RN) and it takes me about 30 minutes. Lots of hospitals around here for healthcare jobs.

 

[disneydeb]

hi, welcome to ct, i live in the eastern part of ct between uconn and eastern ct state universitys, i think the best schools are in mansfield ct, its about a 35 minute ride to hartford, its country (suburbs) about a 10 minute ride to grocery stores , i am a nurse and the best pay scale is in the nursing homes, there are plenty in ct, i wouldnt want to live in hartford or one of the citys but thats just me, i prefer the quietness of the country, ohios pretty even with ct on the map so you will proberly be use to the same weather, 30s in the winter and 80s - in the summer, its never more than a hour ride to the beach,the best leaf peeping is around the 14th of october, let us all know how you make out and again welcome oh my daughter and i were talking and i asked her if she could live anywhere in ct where would she live? her answer was kos-cob, it is beautiful there i have to agree, but very expensive.and its actually spelled with a c but for some reason this post of not letting me spell it that way keeps giving me *** cob

 

[DanceRC28]

I've lived in Connecticut my entire life and I really have to say, it doesn't have all that much to offer. It costs a fortune to live here and the salaries don't even come close to compensating. Hartford is sketchy at best. Yes, the leaves are nice in the fall, but they sure don't make up for the long, snowy/icy winters! DH and I both graduated from UConn and all of our hard work has gotten us nowhere. Lucky for you, you are coming into the state at a time when real estate is extremely cheap. DH and I bought a brand new condo at the height of the market and are stuck here no matter what. If your husband will be working in Hartford, I suggest looking to buy a home in West Hartford or Avon. Good proximity and nicer communities. Best of luck with your move!

 

[Aristomommy]

hi, welcome to ct, i live in the eastern part of ct between uconn and eastern ct state universitys, i think the best schools are in mansfield ct, its about a 35 minute ride to hartford, its country (suburbs) about a 10 minute ride to grocery stores , i am a nurse and the best pay scale is in the nursing homes, there are plenty in ct, i wouldnt want to live in hartford or one of the citys but thats just me, i prefer the quietness of the country, ohios pretty even with ct on the map so you will proberly be use to the same weather, 30s in the winter and 80s - in the summer, its never more than a hour ride to the beach,the best leaf peeping is around the 14th of october, let us all know how you make out and again welcome oh my daughter and i were talking and i asked her if she could live anywhere in ct where would she live? her answer was kos-cob, it is beautiful there i have to agree, but very expensive.and its actually spelled with a c but for some reason this post of not letting me spell it that way keeps giving me *** cob

Thanks for the tips. Where we are now, is a small town of 15,000 people but we are 20min. away from a big city and all the amenities that come with that. Sounds like healthcare industry is similar to Ohio, I work in physical therapy and nursing home type setting pays the best and then private clinics and hospitals.

 

[Aristomommy]

I've lived in Connecticut my entire life and I really have to say, it doesn't have all that much to offer. It costs a fortune to live here and the salaries don't even come close to compensating. Hartford is sketchy at best. Yes, the leaves are nice in the fall, but they sure don't make up for the long, snowy/icy winters! DH and I both graduated from UConn and all of our hard work has gotten us nowhere. Lucky for you, you are coming into the state at a time when real estate is extremely cheap. DH and I bought a brand new condo at the height of the market and are stuck here no matter what. If your husband will be working in Hartford, I suggest looking to buy a home in West Hartford or Avon. Good proximity and nicer communities. Best of luck with your move!

I think many people in Ohio would say the exact same things!! DH would get paid more which would probably offset the cost of living. Real estate market is also about the same, lots of home foreclosures and lower prices. I am sorry for your circumstances and I hope the economy turns around for all of us

 

[nfceagles]

Keep us posted.

JMHO, I would focus on Farmington, Simsbury, Avon, Canton, Glastonbury, South Windsor, and Ellington (my town).

Good luck.