[Leaving Michigan]

Good Morning,
Does anyone know about this area and if it's a good place to move to? I've tried to do research but there seems to be not allot of info on the city......



Thanks in advance

[Dragondog]

Middletown is a real nice town, located between Hartford and the shoreline (long Island sound) A great Main street, with great restuarants and New England ambience, The renowned Wesleyn University is in town- adding culture. You are close to Hartford and the shore and its wonderful beaches. Housing prices are about 265K median single family home- townhouses and condos's are less.

Climate is mild- with four seasons, non too harsh.

[CTinFLA]

(Have lived there.) Dragondog correct. Also, Wadsworth State Park on edge of town with hiking/biking trails, waterfalls, swimming pond. Town has GREAT 4th-of-July fireworks over the CT River. Lyman Orchards (next town over) with acres of pick-your-own fruit.

Population: Diverse! Wesleyan to welfare and everything in between.

Housing: Most outlying areas are fine. Near the downtown and Wesleyan Univ. stay south of Washington Street and west of Main.

School system: Grammar-school quality varies WIDELY, check online. Catholic and private schools also in town.

[connecticut]

Some of Middletown's abandoned buildings have finally been pried from the unethical but legal grip of several businesses that had held leases for years but didn't want ANY competition; new businesses now occupy most of these buildings. The town has a few good restaurants but shuts down early. This is a mild climate? Compared to what ... Alaska? Anyway, most of the people in Middletown are Sicilian-American & very proud of it, like much of CT. Middletown's "sister-city" is some town in Sicily or Italy. The South Farms area is very nice, very clean & fresh. Not much of a typical "college-town downtown," from my perspective ... I've loved living in various college towns & have lived in many around the country. Some would say you wouldn't even know the University was here because the campus community is quiet & kinda keeps to itself (yawn.) We chose Middletown because, to us, it was slim-pickens and we didn't want to be isolated ... still approx 30 minutes or so from Hartford, where most of the shopping is. I've had family members who've visited me from out-of-state remark, in the past, that the town looks down-trodden & from the '50s. I think it's kinda come a long way since I came here 4 yrs ago. Regardless, everyone in CT will stick up for it. I will admit, I can't wait to get outta here ... but I ain't stopping until I'm west of the Mississippi! P/S - If you like shopping, Manchester, CT is the best shopping mecca I've ever been to, nationwide. Up here, because the weather sux most of the time, everyone's always at the mall or in the book stores. Manchester is like 35-40 min. from Middletown. I would advise ANYONE looking to move to anywhere in CT or the even northeast to ALSO get perspectives/opinions of people who have lived in places other than the northeast, esp. CT. Also, if someone is coming from another beat place, CT may be great ... it's all subjective. I'd tell anyone to ask themselves what are their 3 top priorities, most important things to them. Since I've lived all over the U.S., I'm going to compare any place to many other places around the country ... for me the weather, friendliness & politeness of people and "things to do" rank very high but cost of living & a good economy is very important as well. We came here because my husband got a great job offer but I really hate it here, obviously.

[Dragondog]

Hey Connecticut Middletown is a USDA zone 6-7 climate
which means it has the same type of climate as the following locations

Louisville KY, southern Indiana, Southern Ohio, Central and southern Missouri
all of Kansas, Northern New Mexico.

See the usda planting zones- at this link. Cheers.

http://www.arborday.org/treeinfo/zonelookup.cfm

The climate in most of the state is considered modified human continental
meaning it will have 4 distinct seasons, modified by the nearby Ocean.
Also you said the trees here change in August-well from my drive today its still green!

As for only Alaska being colder then here- try these locations which are all colder.
Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, Grand Rapids, DeMoine, Omaha, Syarcuse Minneapolis, Cleveland , Toledo, Montreal,Toronto, Gary, South Bend, Ann Arbor, Cheyenne, Salt Lake City, Billings, Butte , Rockford, Urbana, Lafayette, Columbus, Denver and lastly Pittsburgh.

[CTinFLA]

Middletown is a blue-collar town that is in the process of revitalizing its Main Street. Because it is a blue-collar town, you can expect to find downtrodden areas, fierce ethnic pride, and businesses that have been around for generations (and look it). It is NOT a college town. Wesleyan is tiny, so its influence is more subtle, but you can venture on campus for events, performances, etc.

If you need a more upscale experience, then move to an upscale town. There you will find new development mixed with New England history and residents who have traveled the country and the world. (My friends have lived in England, France, Malaysia, and India, and all have happily returned to CT.)

As for shopping...people don't move to Connecticut for the shopping. They move there to raise their kids in one of the safest, healthiest, best-educated states in the country. (Check the statistics.)

[skytrekker]

Originally Posted by candreas

If it is so safe then how come there are so many sex offenders in almost every town in CT ( a lot than where I live and the surrounding areas: zero in HOlmdel, Colts neck and LIncroft, NJ). I cannot imagine that this would be the safest place to raise family. Only the mega rich towns and quite possibly because they are not so liberal, like New Canaan and Wilton have zero registered sex offenders. I am so worried about moving to a town with 44 of them living there (according to stats provided by city data)

Sex offenders are something none of us want to have our children subjected to. Please keep political biases to the minimum, and not place blame on any 'political ideology'-since we have examples of 'non liberals' engaged in behavior that is considered 'inappropriate' as well.

Thanks. Since this thread is over a year old-its time for it to rest in peace.