[agopinath]

Hi,

We are moving to CT from atlanta in august. i have been reading different threads in this forum to figure out the good places to live near hartford. i figured out glastonbury, simsbury, avon , west hartford etc are some of the good areas. i have a 5 year old son who"ll start KG this year, so good school districts is an important factor. I couldnt find any good apartments in these places. i found couple of good ones in Manchester (The pavilion, waterford commons etc), but from what i understood, schools doesnt seem to be very good. These apartments have Robertson as their elementary school. Does any one know whether this is a good school?

I saw 2-3 apartments in glastonbury, but most of them looks small with only 2 bedrooms and 950 sq ft. we are looking for a 3 bedroom. Can some one suggest any other safe areas with good schools and with apartments like the ones in manchester?

Thanks!

[sun]

I think that there is a real misconception about the quality of CT schools, especially in the towns/cities other than what are considered to be the most "popular". We have pretty stringent state requirements to become and remain a teacher here. All public school teachers must have a Master's Degree within 5 years of starting to teach, and teaching positions are hard to come by without having a Master's.
So to say that any school system isn't very good is untrue, at least for most towns and cities. Even in what are considered to be the "worst" cities, it's acknowledged that there are still so many bright students that do succeed and thrive, that it's often not the fault of the teachers or the school system at all, but that it's the student's socio-economic background that is contributory.
Poverty and poor pre-school educational development are the main problem that lead to some of the student failings, even in the better school systems.
The teachers are by and large very professional everywhere in CT and good schools abound here.
Just try to find the best apartment in the best area that you can, and don't worry about the schools too much. Good students can often learn while others students simply don't.
Maybe you can try looking at Southington or Cromwell for housing options.

[JayCT]

Sun is correct that generally the ratings of a school is related to the socio-economic of its population and there are a lot of good schools that don't perform as well as others because of the types of people that live there. A good example is the Naubuc school in Glastonbury. It is the lowest performing school in town and is looked down on by some because it serves a more middle class part of town than the other schools where most families are well educated professionals and executives. Not a fair comparison.

That said, I would suggest that for the first couple of years of school it does not matter if you are in a top rated school district or not. I would suggest you look at the size of classes in the schools and the number of para-professionals available to assist the teachers. That should give you an idea if the school would be okay or not.

It sound from your post though that you are only looking at the large scale apartment complexes for a rental. There are none of these in the towns you mentioned but they do have them in towns like Manchester or Middletown. i would suggest that you either contact a real estate agent or check the local real estate ads for rental listings. Another place to check is Craigslist.com.

As for the towns you should look in, to me it would depend on where your job its located. If you are west, north or in Hartford itself then I would look in West Hartford, Simsbury, Farmington or Avon. If your job is in Hartford or south or east of it, then I would consider Glastonbury.

Glastonbury does have condos that are rented and a few small rental complexes, but there are no large scale rental apartments here. Also consider Rocky Hill, Newington or Cromwell for rentals in communities with good schools. Good luck, Jay

[sun]

Let me add that with the help of state aid, our public teacher salaries are among the highest in the nation. And because we have mandatory binding arbitration, teacher strikes are outlawed. So public school teachers tend to be very career oriented and seniority conscious.

[agopinath]

Thanks Sun. I wont look down on the schools. We moved to US 3 years back and i dont know much about the schools here. Thanks for helping me out! i"ll concentrate on finding the right apartment now.

[agopinath]

Thanks Jay, i was basically looking for a nice apartment complex. My husband will be working for 'The hartford' . i did look at craiglist, and saw couple of houses for rent. we"ll try to get in touch with a realtor. i"ll also look at other places you mentioned.

Also, Can any one recommend a good hospital near hartford area? i am expecting and want the figure out the obg-gyn and hospital.

Thanks a lot for helping me out!

[Radiant]

Hartford Hospital is great for maternity - as is St. Francis - both in Hartford. I had my son at Mancheser Hospital and they have a great birthing center. Both of my older daughters were born at New Britain Gen Hospital - now Hospital of Central CT - also a great birthing center but about 25 minutes from Hartford. I've had three children go through Manchester Schools without any major issues - like previous people have mentioned, it depends so much on the child and family for success in school - I've always found most of the teachers to be wonderful. If you find apartments on streets you are unsure of, feel free to contact me and I can give you an idea of what the neighborhood is like.

[agopinath]

Thanks for helping me out Radiant. Can you please recommend any ob/gyn in manchester area? i saw couple of them when i looked at my insurance company website. i am also going to call up the apartments today to figure out which ones will be available by august.

Thanks a lot to everyone in this forum.

[Radiant]

Try OB Gyn Group of Manchester - they are a large group with both doctors and midwives - OBGYN Group of Manchester. 860-646-1157. I've been very happy with them for years. Best of luck on the new baby and apartment search - like I mentioned, if you give me some streets you are looking at, I can give you a heads up on the area.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by agopinath

Thanks Jay, i was basically looking for a nice apartment complex. My husband will be working for 'The hartford' . i did look at craiglist, and saw couple of houses for rent. we"ll try to get in touch with a realtor. i"ll also look at other places you mentioned.

Also, Can any one recommend a good hospital near hartford area? i am expecting and want the figure out the obg-gyn and hospital.

Thanks a lot for helping me out!

I assume that you mean The Hartford's Hartford offices on Asylum Street. They have several locations in the area including Simsbury and Windsor. The Hartford is located just west of downtown, so I would consider staying on that side of Hartford, otherwise your husband would have to commute through downtown to get to his office. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people do that without any problems, but I like live as conveniently close to work as possible. That said, I would check for rentals in West Hartford. It is a great town with excellent schools, great parks, lots of activities for families and some of the best restaurants and shopping in the State. West Hartford Center is considered one of the State's best downtown areas which people come to from all over the state. Same thing with the West Farms Mall located on the West Hartford/Farmington town line. You will not find any large scale apartment complexes in West Hartford, so I suggest you check out local classified ads or real estate offices. Good luck, Jay