[JayCT]

Originally Posted by BogieOrangeman

JayCT,

What season or seasons did the accidents happen? How dangerous is this area in the winter?

The "big" accident occurred in the summer in good weather and was primarily due to poor maintenance of a truck and a poor driver.

Winter weather can make crossing the mountain a nightmare. There are times when it will be raining at the base of the mountain and snowing or sleeting at the top, making driving over it very difficult and dangerous. There are also times when there will be ice on the mountain and none on either side. To ConnDOT's credit, they are very dilligent in maintaining this road in the winter and do a great job.

The problem with this road is that it is not designed for the amount of traffic it has on it (there has been an explosion of new construction in the valley over the past 30 years). Over the years, ConnDOT has proposed major improvements but was met with strong resistance from the locals who don't want to see anything change significantly. ConnDOT wanted to build a freeway into the area but again locals resisted. ConnDOT has so many needs for its limited resources that it will not fight local opposition unless it has too. They also wanted for years to improve Route 4 through Farmington Center only to be greeted with a firm NO. Their attitude now is "Fine, you don't want change and still want to build and build, then live with the traffic". I really do not blame them. JMHO Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by nnp

Thanks so much for all of your replies. This is the kind of information we were looking for!

It's interesting that some of you noted that Avon is more overt about its affluence. We're both professionals and live an upper middle class lifestyle, but we hate over the top snobbishness. Plus, we have a toddler and don't want to raise kids in an environment where that's what it's all about.

Would you say that Avon is more socially competitive than Simsbury and Glastonbury?

Also, which town do you think has the most community-oriented feel? Being new in town, that is also a factor for us.

nnp - All three of these towns are "socially competitive" in some way or another. Unfortunately that goes with living in this type of community. Because Avon is the top, maybe it is a little more noticeable than Simsbury or Glastonbury, but it is there in all three.

As an example, we live in what is known as the poor part of Glastonbury (the north end). There is a small publicly owned housing project here (War-Time constructed duplexes) that is run by the town. This project has a lot of working class people and immigrants which means that in comparision to other schools in town, our school (Naubuc) has lower test scores than the others. There are people in town who look down on this school and feel because of this it is inferior to the others.

I get angry when I hear this (but realize I just need to laugh at them) but my kids are getting just as good of an education there than then other schools. In fact I will say their education is better because the class sizes in Naubuc are smaller (around 20 kids per class), there are a lot more para-professionals to help the teachers and they have a program of one-on-one reading instruction for students in the lower grades (great program that has helped my kids immensely even though they were good readers to begin with). I was told by a teacher in the 6th grade school (where all 6th graders in town go) that she has found the Naubuc kids to be a little better prepared than the other schools when they enter 6th grade.

Also my kids have seen that not every kids mom and dad have a lot of money and I like to think they appreciate what they have a little more than if they went to one of the other schools in town where every family is fairly well off.

My older son just completed the 6th grade and he has seen things that make me wonder about other portions of town. Kids with cell phones and designer clothes in 6th grade and the formation of cliques of popular kids who come from the right part of town. Reading this it sounds worse than it really is, but it does happen. Jay

[JiminCT]

Growing up in Avon (lived there from 1972-1990..folks still live there) and Simsbury is quite different than Glastonbury. The mountains act as a barrier to some degree, but aesthetically, you are in the foothills of the Berkshires here. The Farmington River runs through the area as well...thus tubing, fly-fishing, and rock-roasting (our old quote for hanging on the river) is all close by in your backyard. Ski Sundown is a great little hill for night skiing, and sits about 15 minutes from Avon Center. Mall shopping? Canton has its own and a trip to Westfarms is about 20 minutes...really not bad at all.
We personally didnt mind jumping over the mountain via route 44. Its really not that bad..dont let people scare you...and there are three other easy alternate routes over Avon Mountain. Aesthetically Home Depot and Lowe's dont really fit into these towns zoning plans. Route 44 and Route 10 have most of the commercial stores....
West Hartford is about 15 minutes if you need a food kick.

