[arjskr]

My husband currently lives and works in Hartford, CT and I in Providence, RI. We would love to live together and move to a spot between these 2 cities. We still have 2 years of studying to do before we can hope for this to happen otherwise. We are both in the medical profession and work odd hours so are looking for anyplace which would give both of us the shortest possible commute. Any advise would be appreciated.
The cities that we have considered in our search are Groton,CT, New London,CT, Southbridge,MA, Norwich,CT but are open to other places/ possibilites.

[JayCT]

This is not going to be easy. Hartford is about 75 miles from Providence and half way between them are some pretty rural/small town communities. The most direct route would be I-84 to I-384 to Route 6. Halfway would place you somewhere in the Brooklyn-Hampton, CT area. These are pretty small towns and I am not sure what they have in the way of rentals.

Route 6 is mostly a local road with traffic and signals so it is not the shortest route time-wise. A faster route (by longer) is Route 2 to I-395 to Route 6. Halfway on this route puts you in the Jewitt City area which is a little more developed. Again though I am not sure if this area has a lot of rentals. Nearby Norwich may be another option.

I do not htink the Groton-New London or Southbridge areas would work. They are even further apart and would increase both your commutes dramically. Good luck. Jay

[Stylo]

I'd say around Old Saybrook/Old Lyme/East Lyme area.

[willow wind]

Norwich is probably your best option. As Jay stated the actual mid way is the boondocks with not good high speed highway access and little in the way of rents.

Norwich has lot of rentals options from apartments to condos to houses. It's not exactly close to either city, but it's commutable for the couple of years you need to do it. Jewett City has rentals, but the areas of town where there are rents are pretty depressing, IMO. Rentals would be in very old 2-4 family homes for the most part. Possibly a condo rent here and there.

Old Saybrook has no multi family zoning, so the only rents in town are a handful of older two family homes ( 6), plus lots of academic rents of single family homes in the beach areas and the possibility of renting an upscale condo. East Lyme / Niantic is slightly better but not much. You might find a unit in one of the few duplexes or a condo rental. Those two towns are just not developed with multi family use in mind.

Really, I' d look first in Norwich. Tons of rents and wide variation in rental prices.


Good luck

[arjskr]

Thanks for all the input, while looking through the net, we came across some bad reviews on Norwich, CT. But would appreciate some first hand impressions on living in Norwich. Again, thank you for the quick replies .

[willow wind]

The immediate center of Norwich can be kind of sketchy and is not desirable. The rest of the city is fine.

Norwich is a small city in population but sprawls all over the place, from an older, urban type center to farmland in the far northwest and everything in between.

Both 1-395 & Ct Rt 2 run through it making it very good for commuting. It's got a public golf course, public skating rink, public beach at a nice lake in a huge local park. There is most basic shopping you could want in the city, supermarkets, a super WalMart, Staples, etc.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by willow wind

The immediate center of Norwich can be kind of sketchy and is not desirable. The rest of the city is fine.

But there are some streets of renovation in downtown Norwich, so don't rule it out. There are nice Victorians up on the hill.