[Mixum]

Unionville

[goldenage1]

Chester and Essex are interesting, but they are a bit outside the 45 minutes commute. I love East Haddam, but it's probably barely 45 minutes away. Canton/Collinsville would be my second choice. There in the same township, but different villages: Canton has the Colonial green, Collinsville was the mill town.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

But Litchfield is probably out of the OP's price range and further than 45 minutes from Hartford.

I also endorse Colchester. It has the best bakery in the area.

You can get a decent house in Litchfield around $300k.

It is about 45 minutes to Hartford, unless you drive the speed limit.

Chester is 40 minutes. Not sure why it's thought to be longer.

[nep321]

Oh, I totally forgot about Chester. I would say to check out both New Hartford and Chester. Many others are recommending Colchester, but I don't really see it as a small town, especially with a population of about 17,000. New Hartford and Chester are much smaller, and still have walkable downtowns, with populations of less than 10,000.

[InCT]

Big thumbs up for New Hartford. It fits your description to a T. We moved to New Hartford from out of state and absolutely love it! We have lived here 8 years.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by Stylo

You can get a decent house in Litchfield around $300k.
It is about 45 minutes to Hartford, unless you drive the speed limit.

True about the house prices. I was thinking of the authentic colonials and million dollar estates. But they are the exceptions in the Litchfield market.

Since the original posters are from California, I wonder if they are accustomed to driving in snow. If not, I would suggest they avoid Litchfield County, and stick to places with good access to highways.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

Chester and Essex are interesting, but they are a bit outside the 45 minutes commute.

Not at all. Highway drive time from Chester to DT Hartford comes in at almost exactly 30 minutes. Done it lots and lots and lots of times. So depending on where you are in Chester it could be up to 40 minutes.

OP: Colchester is a good solid choice, but I have to scream out to you CHESTER CHESTER CHESTER.

You'll get your wine bar, coffee house, pub, fine are galleries, pottery places, restaurants etc in a small town environment. It's almost idyllic. I was at a customers house on a beautiful day, listening to the tooooot tooot off in the distance of the Essex Steam train, being on the CT River etc

And you've got Essex and Deep River and the ocean just a stone's throw away too.

Restaurants and Dinning in Chester Connecticut

Botiques Galleries retail shops Historic Chester Connecticut Ct

Etc. Go visit for an afternoon, you won't regret it.

[willow wind]

I agree that that the lower CT River valley is just about a perfect place to live.

However, the OP indicated that they wanted a minimum of 1700 square feet, some land and no more than $ 300,000 .

Right now in Chester there are 15 homes for sale under $325,000 ( allow for negotiation ?? ). Only one of them is over 1700 square feet, has some land and is in that right price range. And that one is a mess and needs work.

That's the big problem with the Essex, Chester, Deep River area. Under $ 300,000 is the bottom of the market. Now if the OP really liked the area they could revise their wants.

Or they could look in Colchester or other towns suggested where they don't have to compromise and where they have a better number of choices for a home. I guess we have to leave it up to them to decide what's most important to them.

[coffeebean1]

Thank you all so much for the suggestions - this is so valuable. I'm really excited and looking forward to our scouting adventures this summer.

We did go to Essex and Chester last weekend, for a Mothers Day picnic. We loved the area, but I agree with willow wind, there aren't desirable properties in our range.

We will include Litchfield in our search. Neither of us are afraid to drive in the snow. although it has been awhile. I grew up in the snow belt of northeast Ohio, my husband in Boston.

Thanks again everyone for the thoughtful advice, links, and even uploading a photo! Hopefully after many years of living in CT I can return the favor to someone else seeking some insight.

I'll check back in later this year and tell you where we landed!

[RogerAnthony]

Originally Posted by coffeebean1

Important on our list:
Homes available in the $300k range, with at least 1,700 square feet and a little bit of land
No more than 45 minutes from Hartford
Quaint town - not a series of strip malls. Preferably a "cute" downtown with a coffee shop (I love my java), a decent restaurant(s), and a wine bar would be really nice - but I may be pushing my luck
Decent schools (we have a child that will be entering school in a few years)
We're outdoorsy, liberal types and want to live in a community where we are not outsiders

Thanks in advance for your advice!

I'd like to chime in for Thomaston. It's more blue collar than many towns mentioned, but fits your criteria.

There are plenty of large homes available in your price range with half an acre of land or more.

It's about 40 minutes from Hartford.

The town is very quaint. It has no strip malls. There's a coffee shop, a bunch of restaurants, but no wine bar (I'll admit, I've never heard that term before).

The schools can be described as decent, not the best, but not the worst.

It's very outdoorsy with numerous state parks and Army Corps of Engineers properties available for recreational use. It is mostly a Republican town, but liberals are not ostracized or looked down on.