[philliefan]

I am looking at a job with P&W. I have a daughter entering 10th grade in the fall. She is a very good student and also swims. She is looking to join a swim team that practices in Windsor. I have no idea what commutes are like in the Hartford area. What areas/neighborhoods/schools would you recommend that would not result in ridiculously long commutes to work or swimming, and, of course, have good schools. I have looked at W. Hartford, Simsbury, Glastonbury. Any other places I should look?

[Uconn97]

I wouldn't look much beyond south windsor or glastonbury. You should be able to find plenty of options in those towns, but really depends on your budget. You will get more "bang for your buck" in my opinion if you stick to south windsor...

A commute from west hartford isn't unreasonable. Traffic here isn't terrible so if that community interests you, I wouldn't worry about the commute from WH to EH.

[skel1977]

i second south windsor

[JayCT]

You do not mention budget or the type of community you want. Commuting from Simsbury and West Hartford to East Hartford would not be fun since you have to go through or around downtown. I would recommend that you stay east and/or south of Hartford. Both Glastonbury and South Windsor are good choices. To get to swimming in Windsor though, South Windsor would be easier. Jay

[philliefan]

We would like to stay around low 300's for housing. I liked W. Hartford as it looked like a walkable community. But it looked like getting from West to East, though not far, might be a little difficult at rush hour. Glastonbury looks a little far to the pool, and perhaps a little bit expensive.

[htfdcolt]

There's this perception that the commute from W. Hartford to E. Hartford is difficult. I've gone that way many times in the morning, to Exit 58 (which is what you would take for PW). Depending on where you live in WH, you can avoid the worst stretches of I-84 completely by getting on at Broad St/Asylum.

I would not recommend living in Farmington, for example, because you could not avoid the congested part of I-84, but most of WH is fine. There are several people who do the commute...without traffic it's < 20 min, with traffic at most 30 min. If you like WH for other reasons, go for it...the quality of life will make up for the small difference in commute.

[JViello]

South Windsor fits perfectly.

[philliefan]

How is the South Windsor High School?

[T Pinto]

South Windsor and Glastonbury are definitely both excellent choices. Currently, the number of available options for a single family home with 3 beds/2baths, in the low 300s, are approximately equal in both towns. That being said, you will find the homes in SW (in this range) are newer.

In that price range and criteria, you also have a number of good townhomes with Glastonbury leading the way in terms of options.

[parentologist]

There are good swim teams all over the place, and at most high schools, too. Is she a world class athlete who needs a fantastic program because she expects to compete at a very high level? If not, you don't have to go to Windsor for a swim team. There are at least four or five that I can think of off the top of my head here in West Hartford alone, in addition to the high school swim teams.