I liked growing up in the valley a lot. Pretty area too...
Only complaint is that it is very corporate gypsy-Marty McGillicuddy. Thats more of recent thing though...

[nnp]

Thanks to all again. We definitely realize that all of these towns are socially competitive, but were curious about how that manifests itself in different towns. I grew up in a socially competitive place, but that was before the age of cell phones and kids acting like mini-adults! :-)

I might have some more questions as our house hunting continues.

[JayCT]

JiminCT - you are right. I did not mean to scare anyone but did want people who are not from the area to be aware of what the mountain can be like. The Farmingotn Valley is really beautiful and a wonderful place to live. Almost anyone would be very happy there. Almost everything you need is there. I mentioned the mall, Home Depot and Lowes because my inlaws live in Simsbury and these are the things they must leave the valley for. It can be a bother if you are use to being 10 minutes to them.

From what I see in Glastonbury, the social competitiveness is not as bad as you think. It is not like they show ono TV where obnoxious kids walk around with the cell phones attached to their ear all day and drive around in Bemers with the stereo blasting all the time. Many parents are aware of these problems and they nip them in the butt before they get out of hand. I have found that the older lids in our neighborhood are very nice and respectful. There are however the occasional instances where this happens, but that is defintiely the exception rather than the rule. Also note that it is a requirement of Glastonbury High School for students to perform a certain amount of volunteer work to help the poor in order to graduate. I think this helps keep many of the kids grounded. JMHO Jay

[Iska]

Jay, please talk up the Farmington Valley towns a little bit more. With all this positive Glastonbury talk, there will be nothing left for me to buy when I get ready to move.

[BogieOrangeman]

Jay is there a town in the area (east of the river) that you consider has the potential to be the new Glastonbury meaning a town that is more affordable with just as much potential?

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by BogieOrangeman

Jay is there a town in the area (east of the river) that you consider has the potential to be the new Glastonbury meaning a town that is more affordable with just as much potential?

There are many very nice towns east of the river. Marlborough and Hebron are two towns that come to mind. Marlborough is a bit more expensive than Hebron and has direct access to Route 2. Hebron is a beautiful small town with a lot of great areas. These two towns share a middle and high school (RHAM) with Andover. The schools are considered to be very good.

Another town that is growing fast in an upscale way is Ellington. Once a very rural farm town, a lot of upscale homes are being built there now. Homes that rival Glastonbury's too. Not sure how good the schools are though. I am sure others here will have opinions.

I would also like to say that I do not feel Glastonbury is unaffordable. There is a large range of homes here from small capes to McMansions. Single-family homes start at about $225k. There are also a lot of condos with prices starting at around $175k for a modest 2 bedroom townhouse. Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Iska

Jay, please talk up the Farmington Valley towns a little bit more. With all this positive Glastonbury talk, there will be nothing left for me to buy when I get ready to move.

Iska - Sorry, I will try to talk up the other towns and talk up Glastonbury's bad points more. I am sure there will be plenty of homes for you to look at when you get here. Jay

[mels]

When I moved to the area I looked at Glastonbury first since I always liked the town. However, we switched the search to Marlborough just because we could get more bang for our buck. Our budget would have gotten us a small to average sized house on a small lot, where in Marlborough our budget would get us an average or a little larger sized house on a large lot. Plus the shops and restaurants in Glastonbury are a short drive away. I thought Marlborough seemed up and coming. They are strict in their planning/zoning to keep a certain aesthetic, like Glastonbury, and have formulated a well thought out plan to develop the town center without allowing it to become strip malled.

I picked Marlborough over Hebron because of the closer access to Rt. 2 and shopping (grocery stores and such in Glastonbury), plus I liked the feel of the town better, but you really couldn't go wrong with either place. Both towns do have much more of a rural feel than Glastonbury center, but the outlying parts of Glastonbury (east and south parts of town) are very similar to Marlborough and Hebron, especially since Glastonbury and Marlborough share a border.