[matze_ct]

Hi everybody,

our family is going to move to CT in January. I have a job in Windsor, near the Airport. We are now looking for a great place to live for our 2 kids, currently in middle-school.
As we do not know if we stay longer than 2 years, we will rent a house for the beginning. My search (especially in this board) left me with a preference for Simsbury, Avon and Granby. What would be the best way to find a home if i am not there? Is it worth to hire an agent? Is it possible to find a nice, small house for 1700-1800$ yourself?
Second my wife and i are runners, we are running up to 3 marathons a year. Where we live now, there are very poor training opportunities. If you dont want to exercise in a stadium you are lost and it is no fun to run 15 miles on a track. We would love to run in the woods as we did for years in Europe. Are there running cross trails in this area or dirt streets without lots of cars?

Kind Regards
Matt

[JayCT]

The Farmington Valley has a great rail-to-trail system oerfect for running. I would contact an agent to help you find a rental. They do not charge you to find a place, they will charge the home owner. Also you can check on craigslist.com for lisintgs and Courant.com as well. Good luck and welcome to Connecticut. Jay

Ps there are a number of great marathons here as well.

[megpug]

I cant speak to the real estate question but I live in granby, graduated from Simsbury High 10 years ago. I was a competitive distance runner (ran D1 in college). You will be in HEAVEN in this area! Seriously. Next time you are up here are some places to check out: McLean Game Refuge (100s of acres of trails - hilly, no hunting, no bikes... pristine... totally unique and gorgeous and TOUGH), Stratton Brook Park (near SHS, where the HS team races, smaller but some tough hills), Penwood Park (on mountain by Bloomfield line), Talcott Mountain (hike or run up on a clear day and you get some great views of the whole valley and to the north). Head out to West Hartford to run the reservoir. The bike trails are nice but pretty flat and boring IMO. These are quiet towns and other than the major routes like 10 and 44, you are pretty safe running on the roads if that is your preference.

Im new here, not sure how much Ill be around but feel free to send me messages wth questions!!

Also if you stay (do your kids run too?) Simsbury XC and track teams are really great. State Championships won in the largest school division, strong coaches, high participation. My brother just finished his senior year and ran as well, and so I feel I can speak to the consistent quality there for those teams.

You might look into joining the Hartford Track Club - team-based road race series in the summer time. Lots of local road races around, and even some XC ones if you know where to look (I do, again, any Qs I can help with!)

[Jessica Beganski]

I agree with Megpug about all the opportunities for running in the Avon, Simsbury, Granby and even West Hartford in the reservoir.

Although I am totally biased, I would use a real estate if I were you. An agent can help you narrow down your list of properties to see, organize the showings for you, provide you with some guidance to help you choose towns, give you local information and negotiate the rent (yes, you can negotiate the rent).