[wanderintonc]

Well...this guy could probably get the most house for his money in Middletown, vs. Middlefield or Durham. Also, the towns have very different lifestyles-Middletown is a small city, while MIddlefield and Durham are small towns, farther out.

I live in Middletown and my own kids who are past grade school are going to a magnet school and a vocational-technical school...both public, so you don't necessarily have to use private schools. I personally will not do the middle and high schools here, my own choice.

If the OP could get a house right in Berlin or Kensington, it might work out for him. He won't get much for $300,000, but could get something. He's really got to think this thing through and decide if it is the best choice for his family.

[Sri]

Gnatty8,

If you are still searching for home please do look at this house in Cheshire:

$279,900
2004 built
1872 s.f. +can finish basement (partially fin basement/s.f. not included)
Colonial/Raised Ranch
1/4 acre land (small but lots of woods are around the lot)
15 min to berlin/25-30min to Hartford/25 min to New Haven/and 1 hour to Ny border.
House is on Birch st-decent area houses in the area are older 1,250 s.f. to newer 3,500 s.f homes.
LOTS of shopping/Southington line.
taxes are about $4,500-$5,000

AND you do not need to send your children to private school, Cheshire has EXCELLENT schools.

Additional details on realtor.com/fsbo.com and century21 click-it.com!

sincerely,
SRI

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by Sri

House is on Birch st-decent area houses in the area are older 1,250 s.f. to newer 3,500 s.f homes.

Birch Street is peculiar in that it's accessible from Southington, not Cheshire.

[debct]

Originally Posted by gnatty8

Was blown away. We currently live in a 3 sides brick house; 4 BR, 2 1/2 bath, family room, LR, laundry room, screened porch, 2 CA garage, and very large office (the room is probably 300 square feet alone). In all, close to 3,000 SF. We are located in a desirable suburban area in NW Atlanta.

Have been browsing the listings at Realtor.com and PrudentialCT and it looks like the best we can find in the same price range as our current house (we are looking in Berlin, Glastonbury, Southington, Kensington) are almost all in the 1,500 to 1,700 square foot area, most with 3 BR, and 1 1/2 bath at most. I had realized that housing dollars did not go very far in CT, but was unprepared for just how much of a "downsize" we would need to make. Are there other areas close to Berlin where we might have a little better luck? Schools are important, and I do not want to live in a high crime area. We may be calling off our move to CT after all!!

Try plainville,it borders with southington. The schools are great, there are lots of kids prorams through parks and rec, the library alslo has good programs. Crime is very low, and on top of the the police are highly visable. It is very quiet here.

It still is costly , but you may have better luck.

[cool_mommy]

Originally Posted by gnatty8

Was blown away. We currently live in a 3 sides brick house; 4 BR, 2 1/2 bath, family room, LR, laundry room, screened porch, 2 CA garage, and very large office (the room is probably 300 square feet alone). In all, close to 3,000 SF. We are located in a desirable suburban area in NW Atlanta.

Have been browsing the listings at Realtor.com and PrudentialCT and it looks like the best we can find in the same price range as our current house (we are looking in Berlin, Glastonbury, Southington, Kensington) are almost all in the 1,500 to 1,700 square foot area, most with 3 BR, and 1 1/2 bath at most. I had realized that housing dollars did not go very far in CT, but was unprepared for just how much of a "downsize" we would need to make. Are there other areas close to Berlin where we might have a little better luck? Schools are important, and I do not want to live in a high crime area. We may be calling off our move to CT after all!!

Hey Gnatty8,

We just moved from East Hampton, CT to SW Atlanta metro. The area of GA we purchased in is growing rapidly and didn't find as great of a bargain as we had hoped, while the housing market is in a slump in CT and took a loss on our home there.

