Living in Hartford CT

[Aristomommy]

Anyone here live in the Hartford CT area? DH is considering a job there and we are in the information gathering stage. We would be moving from Ohio with 2 kids. What are some good communities for families (good schools) in the area? DD10 will be starting 6th grade and DS is still in preschool. We would likely move in 6-12 months after him to allow enough planning time, if we would do it.

What are the pros and cons of the area? Cost of living? I work in health care and assume it would be easy to find work for me. Thanks for any info you might have.

 

[monorailsilver]

I live about 40 south of Hartford, about 5 miles from LI sound.

I know there are some good towns near Hartford (closer then me) like New Hartford, Avon, Farmington (I think). Hartford itself, um...well it is a city.

Cost of living, it is the North East so it is expensive. But generally speaking the more inland you are, the cheaper it is (not always the case). My sister moved from CT to GA & now to KY & everytime she comes home she is amazed at the prices in the grocery store.

There are quite a few hospitals in the area too, nursing homes, etc...

A pro-great seafood here in New England.

 

[JTDisney]

Check out West Hartford. That is where the money is from all the insurance Execs. Great downtown with things to do. But in general, CT really sucks. Mohegan Sun is an hour away which is awesome, but other than that, not much goin on. Hey, look on the bright side, the Red Sox are pretty close!!!

All in all, it is one of that last states people move to.

 

[natnelliesmom]

I have lived in Gales Ferry, CT my whole life. I attended college in West Hartford.
I think this is great state. Taxes are a bit high, but schools are great. You'll be in close driving distance to both NY City and Boston.
I would look into the town of Colchester. It's a quick 30 min drive on Rt. 2 to Hartford. It's a less traveled road and allows your DH to avoid 95 completely for a much easier commute. A good friend of mine lives there, she has 5 year old twin boys. She is always going to town events and local activities with her kids.
I believe Colchester was named one of the top 10 cities in the United States to raise a family- I remember seeing this on the local news not too long ago- but can't remember the source. The schools there are excellent, great community feeling, small town but centrally located. Check out their town website.... http://www.colchesterct.gov/Pages/index
If we were re-locating within our state- we would look here.
Hope this helps.
-Sarah

 

[kerrynic78]

I grew up in Avon (about 25 minutes from Hartford) and now live in Granby (about 30). I would highly recommend Avon, Farmington, Simsbury, Canton, for the schools and as great towns to live in. I went through the Avon public school system and was always told by visiting college recruiters that they looked very highly upon the school system. I would love to move back to Avon to raise my daughter but the house prices are a little too high for me!

Let me know if you have any questions, I was born and raised in CT so I have a good amount of information, especially about the suburbs outside of Hartford.

 

[nfceagles]

I moved from AZ to Hartford area in 96 after college. In 03 DH and I followed a job opportunity to KC and in 07 decided to move back to the Hartford area. So we like it. No it's not the most exciting place for young singles and the childless, but for someone with young kids looking for your basic suburban life it's great. You get way more affordable housing than neighboring NYC and Boston, but you're smack dab in the middle and can do so many day trips or weekend trips. Boston, NYC, skiing or leaf peeping in Vermont, Nantucket/Marthas Vineyard/Cape Cod, beaches, Newport RI, Maine, etc.... All within a few hour drive.

As for towns, I lived in Windsor and Bloomfield before having kids, but wouldn't buy there now that I have to think about schools. We're now in Ellington after shopping for houses in many of the following towns. We love it here. Very rural, small town fell, but still plenty close to the shopping and ammenities of S Windsor and Manchester.

As for towns

Prestigious- Well thought of, sought after, EXPENSIVE, and sort of a snooty reputation: West Hartford, Avon, Glastonbury, Farmington, Avon, Simsbury. I would certainly be willing to live here, but if you're suffering from some sticker shock you probably won't find as much house as you want for your budget

Value Towns- Still well thought of, but not as prestigious, good schools, good family towns, more bang for your buck: South Windsor, Grandby, Suffield, Ellington, Canton, Hebron, Colchester, Tolland. With these you need to decide how much of a commute you are willing to do to save some money.

Make sure you know how income taxes and property taxes will stack up agains your Ohio situation too.

 

[Aristomommy]

Thanks for all the replies, the good and the bad. Our family is used to relocating, so we can make a home almost anywhere, LOL. I like the idea of being close to big cities, but living in a suburban area. I would rather move to an area with good public schools than to pay for private, but wouldn't rule it out.

Are there any good websites to get an idea on home prices? Our current area is high for Ohio, but I think cost of living is less here. Thanks

 

[justcantwait]

We live in CT, near the shoreline, not near Hartford, so I really can't tell you too much about that area. As far as a website for info about prices, a friend sent me one that may fit the bill for you. It is http://www.zipskinny.com. If you plug in a zip code (which I think you can get from the postal service ssite), it gives you all sorts of statistics about cost, crime, schools, population, etc. HTH and good luck if/when you move!

Kathy

 

[nfceagles]

This is probably my favorite website:

prudentialct.com

 

[micheleq]

www.raveis.com is a real estate agency here in the Northeast -- they have a very easy to use website to search for homes.

I too live on the shoreline and think CT is a great place to live! Lots going on all over the state. Like others have said the communities outside of Hartford are nice suburbs, but I'd stay away from living in Hartford proper.

Best of luck to you and your family. You can also look at Connecticut Magazine online to get a feel for the state. The casinos are the last things that CT residents talk about when listing the pros of our home state.

