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Please tell me all you know about Sufffield. I moved about 10 years ago to CT with my husband but we are still learning the area. We have a new baby along the way and looking to move in another year or so to a larger house, nice family neighborhood within easy access to 91. Suffield seems to have a lot of new constructions, which we are looking for, but I'm wondering about the town, etc. since I know so little about it. We've lived in Manchester and Bloomfield thus far and looking for a somewhat higher income area with low crime rate while not too ridiculously expensive.
I believe Suffield schools are also ranked pretty well. I'd appreciate any feedback you have on the area or other town suggestions.
I would highly recommend Suffield, according to your needs. It's a large semi-rural town, yet major shopping centers are located just one town over, in Enfield. I lived in Granby, on the part that borders Suffield. Suffield is definitely a nice town, I never heard anything negative about it whatsoever. The only thing, is that it doesn't have a major grocery store in town. There is a Highland Market in town, however, but it's small and expensive, but I heard good quality.
Beautiful town and it still retains a small town feel where everyone know everyone. They do have a Highland Park Market in town for smaller shopping or large shopping if you don't mind paying a bit more for it. But large surrounding towns such as Windsor, Enfield or Agawam (depending on which section of Suffield you live in) all have larger supermarkets for shopping.
Enfield has the closest mall, but Holyoke is larger and still not that far away from Suffield.
The schools are wonderful, they have a brand new High School which is beautiful and they have done many changes to the town center the past few years with nice lampost's and stone walkways etc. The center has a CVS,Dunkin Donuts, Hair Salon, Small restaurants, an ice cream place etc. Just small business's. The library is also in the center of town right near Highland Park Market.
It is basically an old Tobacco farming town and so more and more new developments are sprouting up in what used to be farm land. Every year they have a celebration at the town green called "suffield on the green" with booths setup from local business and children's games, food etc. It's a neat time to see your neighbors etc. They also have a yearly Fireman's Carnival which I believe is next weekend. It is held at Bruce Park near Spaulding Elementary school.
It has highway access through either Enfield or Windsor Locks which are both very close.
Hi, my family and I live in Cheshire right now and looking to move to Suffield,Granby,Canton,Avon or Simsbury. We are looking for a change; people around here are all into themselves, if your kids aren't into sports then they have a lack of friends, I find more unfriendly people than I do friendly people and we would like to have more land. We are newer to CT (2 yrs.) and before we "give up" we heard good things about those areas that I mentioned. Schools are our concern, friendly people, low crime, nice homes, and places to shop. Am I on track with my search???
Hi, my family and I live in Cheshire right now and looking to move to Suffield,Granby,Canton,Avon or Simsbury. We are looking for a change; people around here are all into themselves, if your kids aren't into sports then they have a lack of friends, I find more unfriendly people than I do friendly people and we would like to have more land. We are newer to CT (2 yrs.) and before we "give up" we heard good things about those areas that I mentioned. Schools are our concern, friendly people, low crime, nice homes, and places to shop. Am I on track with my search???
Well, unfortunately, I don't think your statement that "people around here are all into themselves" will only apply to Cheshire. No matter where you live (at least in CT) there will always be a handful of these types of people. My family was never a sports family as well, and I will admit, it has been a challenge to make friends because we were never into sports. My family was more into the arts (i.e. playing a musical instrument, etc.).
Anyway, if you are looking to move to any of those five towns you mentioned, I would say to avoid Avon and Simsbury, as they have the highest chance of having those types of people -- probably even more so than Cheshire. Canton, Granby and Suffield have a more "down to earth" vibe, as well as East Granby, if you want to consider that as well. Granby is a bit inconvenient for serious shopping though. But then again, every single person I've known from Avon has been extremely friendly and nice. So, it's really hard to generalize things like that, which are unmeasureable. Generally speaking, the overall vibe of Avon and Simsbury can be a bit pretentious compared to the other towns. Granby and East Granby don't feel pretentious at all, and they have a solid mixture of both middle class and wealther families.
Suffield is one of my favorite towns in the STATE. No joke. It's absolutely beautiful. I'm a little envious you get to consider a move there! Suffield is very convenient to I-91, and is close to Enfield which would be where you would do most of your shopping, etc. The town is also close to Bradley International and Six Flags New England, so it's really in a unique location.
The town is quiet, and I'd consider it rural or rural/suburban. The schools are great, and the town is well maintained. But my favorite part about Suffield is its scenic beauty. The town consists of rolling hills and big open fields where tobacco is still grown in some areas. It's stunning. I'd highly encourage a move there!
I have to say that some of the friendliest people I have ever met through my work were in Granby. To the OP, Suffield is a very nice town. I think you will like it there. Jay
I have to say that some of the friendliest people I have ever met through my work were in Granby. To the OP, Suffield is a very nice town. I think you will like it there. Jay
Yeah, while I lived in Granby, I worked at Geissler's Supermarket in the town center for almost 5 years, and virtually everyone (the customers) was easy to approach and talk to. There is no tension in that town between the wealthy and middle/lower class....people seem to get along and not care or judge anyone by money. Definitely not a "keeping up with the Jones" town.
Some people have described Granby as being similar to the South, because it's far more relaxed and laid back than most other CT towns. There is no rat race or any significant pretentiousness in Granby. It's hard to tell who's rich and who's not. I highly recommend it for those who want to raise a family. The entire high school is about 650 students; not too big, not too small.
The town also varies greatly in natural character. The eastern half is about 400 ft above sea level, while the northwestern area is about 1,000 ft above sea level. You can see Springfield, MA and Mt. Tom from up there. It's gorgeous.
The only problems with Granby, from my experience, is that it's not very interesting for the age 18 - 24 crowd. It's a conservative family town with no nightlife whatsoever. Also, it's kind of detached from mainstream Hartford county. This is good or bad, depending on one's preferences. But, the commute to Hartford isn't the greatest, and for major shopping, you will have to drive out to Enfield or the Target plaza in Windsor. Even the Simsbury/Avon shopping area can be a haul, depending where in Granby you live.
Suffield is a nice place and it's quiet. There's a growing senior population and a lot of the newer condo's are 55+ plus they just finished building the new senior center. It's a pretty small town feel where people tend to know each other. There's plenty of Italian & pizza places plus other little places to eat.
There's enough shopping available in the center to get the necessities. Enfield has some extras but the mall tends to have high turnover, don’t get attached to a store because it’s likely to not be there next time. Macy’s, Target, Sears, and the movie theater are pretty much the only staples there. Depending on where you work or go for entertainment you’ll likely do a lot of your shopping closer to there (Holyoke, Manchester, West Hartford, etc.).
The schools are considered good and the high school is pretty new (even though they built it too small last I heard). The schools keep the rentals pretty occupied and the only apartment complex I know of always has a long waiting list (always a good sign). The housing market isn’t crazy it’s reasonable for what you get and the taxes seem to be fairly standard for CT. The median/average incomes are pretty good but not too high that the “average” person would stand out and there’s not too many people living in poverty.
Suffield has Congamond Lakes, a bike/walking path, Six Flags is close by, and a few other activities within 5-10 minutes from the center. The highway is always pretty close, Springfield/Hartford are a short drive even in traffic it’s not too bad. The airport is literally right there. Plus it’s just a visually beautiful town, driving around you can easily get distracted by some of the views. That’s all I can think of for now. Any specific questions let us know.
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