[ctcoldplay11]

Originally Posted by Stylo

That doesn't account for quality of jobs though.

Quality of Jobs? Hartford is only the "Insurance Capital of the World". Throw in UTC, Stanley B&D, Pratt & Whitney, and Otis for good measure. Perhaps you should venture outside of Fairfield County

[KeninWA]

Thanks so much for all the replies. I think I will begin looking today for jobs. We are having a helluva time finding a place to stay for a week to conduct the apartment search with Air BnB because of our two cats.

Anyway, does anyone happen to know of good staffing agencies around Hartford or New Haven? Not temp. labor kinds of things, but professional staffing? I am definitely going from company to company looking as well, but sometimes these places have good leads.

[mels]

Kelly Services in Hartford is how many new Pratt & Whitney (a UTC Company) employees come into the fold. Basically, P&W treats the Kelly workers as a test drive before hiring people full time. The ones I know of are professional (white collar) jobs.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by ctcoldplay11

Quality of Jobs? Hartford is only the "Insurance Capital of the World". Throw in UTC, Stanley B&D, Pratt & Whitney, and Otis for good measure. Perhaps you should venture outside of Fairfield County

Not saying there are more quality jobs in FFC than Hartford or New Haven, but rather that those statistics don't tell the whole story. FFC has a high percentage of skilled professional jobs compared to the rest of the state.

Speaking of venturing outside of FFC, I live in New Haven County.

[willow wind]

Rather than AirBnB, how about checking out Extended Stay Hotel/Motel in the Hartford area. Their rates are the same as what you'll find on AirBnB and you'll for sure have an efficiency and private bathroom.

Plus, they permit pets. Also check into Econo Lodges in the area and the La Quinta chain. All permit pets ( multiple ones too) .


Good luck

[KeninWA]

The Kelly Services thing really helps, thanks a lot.

Also thanks Willow!

[brandonfromseattle]

I moved to Hartford about a year ago from Seattle. Here is some of my advice about CT:

The job market here is great (comparitively) so that should be fairly easy.

White people in CT hate cities and they have a differece between "cities" and "towns". The white flight here was a lot worse than in Seattle and it has not recovered the way Seattle has. People will tell you that "you don't want to live in a city because there is too much crime." You don't want to listen to those people, or bother hanging out with them. Live in Hartford, West Hartford, New Haven, or maybe Middletown or else you will probably have a bad time. The suburbs here are nice for a sunday drive but most don't even have sidewalks! In my opinion, the suburbs here are not livable for somebody who wants urban living. The suburbs are not like Bellevue or even Everett, they are like Black Diamond or Enumclaw.

My wife and I share a car so we bus a lot. If you live in Hartford or West Hartford, you're going to want to live on or close to Farmington Ave and the bus system will be fine, walk outside and it is there in 10 mins.

I can go on and on about CT. Ask away if you want.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Not saying there are more quality jobs in FFC than Hartford or New Haven, but rather that those statistics don't tell the whole story. FFC has a high percentage of skilled professional jobs compared to the rest of the state.

Speaking of venturing outside of FFC, I live in New Haven County.

Re: Quality of jobs...

Sorry Stylo but Fairfield County has nothing on Hartford County when it comes to jobs all around. The only "quality" of FFC is that jobs pay much higher than elsewhere but you're also either A) paying 500k+ for a small home or B) commuting from New Haven County so either way, even for an upper middle class individual, the "quality" is just not there. It is if you're a millionaire - but the OP is not a millionaire. Nor are most people.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Re: Quality of jobs...

Sorry Stylo but Fairfield County has nothing on Hartford County when it comes to jobs all around. The only "quality" of FFC is that jobs pay much higher than elsewhere but you're also either A) paying 500k+ for a small home or B) commuting from New Haven County so either way, even for an upper middle class individual, the "quality" is just not there. It is if you're a millionaire - but the OP is not a millionaire. Nor are most people.

If you had said they are comparable, I'd be with you, but to say "Fairfield County has nothing on Hartford County when it comes to jobs all around". We'll just have to agree to disagree then.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by brandonfromseattle

White people in CT hate cities and they have a differece between "cities" and "towns". The white flight here was a lot worse than in Seattle and it has not recovered the way Seattle has. People will tell you that "you don't want to live in a city because there is too much crime." You don't want to listen to those people, or bother hanging out with them. Live in Hartford, West Hartford, New Haven, or maybe Middletown or else you will probably have a bad time.

White people hate the cities? Really? Sorry, I disagree. It's not about "hate", it's about quality of life. Downtown Hartford has most of the modern condo's and apartments sold out. Why? Because it's relatively clean and safe there. Why would someone move to the North end of Hartford and put their family and kids in that kind of school and environment if they didn't have too? Perhaps you like living around crime and filth, but not many do.

Hartford's downfall is it's small city limits and the fact that it's surrounded by great small cities and towns.

Originally Posted by brandonfromseattle

The suburbs here are nice for a sunday drive but most don't even have sidewalks! In my opinion, the suburbs here are not livable for somebody who wants urban living. The suburbs are not like Bellevue or even Everett, they are like Black Diamond or Enumclaw.

Well that's your mistake right there. These are not suburbs. As much as you would like to compare this area to some other metro in the West etc it's not.

These towns and cities were all self reliant and their own entity over 100 years before the car and idea of "commuting" was thought of. For instance, it was a day's journey from Manchester to downtown Hartford by horse...now it's 15 minutes by car. New England, and CT specifically is very provincial. So Avon, was never designed or planned to be a suburb, it is it's own town.

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Re: Quality of jobs...

Sorry Stylo but Fairfield County has nothing on Hartford County when it comes to jobs all around. The only "quality" of FFC is that jobs pay much higher than elsewhere but you're also either A) paying 500k+ for a small home or B) commuting from New Haven County so either way, even for an upper middle class individual, the "quality" is just not there. It is if you're a millionaire - but the OP is not a millionaire. Nor are most people.

I have to agree with you there, The Hartford metro if anything is a corporate powerhouse. One trip through the Day Hill road area of Windsor alone it's shocking at the amount of companies and business there - huge campuses, and that's just a piece.