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So the spouse and I will be commuting to Yale, New Haven and Springfield, MA respectively for the next three years. He would need to be within a 35-40 minute drive from Yale- I can drive a bit longer. Any suggestions on where to live? Some place where we can hop on to the interstate and get to our workplaces without encountering too much traffic.
We're looking for a family friendly city- some place with nice restaurants, things to do, relatively safe but not too rural. We're hoping to buy a house if we can find such a place- at a budget of 300-350K.
Your problem will be Hartford. For you to live 30 to 40 minutes from New Haven would place you somewhere along the I-91 corridor in central Connecticut south of Hartford. That means that you would have to commute through Hartford to get to Springfield. This could be very difficult during rush hour.
Towns I would recommend include Rocky Hill, Cromwell and Berlin. You do not indicate if schools are important or not. If they are not, I would also consider Middletown which has a great downtown area and lots of interesting shops and restaurants as well as Wesleyan University. Neighboring Middlefield is very nice but is a bit rural in character yet it is close to Middletown. Good luck, Jay
Thanks, JayCT! I might be able to negotiate the Hartford traffic issue with my employers- shifting my working hours by an hour or so in either direction. What would the typical rush hours on I-91 be?
Schools are not particularly important- we may have kids a year or so down the road, but by the time they're school-age, we might be ready to move on. The most we might be looking at is pre-schools. Any other concerns about Middletown we should be aware of?
So the spouse and I will be commuting to Yale, New Haven and Springfield, MA respectively for the next three years. He would need to be within a 35-40 minute drive from Yale- I can drive a bit longer. Any suggestions on where to live? Some place where we can hop on to the interstate and get to our workplaces without encountering too much traffic.
We're looking for a family friendly city- some place with nice restaurants, things to do, relatively safe but not too rural. We're hoping to buy a house if we can find such a place- at a budget of 300-350K.
I'd greatly appreciate any/all advice. Thanks!
I would go further North than Middletown or you will spend 45-1 hour getting to Springfield simply due to having to get through Hartford in the morning to get there. Basically you are doing a "double commute" in regard to traffic patterns. One into Hartford and the other into Springfield. Springfield is a good solid 30 minutes North of Hartford alone with a clear shot.
By comparison the drive into New Haven trafficwise from the North will be much easier so you can afford to put more distance between them.
I would look into the Rocky Hill or Wethersfield area. My thoughts went to Glastonbury as well so long as you are near the center of town as you husband can just jump the RT3 bridge to I91 South and you can buzz up into Hartford via RT2 to 91 North, but the RT2 commute into Hartford is the one traffic pattern I have little experience with. (I'm always going the opposite direction for the most part.) Perhaps someone else on here can confirm or deny if it's backed up on a regular basis going from RT2 to the 84 off ramp. (Which leads to I91 in a few hundred feet.)
The difficulty getting through Hartford is that there are several main highways that slither into the city. It's the state capitol, and one of the leading insurance company centers of the country. So the 9-5 crew is enormous, and due to Connecticut's overwhelming lack of "real" mass transit, everyone who doesn't already live within walking distance, drives.
Now combine that, with the region's International Airport just a stone's throw north of I-91. Anyone living from New Haven and up, will typically use that airport to get from point A to point B. So you're not just dealing with traffic into Hartford. You're dealing with traffic into Hartford, AND traffic to the airport.
Now also combine that, with traffic heading east to Boston on I-84. The exit ramp off I-91 North getting to I-84 is usually backed up around 1/4 mile during off-peak. During rush hour, it's not unusual to see two lanes on I-91 gridlocked with people swerving to get into the right lane and jumping the line to be on that highway 1 car before the guy behind him.
Then, consider what is probably very confusing for people who aren't used to it: a left-exit into the downtown area. If you're passing someone on the left, and you're trying to go straight through, you have to jerk over fast or you end up downtown. So there's a lot of scrambling.
So we have, in summary:
1. Scrambling on the left to get to the middle to go straight through.
2. Scrambling from the middle to the left to get downtown
3. Scrambling from the middle and on the right to get to I-84
4. Scrambling from the right to get to the left to go downtown
5. Scrambling from all lanes to get to the airport
It's a mess, during rush hour. The amazing thing, is how few accidents there are, considering the vastness of the scrambling going on.
EDITED TO ADD: The good news, is it won't be nearly as bad for you going to Springfield, as it will be for your spouse going downtown New Haven. THEY have to deal with the Long Wharf area and the point at which I-91 ends, at a T-junction with I-95 North and South. That can get backed up for several exits during rush hour.
I do not agree with you JViello. The OP stated they needed to be within 35 to 40 minutes from New Haven (I assume this to be the maximum) and did not put a time limit on the commute to Springfield. That is why I would not go further north than Rocky Hill.
The commute into New Haven on I-91 southbound commonly backs up or slows significantly from Exit 8 down to I-95. The OP says Yale but does not say what part of Yale which kind of sprawls across the center of the city. If the spouse's job location is off of Exit 3 - Trumbull Street, it would not be too bad, but if it is over in the medical center area, it could take a significant amount of additional time to get there.
JViello's point about Glastonbury is good. If you live in the North End of town, your spouse could easily get to I-91 via the Putnam Bridge (Route 3) and they could avoid Hartford completely by catching I-291 in Manchester. The problem would be that Glastonbury is really more than 45 minutes to New Haven though. Jay
It'll be harder to find a home in Glastonbury in their price range if they choose to buy. Soon the Portland bridge is going under repair which will limit some southbound options in the event of traffic on I91.
Def. thinking what others said...rocky hill, middletown, cromwell. It'll be easy to find a relatively new home in those areas and there is plenty of nightlife and commuting options.