 

[mickeyluvr004]

I live in East Hampton about 25-30 min to Downtown Hartford, close to Colchester(I lived there too) In East Hampton its a small town very country, (horses, lots of trees) I have lived in the area for 30 years and schools are very good, have 2 in elementary and one just graduated this past june... It's not too close to any box stores Walmart, Kmart, are a 25-30 min drive from here, House prices are decent in this area we have a lake, nice for swimming and boating.
Hartford is a city plain and simple, lots of insurance companies, banks. IMO the schools are not the greatest in Hartford, you would be better to shop for housing out of hartford area. Any questions you are welcome to PM me.

 

[Pumbaa_]

the commute into hartford can be crazy! On a good day it takes 25 minutes, bad day, an hour

Many of the folks I work with live in the Glastonbury area. Not a fan of Avon, a tad too uppity for me

West Hartford is an awesome place, the center of town is a wonderful place. Great shops, restaurants, and a great feel.

there are parts of CT that are very rural. All depends on what you are looking for.

Hartford itself is very much a commuter city. Not so much a destination
good luck!

 

[Revulkcor]

I'm moving with my family back up to Branford, CT in early October more than likely. My mother and two brothers are moving into my grandparent's house with them since ours just sold and then we all are moving up to CT after purchasing the house in either Branford or Guilford. My grandparents and mother lived in Branford for years before moving around alot and having me. They absolutely love it there. I'm going up there on Sept. 9th for a week to check out houses with them.

Anyways, I heard Hartford is a really great town. I don't know how far Branford is from it.

 

[vegas_mickey]

I lived in Glastonbury for a few years and really liked it there. It has been over 15 years since I left so I couldn't say how much it may have grown or changed. There are many wonderful places in CT. to live.

 

[skmommy]

I grew up in Glastonbury and it is a great town. It has fantastic schools and is close to everything (shopping, sports, parks...). From there you are about 15-20minutes to Hartford and 1.5-2 hours from the beach, NYC, Boston, the mountains. It can be pricey, but it worth it if you need to live "up North".

 

[tinkerlisa]

If you are really adament about moving here, try East/west Hartford, glastonbury(is very nice) Hartford commuting can be very hectic! we live in Mystic and are about an hours drive from Hartford...
To be honest, we hate it here...It is very expensive living and the weather sucks. We hate the snow and cold. we both grew up in New England. I am from R.I. and my fiance is from East Hartford/ Glastonbury area. He makes pretty good money but we cant afford a house around here. We actually have decided to move out of this state and go to Florida...

 

[Revulkcor]

If you are really adament about moving here, try East/west Hartford, glastonbury(is very nice) Hartford commuting can be very hectic! we live in Mystic and are about an hours drive from Hartford...
To be honest, we hate it here...It is very expensive living and the weather sucks. We hate the snow and cold. we both grew up in New England. I am from R.I. and my fiance is from East Hartford/ Glastonbury area. He makes pretty good money but we cant afford a house around here. We actually have decided to move out of this state and go to Florida...

Haha I'm moving from Florida to CT. I hate it here. I love the fact I'm 45 minutes from Disney, but I just hate the weather. Eugh. We just sold my mother's house, now we're selling my grandparent's house. It just gets too hot here after living here for many years.

 

[El&kris'mom]

Anyone here live in the Hartford CT area? DH is considering a job there and we are in the information gathering stage. We would be moving from Ohio with 2 kids. What are some good communities for families (good schools) in the area? DD10 will be starting 6th grade and DS is still in preschool. We would likely move in 6-12 months after him to allow enough planning time, if we would do it.

What are the pros and cons of the area? Cost of living? I work in health care and assume it would be easy to find work for me. Thanks for any info you might have.

I grew up in Plainville, CT. The school system is good. In High School I went to Southington High school (the next town over) for the vocational agriculture program. Southington also has a great school system. Both are about 20 - 25 minutes from Hartford. I work in Vernon, CT for a Health Care company now and from what I understand Vernon and Ellington have good school systems too.

I'm not sure what you do for Healthcare, I work as an EHR Application Specialist and right now there are a few companies in the Hartford area that are hiring for this type of job

Good Luck!

 

[Nancyg56]

Value Towns- Still well thought of, but not as prestigious, good schools, good family towns, more bang for your buck: South Windsor, Grandby, Suffield, Ellington, Canton, Hebron, Colchester, Tolland. With these you need to decide how much of a commute you are willing to do to save some money.

Make sure you know how income taxes and property taxes will stack up agains your Ohio situation too.

Suffield is a wonderful town to live in. The taxes are not outrageous, it is still beautiful rural country and I cannot speak highly enough of the school system. (Teacher to pupil ratio is 20 to 1 in elementary school. My neice in AZ has 30 kids and no help) Also, it is really a buyers market for real estate here. We are about 20 minutes from Hartford, depending on which part of Suffield you live in.

My DS made a spread sheet with all of the costs associated with each property he was looking ot purchase. Suffield tax rate was way lower then some towns that used to be "value" but now whose taxes are sky high

 

[sara74]

I grew up in Avon (about 25 minutes from Hartford) and now live in Granby (about 30). I would highly recommend Avon, Farmington, Simsbury, Canton, for the schools and as great towns to live in. I went through the Avon public school system and was always told by visiting college recruiters that they looked very highly upon the school system. I would love to move back to Avon to raise my daughter but the house prices are a little too high for me!

Let me know if you have any questions, I was born and raised in CT so I have a good amount of information, especially about the suburbs outside of Hartford.

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!