[tricia1624]

Thank you all so much for your input. Though the idea of being on the shore is appealing for my husband, I think practically I gravitate toward the WH/Glastonbury areas. A few follow up questions:

What would the commute be like from both WH and Glastonbury to Middletown? How are the areas different?

If I also seek employment in a college/university setting, where should we live for the best number of opportunities?

How would you recommend we start searching for houses, townhomes, or condos for rent?

Thanks in advance!!

[JayCT]

West Hartford is a more mature and more urban suburb. The homes there tend to be older and on smaller lots. It has an excellent downtown and is very walkable.

Glastonbury is more suburban in charater. Homes there tend to be newer and on larger lots. While Glastonburty has a nice business area, it is smaller and more car oriented than West Hartford. You should visit both towns and see which appeals more to you.

As for commutes, they are not bad. From West Hartford I would recommend coming down Route 9 avoiding downtown Hartford. From Glastonbury, you could come two ways, either across the Arrigoni Bridge freom Portland or over the Putnam Bridge and down I-91. It really depends on where you live in Glastonbury and where the job is in Middletown.

As for jobs at colleges, Wesleyan University is in Middletown so that would be an option no matter where you live. There is also a community college there as well. If you lived in West Hartford, you would be very near Univeristy of Hartford, St. Joseph's, UConn's West Hartford branch, Uconn's Law School, Uconn's Medical School and Tunxis Community College in Farmington. Glastonbury is not too far from UConn's main campus in Storrs or Goodwin College in East Hartford. It is also close to Manchester Community College. Both towns are not far from Trinity or Capitol Community in Hartford
I know people in Glastonbury that sommute to New Haven area colleges as well (Yale, Albertus Magus, Quinnipiac). I am sure there are people in West Hartford that commute to schools there as well.

As for looking for rentals, craigslist.com and realtor.com are good sources to start. You could also contact a local real estate company for listings. Good luck, Jay

[htfdcolt]

Agree with Jay's comments. As far as commute, it is 22 mi from Bishops Corner (northern WH) to the Wesleyan exit in Middletown. Roughly 30 min since the speed limit on Rt 9 is 65 mph. If you live in the southern end of WH, it will be less. You should not hit traffic until the stoplights on Rt 9 in Middletown.