Also plenty of commuter parking lots going north and south...maybe bussing is an option for the OP.
It'll be harder to find a home in Glastonbury in their price range if they choose to buy. Soon the Portland bridge is going under repair which will limit some southbound options in the event of traffic on I91.
Def. thinking what others said...rocky hill, middletown, cromwell. It'll be easy to find a relatively new home in those areas and there is plenty of nightlife and commuting options.
Also plenty of commuter parking lots going north and south...maybe bussing is an option for the OP.
I am not sure why you are menitoning the Arragoni (Portland) Bridge construction. That bridge really only serves the towns south of Glastonbury (Portland, East Hampton, Marlborough) and maybe a portion of South Glastonbury. I suggested north Glastonbury which would cross the river on the Putnam Bridge.
Also, I have a friend that is looking at houses in about the same price range. He is looking in both Glastonbury and Rocky Hill. He is finding more to his liking in Glastonbury than Rocky Hill. He feels the homes he is seeing in Rocky Hill are more tract home looking than the ones in Glastonbury. Of course he is not looking for a large home but one that is older and has more character. I guess it depends on what you are looking for. Jay
I agree with JayCT that Rocky Hill, Cromwell and Berlin would be ideal. I would also consider Newington. In fact, if you go with either Newington or Berlin, you can use the Berlin Turnpike (CT-15) as an alternative to I-91, which has a higher chance of being congested. There is a plethora of restaurants and things to do in this area. And, your money would go a longer way if you went with Berlin or Newington. $350K can get you something very legit and decent enough for a family. The only difference between Newington and Berlin is that Newington has about 3 times the population density. I will say, however, that Rocky Hill and Cromwell are generally more desirable by objective standards. Just more pricey and you must use I-91.
The difficulty getting through Hartford is that there are several main highways that slither into the city. It's the state capitol, and one of the leading insurance company centers of the country. So the 9-5 crew is enormous, and due to Connecticut's overwhelming lack of "real" mass transit, everyone who doesn't already live within walking distance, drives.
Now combine that, with the region's International Airport just a stone's throw north of I-91. Anyone living from New Haven and up, will typically use that airport to get from point A to point B. So you're not just dealing with traffic into Hartford. You're dealing with traffic into Hartford, AND traffic to the airport.
Now also combine that, with traffic heading east to Boston on I-84. The exit ramp off I-91 North getting to I-84 is usually backed up around 1/4 mile during off-peak. During rush hour, it's not unusual to see two lanes on I-91 gridlocked with people swerving to get into the right lane and jumping the line to be on that highway 1 car before the guy behind him.
Then, consider what is probably very confusing for people who aren't used to it: a left-exit into the downtown area. If you're passing someone on the left, and you're trying to go straight through, you have to jerk over fast or you end up downtown. So there's a lot of scrambling.
So we have, in summary:
1. Scrambling on the left to get to the middle to go straight through.
2. Scrambling from the middle to the left to get downtown
3. Scrambling from the middle and on the right to get to I-84
4. Scrambling from the right to get to the left to go downtown
5. Scrambling from all lanes to get to the airport
It's a mess, during rush hour. The amazing thing, is how few accidents there are, considering the vastness of the scrambling going on.
Oh Good Lord it's not that bad. You seem to be splitting hairs looking for reasons on how to make it sound like a nightmare.
Airport traffic? LOL Okay.
Left exits? Yea, the highway is about 6 lanes wide there with LARGE left lanes. Any backup there has nothing to do with left hand exits and it's nowhere near the 84 exit, and you don't "scramble" to get anywhere.
The 84 on-ramp is never backed up in off peak and NEVER in the morning as that's oppsite to traffic flow. And even when it is backed up, the Putnam to RT2 bypasses is without issue.
I made that very commute from Meriden to East Hartford behind CT Blvd for years before moving up here and never experienced what you said, once. Ever.
I love when FFC people comment on Hartford traffic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT
I do not agree with you JViello. The OP stated they needed to be within 35 to 40 minutes from New Haven (I assume this to be the maximum) and did not put a time limit on the commute to Springfield. That is why I would not go further north than Rocky Hill.
The commute into New Haven on I-91 southbound commonly backs up or slows significantly from Exit 8 down to I-95. The OP says Yale but does not say what part of Yale which kind of sprawls across the center of the city. If the spouse's job location is off of Exit 3 - Trumbull Street, it would not be too bad, but if it is over in the medical center area, it could take a significant amount of additional time to get there.
JViello's point about Glastonbury is good. If you live in the North End of town, your spouse could easily get to I-91 via the Putnam Bridge (Route 3) and they could avoid Hartford completely by catching I-291 in Manchester. The problem would be that Glastonbury is really more than 45 minutes to New Haven though. Jay
Good point about Yale, I wasn't thinking about the medical center. Either way, at 36 miles from Rocky Hill to Springfield, it's not going to be pretty taking Hartford into account. I was thinking more of the ride home dealing with 91S through the city to be honest. You have 15-20 minute delays there alone sometimes!
Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321
I agree with JayCT that Rocky Hill, Cromwell and Berlin would be ideal. I would also consider Newington. In fact, if you go with either Newington or Berlin, you can use the Berlin Turnpike (CT-15) as an alternative to I-91, which has a higher chance of being congested.
Seriously people, can we take a break from speaking about things we have never experienced or tried personally before we steer someone in the wrong direction?
The Berlin Turnpike is a blvd lined with shopping centers will add a TON of time to her commute in either direction. From Berlin to Wethersfield it's littered with light after light after light and traffic.
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