Question for Connecticut people!

[leebee]

DD22's boyfriend has just received a job offer in East Hartford, CT. Where would you suggest they look for a place to live? They'll be renting, and he's a mechanical engineer, so even though he's just starting out, the pay isn't too bad. She doesn't have a job yet... in fact, he hasn't accepted his offer yet. They are just trying to figure out the logistics of all this, and whether or not he should accept the offer. They know they don't want to live IN the city, for the most part, and he's agreeable to driving maybe 30 mins each way to work. We just don't know anything about the area and would appreciate input!

Also... are there any sites where DD could look for jobs in schools? In Maine, we have a website where all school departments in the state list their vacancies. Is there anything like this in Connecticut? TIA!!

 

[Nancyg56]

I can't answer the website for jobs, but I live in CT. I am partial to my town, Suffield. There is plenty of affordable choices for housing, the commute can be reasonable unless you live on the West side by the lakes. Then it is about 35 minutes.

Glastonbury is also really nice, as are the Granby's. If your DD prefers more "country", look north of East Hartford towards Suffield East Granby, Granby, and Ellington.

 

[scrapquitler]

I used to work in East Hartford, and we lived in Manchester at the time. I liked Manchester, but it's not one of the "nice" towns (but is, in my opinion, nicer than East Hartford, which I would not choose to live in). I think that Glastonbury might be a good choice for them.

I definitely suggest staying East of the river to avoid traffic.

 

[Jcricket Fan]

Middletown line/Cromwell would be areas to look at there are many apartment & condo options there. Close to the highways. A lot of young professional people who work in Hartford find housing there. Less than a 30 min. ride to East Hartford.
To be young and have a whole world of opportunities in front of you! I wish them well in their journey. Colleen

 

[Skippy918]

My cousins lived in Glastonbury. They liked it there.

 

[ctinct]

DD22's boyfriend has just received a job offer in East Hartford, CT. Where would you suggest they look for a place to live? They'll be renting, and he's a mechanical engineer, so even though he's just starting out, the pay isn't too bad. She doesn't have a job yet... in fact, he hasn't accepted his offer yet. They are just trying to figure out the logistics of all this, and whether or not he should accept the offer. They know they don't want to live IN the city, for the most part, and he's agreeable to driving maybe 30 mins each way to work. We just don't know anything about the area and would appreciate input!

Also... are there any sites where DD could look for jobs in schools? In Maine, we have a website where all school departments in the state list their vacancies. Is there anything like this in Connecticut? TIA!!

Leebee, what is your daughter's area of certification? If it's in a shortage area, such as math, world languages, etc., it should be fairly easy to find a job. However, if it is elementary, English, art, etc, she may have a difficult time. I don't think there is a central place where ALL jobs are posted, but if she googles CTREAP, many districts post their openings there. I think that years ago I also saw postings on the CEA site, but not sure if that's the case any longer. When I graduated (over a decade ago now), my school just gave me a list of every district in the state with the superintendents contact info, so she might want to try sending her resume out that way. Also, she should look at the websites of individual districts under employment, because a lot of districts use applitrack online for applications. Good luck to her. I eventually gave up on finding an elementary position, although I did secure a good job in a school. It was just too much banging my head against a wall, doing subbing and para work for low pay. Many districts, including mine for sure, hire based on nepotism and political connectedness. It's amazing to me how many parent/ child/sibling/in laws etc. teachers there are in my district.

Eta: does she know for sure that Connecticut accepts her certification? Lots of states accept CT certification, but the reverse is not always true here. Have her check with the certification board. CT is kind of a pain when it comes to accepting out of state certifications.

 

[TimeforMe]

We've lived in CT all our lives but are closer to NYC. My son, however, recently took a new job that required him to be close to Bradley Airport. We checked out a few towns and he settled into the cutest apartment in Manchester. His job requires him to travel a lot so he hasn't actually spent much time there, but it seems to be a nice little town with a cute downtown area. The airport is a quick 20 minutes away and the city of Hartford about the same.

My daughter is just finishing her master's in education and is looking for a job as well. Have your daughter try ctreap.net (NOT org) for up to date positions in the state. Hope this helps!

 

[ibob52]

... another fan of Manchester.