[Peyman1]

Thank you very much Mike, I'll look around and will most probably
have questions.

Someone was just telling me that if I prefer a city environment then Springfield is better than Hartford both in terms of city feel and crime,
but then the suburbs of Hartford are better than suburbs of Springfield.

Do you people agree?

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Peyman1

Thank you very much Mike, I'll look around and will most probably
have questions.

Someone was just telling me that if I prefer a city environment then Springfield is better than Hartford both in terms of city feel and crime,
but then the suburbs of Hartford are better than suburbs of Springfield.

Do you people agree?

I don't know much about Springfield but can say with confidence that Hartford's suburbs are more affluent with better performing public schools.

It depends on what you think "better" is.

[Peyman1]

To AnonChick,

You are definitely right. Before we moved here my former boss told me that
we are going to love this place.

It has it's really bad points. The rents are really too high and the more affordable places are usually very run down. And it's getting worse so I'm not sure we'd be able to afford to continue to live here but we're still going to miss it.

[Peyman1]

To kidyankee764,

Well we're not thinking about schools since we don't have kids and are looking to only rent.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Peyman1

Thank you very much Mike, I'll look around and will most probably
have questions.

Someone was just telling me that if I prefer a city environment then Springfield is better than Hartford both in terms of city feel and crime,
but then the suburbs of Hartford are better than suburbs of Springfield.

Do you people agree?

I don't agree. Springfield isn't that great of a city. Hartford proper does have crime issues in isolated areas, but has a decent downtown and some good neighborhoods. I'll say that West Hartford might be considered a suburb, but it's also city-like. It has a very substantial, walkable downtown (one of the best in CT) and many urban features. It is a better urban environment than Springfield by far IMO. It's also very close to Hartford to enjoy its downtown and parks.

West Hartford also has MUCH lower crime than Springfield.

I'm not hating on MA because I do like the Boston area, but the Hartford metro is much more appealing than Springfield.

Even though Hartford is a bigger city, West Hartford's center/downtown actually feels more lively, especially after work hours.

[Peyman1]

Thanks!

When searching for apartments I just write "west hartford,ct" would that be optimal?

I mean are there parts of Hartford (to the west) that would be practically considered west hartford?

And what streets or parts of hartford are considered the downtown area?

What areas of West Hartford would you recommend?

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by Peyman1

Thanks!

When searching for apartments I just write "west hartford,ct" would that be optimal?

I mean are there parts of Hartford (to the west) that would be practically considered west hartford?

And what streets or parts of hartford are considered the downtown area?

What areas of West Hartford would you recommend?

You could either do a search by town name or by zip code. There are 4 in WH - 06107 (rentals here will be closest to WH's downtown), 06119 (which includes Park Road and South Quaker), 06117 (which is in the Bishops Corner area) and 06110 (some rentals and you may find something within walking distance to Elmwood Center on New Britain Ave, which is also nice.) The only place I'd shy away from is the far southeast corner, east of New Park Avenue. It's an isolated area that's furthest from just about everything and it's not the most desireable area. Not dangerous or crime-ridden, but not that nice either.

Streets closest to WH's downtown are South/North Main and Farmington Ave. This is where most of the apartments area and there's a few others on side streets.

You may also like Hartford's West End - Farmington Avenue continues into Hartford and on this street are a few other apartment buildings like Clemens Place and a few duplexes. This area is really nice & the avenue has a ton of restaurants and shops, not quite in a downtown sense but it's a cool scene. Definitely consider this area in your search. Downtown Hartford may work, but it will be more expensive.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Peyman1

I mean are there parts of Hartford (to the west) that would be practically considered west hartford?

No, West Hartford is a completely different city. It neighbors Hartford, but is not an area or neighborhood - it's a full blown individual municipality.

There's West End in Hartford, which is the western part of the city of Hartford.

[AnonChick]

OP: If you were to -try- to compare areas of Hartford, to areas of Boston...(which is really not possible - there's no T, to start with)..

West Hartford would be to Harford, as Brookline would be to Boston. Except West Hartford is a bit more upscale, like Newton-Wellesley. But it's immediately adjacent to Hartford proper, like Brookline is to Boston proper. West Hartford does have its nifty boutiquey town center area though, just like Brookline has, off Comm Ave. It's more laid back though, less citified traffic, less urgency. It's pretty cool.

[JayCT]

If you want a more urban area then downtown Hartford would be good. I work with a couple of young people that live there and they do like it a lot. One is from Manhattan and the other from out west. I was surprised the Manhattan person liked it but they say that downtown Hartford is very liveable meaning though smaller things are easier to deal with there.

West Hartford is great and I would recoomend it if you want a less urban area. There are many young people there. I was recently at a seminar and was told that a study done by the town showed most of the young renters that work in the north Windsor/Windsor Locks/East Granby area live in Manchester.

As for Springfield, I would not recommend it. It is certainly not as big as Hartford. It has some nice neighborhoods but so does Hartford. There are less restaurants and nightlife there. It would be your decision which city is more to your liking. Jay