[Pgmcdoniel]

Please help...I am about to relocate to CT from Nashville, TN. I am flying into Hartford this weekend to look at potential rental properties. I will be working in New Haven, but am hesitant to rent right there due to safety, cost, and school zones. I have three girls (7, 11, and 14 yrs old) and two dogs. Finding a rental has been a challenge from just looking online. I have found a great looking property in Bristol and want your thoughts on the commute. Please keep in mind that I have currently commuted to work each day with a 45min-1hr drive...so commuting doesn't bother me.

I have a budget for housing at 2200 or less for a large 3 bedroom or 4 bedroom rental. Are there any other areas you would recommend to look?

I located another two properties in New Haven...they are on Edgehill and West Park Ave. Any thoughts about those locations regarding safety and school?

Thanks so much for your help!

[kidyankee764]

Check Realtor.com. I see lots of rentals in your price range in Branford. You should also check out (in order from least to most expensive) North Haven, Milford, Orange, Guilford and Madison.

Be picky with schools. New Haven and New Britain aren't known for their schools.

[Stylo]

That is a decent area in New Haven. It borders Westville, which is nice, but a few blocks to the east is one of the worst areas in New Haven: Dixwell/Newhallville. Not sure about schools there, elementary might be OK, but the high schools in New Haven are problematic unless your children qualify for a magnet school.

Bristol is a so-so town and kind of far. Not sure why your search brought you there.

I would look into Branford, Milford, Orange, North Haven, Hamden, Wallingford, and Seymour. All are safe communities with average or above average schools (for CT, which has better public schools than most states).

As kidyankee said, there are rentals within your price range in Branford. In fact, not a bad selection in a lot of these towns. Example:

Milford: http://www.realtor.com/homesforrent/.../price-na-2200
Hamden: http://www.realtor.com/homesforrent/.../price-na-2200
Wallingford: http://www.realtor.com/homesforrent/.../price-na-2200
Orange: http://www.realtor.com/homesforrent/.../price-na-2200

[JayCT]

Bristol is no where near New Haven and definitely not worth that long of a commute. Check Branford, Guilford or Madison. These towns are beautiful, have good schools and should have homes in your price range. Be aware though they may not be as large as you seem to be looking for. Jay

[anon860]

You might want to look in the Westville center (Edgewood School) area which is a good elementary school, as well as the Spring Glen area of Hamden (Spring Glen School). New Haven has magnet schools and honors programs for high school that are also strong.

You can look farther out, but then you are starting to look at ridiculous commutes. CT has traffic, snow, etc. Don't you want to be close to where your kids are every day?

The conventional wisdom here is that suburbs are "better" for schools, but that is because people only look at averages (and because most of the commenters here live in the suburbs, many of which, like in other parts of the country, are in terminal decline in CT - they feel they need to prop up their towns).

The reality is if you look at the number of high achieving students there are actually a lot in New Haven and Hamden (not so in Hartford, Bridgeport, other CT cities). New Haven Public Schools send more kids to Yale than any other public schools in all of New England.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by anon860

New Haven Public Schools send more kids to Yale than any other public schools in all of New England.

I'd like to see stats on this. You post these asinine opinions as fact, and when asked for stats, you can't seem to ever provide them.

Originally Posted by anon860

You might want to look in the Westville center (Edgewood School) area which is a good elementary school, as well as the Spring Glen area of Hamden (Spring Glen School). New Haven has magnet schools and honors programs for high school that are also strong.

You can look farther out, but then you are starting to look at ridiculous commutes. CT has traffic, snow, etc. Don't you want to be close to where your kids are every day?

The conventional wisdom here is that suburbs are "better" for schools, but that is because people only look at averages (and because most of the commenters here live in the suburbs, many of which, like in other parts of the country, are in terminal decline in CT - they feel they need to prop up their towns).

The reality is if you look at the number of high achieving students there are actually a lot in New Haven and Hamden (not so in Hartford, Bridgeport, other CT cities).

Lets be real, here. Commuting from Branford or North Haven to New Haven takes less than 10 minutes on a normal day. On a heavy traffic day, MAYBE 20 minutes. Maybe. When it snows, maybe 20. When it rains, maybe 15. Don't scare someone away from living in a beautiful, leafy suburb and steer them toward a city that, yes, has culture, but also has a lot of crime, poverty and schools that perform FAR below the state averages. Teachers in NH Public Schools are in discipline mode far more often than they are teaching. I wouldn't send my kids to NH schools, not because the teachers or curriculum are crappy, but because the lack of parental discipline at home overflows into the school and on the streets.

OP: Don't listen to anon. It's clear they have pride in New Haven, but there needs to be a balance of pride and realism. If you want to send your kids to school in a city that has daily shootings, go for it. Otherwise, look into the suburbs suggested to you in previous posts. Schools and overall quality of life is far superior.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by anon860

You might want to look in the Westville center (Edgewood School) area which is a good elementary school, as well as the Spring Glen area of Hamden (Spring Glen School). New Haven has magnet schools and honors programs for high school that are also strong.

You can look farther out, but then you are starting to look at ridiculous commutes. CT has traffic, snow, etc. Don't you want to be close to where your kids are every day?

The conventional wisdom here is that suburbs are "better" for schools, but that is because people only look at averages (and because most of the commenters here live in the suburbs, many of which, like in other parts of the country, are in terminal decline in CT - they feel they need to prop up their towns).

The reality is if you look at the number of high achieving students there are actually a lot in New Haven and Hamden (not so in Hartford, Bridgeport, other CT cities). New Haven Public Schools send more kids to Yale than any other public schools in all of New England.

You said that the suburbs are in decline on another thread but have not provided any information or facts supporting that statement. What do you base this on?

Schools in New Haven struggle. This is a fact. You just have to check the website below to see that New Haven schools perform SIGNIFICANTLY below the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests. New Haven sends more students to Yale because of an agreement that they have to take kids from city high schools even if they do not measure up to Yale's high standards. It does not mean that the students are performing well or that they are graduating. As for the magnet schools, enrollment is based on a lottery so there is nothing saying that your child will get into a magnet school.

Finally I agree with JViello that a commute from Branford (or Guilford or Madison) is that bad. The roads leading to the Q Bridge have been widened and those nasty traffic backups into the city are no where near as bad now. And you also have the option of taking a train in with the Shoreline East commuter trains. Jay

State Department of Education - CEDaR

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by anon860

You can look farther out, but then you are starting to look at ridiculous commutes. CT has traffic, snow, etc. Don't you want to be close to where your kids are every day?

Commuting from the towns suggested in this thread is FAR from ridiculous.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

OP: Don't listen to anon. It's clear they have pride in New Haven, but there needs to be a balance of pride and realism. If you want to send your kids to school in a city that has daily shootings, go for it. Otherwise, look into the suburbs suggested to you in previous posts. Schools and overall quality of life is far superior.

The suggestion by "anon" of looking into Hamden does have merit. As for the suggestion of New Haven, absolutely no merit on that one. Actually, i could have sworn that i recently saw on the news a group of New Haven parents that were attempting to get the legislature to consider a voucher system, so that they could get their kids out of New Haven schools.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

The suggestion by "anon" of looking into Hamden does have merit. As for the suggestion of New Haven, absolutely no merit on that one. Actually, i could have sworn that i recently saw on the news a group of New Haven parents that were attempting to get the legislature to consider a voucher system, so that they could get their kids out of New Haven schools.

Agreed. Hamden is a decent town to live with affordable rentals and schools that are better than New Haven.