Anyway, I would highly recommend including East Hampton, Portland and East Haddam in your search, based on the criteria you have mentioned. They have great schools systems (not so sure about East Haddam though), very low crime and more affordable housing than say Glastonbury or Berlin. The commute from East Hampton to Berlin would take you roughly 30 minutes. I know this because I went to school at CCSU in New Britain while living in East Hampton. There are several new subdivisions in these areas but you may have to look at a somewhat older home to find something under 300,000 with the square footage you are looking for. Our home was about 2500 sq ft and only six years old, on almost 2 acres. Our asking price was more than 300,000. I would be happy to offer any information that I may have on communities and neighborhoods, just drop me a line.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by cool_mommy

Hey Gnatty8,

We just moved from East Hampton, CT to SW Atlanta metro. The area of GA we purchased in is growing rapidly and didn't find as great of a bargain as we had hoped, while the housing market is in a slump in CT and took a loss on our home there.

Anyway, I would highly recommend including East Hampton, Portland and East Haddam in your search, based on the criteria you have mentioned. They have great schools systems (not so sure about East Haddam though), very low crime and more affordable housing than say Glastonbury or Berlin. The commute from East Hampton to Berlin would take you roughly 30 minutes. I know this because I went to school at CCSU in New Britain while living in East Hampton. There are several new subdivisions in these areas but you may have to look at a somewhat older home to find something under 300,000 with the square footage you are looking for. Our home was about 2500 sq ft and only six years old, on almost 2 acres. Our asking price was more than 300,000. I would be happy to offer any information that I may have on communities and neighborhoods, just drop me a line.

coolmommy - Glad to hear you finally sold your home. Sorry you had to take a loss. It is interesting that you didn't find a bargain in Atlanta because from accounts I hear the market there is not great. Anyway, I just wanted to wish you the best in your new home. Jay

[Sri]

Originally Posted by Rich Lee

Birch Street is peculiar in that it's accessible from Southington, not Cheshire.

This is true, probably because I-691 acts as a sort of barrier although I believe tou will be able to access it by S End Rd (still in Southington I belive, but accesible by cheshire st.) once the Castle Heights sub-division is over (through aspen dr).

[cool_mommy]

Originally Posted by JayCT

coolmommy - Glad to hear you finally sold your home. Sorry you had to take a loss. It is interesting that you didn't find a bargain in Atlanta because from accounts I hear the market there is not great. Anyway, I just wanted to wish you the best in your new home. Jay

Thanks JayCT for the well wishes and the advice you provided along the way. We did find areas of Atlanta metro where builders were offering incredible deals but the commute would have been too much. The area we settled in is BOOMING and there is no loss of buyers. We did find a bigger home for less than what we would have paid in CT but not to the extent that other slower progressing areas would have offered. We are delighted with the area we settled in and couldn't be happier! One final thought, I had read how the cost of living is so much cheaper than CT. Not true in Atlanta metro; gas, cable TV, internet, phone service, groceries are about the same and clothing and household items are about the same. We haven't received our first electric bill yet. Sales tax is higher in our county too. It's all good, we love Georgia!

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by cool_mommy

Thanks JayCT for the well wishes and the advice you provided along the way. We did find areas of Atlanta metro where builders were offering incredible deals but the commute would have been too much. The area we settled in is BOOMING and there is no loss of buyers. We did find a bigger home for less than what we would have paid in CT but not to the extent that other slower progressing areas would have offered. We are delighted with the area we settled in and couldn't be happier! One final thought, I had read how the cost of living is so much cheaper than CT. Not true in Atlanta metro; gas, cable TV, internet, phone service, groceries are about the same and clothing and household items are about the same. We haven't received our first electric bill yet. Sales tax is higher in our county too. It's all good, we love Georgia!

As they say: the three most improtant things in real estate are "location, location, location". Best wishes on your new life in Atlanta. Jay

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by Sri

Gnatty8,

If you are still searching for home please do look at this house in Cheshire:

$279,900
2004 built
1872 s.f. +can finish basement (partially fin basement/s.f. not included)
Colonial/Raised Ranch
1/4 acre land (small but lots of woods are around the lot)
15 min to berlin/25-30min to Hartford/25 min to New Haven/and 1 hour to Ny border.
House is on Birch st-decent area houses in the area are older 1,250 s.f. to newer 3,500 s.f homes.
LOTS of shopping/Southington line.
taxes are about $4,500-$5,000

AND you do not need to send your children to private school, Cheshire has EXCELLENT schools.

Additional details on realtor.com/fsbo.com and century21 click-it.com!

sincerely,
SRI

F.Y.I. This property was reduced today to $265,000.