Questions about Hartford and West Hartford

aggiesL&B

Hello!  My husband and I live in TX but may be moving to CT in June.  If we move there, my husband would be working in Hartford.  Do you have recommendations about where to live?  I have heard good things about West Hartford, do you agree?  Are there other areas nearby that you recommend?  If you have any other pieces of information that you would like to share about the city that would help us in making this decision  it would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you!

08Bride2Be

I actually live in Danbury, CT right now, but lived in West Hartford for 5 1/2 years previously. I absolutly loved West Hartford, it has great schools and great neighborhoods.

 Other great owns to look at are Simsbury and South Windsor.

lizardct

West Hartford is very suburban- there is tons to do, great schools, but VERY high taxes and some would say somewhat snobby. The housing is somewhat older too- lots from the 20s and 30s and probably a lot more expensive than Texas.  Don't expect a lot of land there.  There are other towns a bit further from Hartford that are more rural, where you could get more land and have quieter streets...  What are you looking for?  Lots of land?  Farms nearby?  Or lots to do? 

BTW, West of the river (WH, Farmington, Simsbury, Avon) is generally considered more prestigious than East.  South Windsor and Glastonbury are the nicest towns similar to WH that are East of the river- and are a bit more rural- but again there's a bit of a snob factor.  Really, a nice 3 bedroom starter house in any of these towns would run you at least 300k. 

SugarhillHnA

Ditto pp.  I would also look into Wethersfield, Old Wethersfield, and Newington as possible towns to live in...they have nice neighborhoods but aren't known for being as snobbish. 

jlynn05

West Hartford is fairly overrated these days . . . it's convenient to the city but has become too developed due to all the commercial growth and you really don't get a lot for your money in terms of square footage and land.  East or west of the river really doesn't make a difference -- west is only prestigious in the minds of those that live west of the river when in reality, no one else really cares.  Personally, I grew up in Glastonbury which is *gasp* east of the river and it's a very nice town but it has high taxes and has also become very developed in recent years which many people have been complaining about since it used to be a relatively quiet town.  It depends on what your needs are, really.  You may want to also consider looking south of Hartford.  Wethersfield and Rocky Hill are both nice and within an excellent commuting distance.  You'll find the commute on I-91 is far better than travelling from the east or west on I-84 or route 2.       

katfenton

I bought a 3 br house in Simsbury with a huuuge backyard 2 years ago for much less than $300.  I am sure you could do similarly, if not better, in this current economy.  We are far from affluent and while I do get the attitudes from others like "oohhhh, you live in Simsbury, you must be snobby and rich", it is really not the case.  This is a great town with beautiful parks, top notch public schools, and a charming downtown/main street area. 

MrsBonJovi

Before we moved to New Jersey, we were looking in West Hartford, Avon, Simsbury, and Farmington. Great school systems, but a little pricey.

GandMmommy

We live about 15 minutes outside of Hartford in Ellington. It's a great town and close to everything you could ever need. the school system is excellent. The town is growing quite a lot with lots of new construction. Plus the taxes are pretty reasonable.