[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by chris410

Valid points, except for living outside of Boston means paying a lot of money for a house in a decent town. You can live 30-40 miles from Logan in southern NH and pay very reasonable prices for a house in a great town with great access to everything. Plus be even closer to Manchester airport. Plus no Income Tax, No Sales Tax, property tax is said to be high, but its on par with CT property taxes. Close to Boston, Close to the seacoast of NH/Maine/North shore mass. Close to the white mountains, Close to the lakes region, Less people cheering for NY sports teams , cheaper gas, Winters that actually get usable snow vs a sloppy mess, the list goes on. Sorry I grew up in CT and NH blows away CT in almost every category with the exception of good pizza!

Ahh - yet another person who moved away that feels the need to rank on CT.

I love NH, it's a beautiful state, but I'd rather live in Connecticut - hands down. Our best schools put NH's to shame. Our employment opportunities are outstanding. And the OP specifically stated they need to be near a major airport. In CT, you're 2 hours from Boston's airport, an hour from NYC's airports and minutes to Hartford's airport. When I fly, I regularly check multiple airports to find the best fare.

Connecticut consistently ranks number 1 in the country in Human Development (health, wealth and opportunity). It's a damn good value for your dollar if you ask me.

[chris410]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Ahh - yet another person who moved away that feels the need to rank on CT.

I love NH, it's a beautiful state, but I'd rather live in Connecticut - hands down. Our best schools put NH's to shame. Our employment opportunities are outstanding. And the OP specifically stated they need to be near a major airport. In CT, you're 2 hours from Boston's airport, an hour from NYC's airports and minutes to Hartford's airport. When I fly, I regularly check multiple airports to find the best fare.

Connecticut consistently ranks number 1 in the country in Human Development (health, wealth and opportunity). It's a damn good value for your dollar if you ask me.

Not trying to Rank out the state, just trying to help the OP find the best place for themselves to call home, figured my history of living in 3 New England states may be useful to them. They are bringing a job with them, if they weren't, i probably would not recommend NH as there are not Tons of high paying job options. Lets be honest, not many CT residents have tons of state pride. When I hear a CT resident trying to tell me whats great about their state, their typical response is "well were in a good location in between NY and Boston"

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by chris410

Not trying to Rank out the state, just trying to help the OP find the best place for themselves to call home, figured my history of living in 3 New England states may be useful to them. They are bringing a job with them, if they weren't, i probably would not recommend NH as there are not Tons of high paying job options. Lets be honest, not many CT residents have tons of state pride. When I hear a CT resident trying to tell me whats great about their state, their typical response is "well were in a good location in between NY and Boston"

I think a lot of people are fed up with the state government, but love the state. If they didn't, our housing prices would plummet and population shifts would be more in line with Michigan.

[mels]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I think a lot of people are fed up with the state government, but love the state. If they didn't, our housing prices would plummet and population shifts me more in line with Michigan.

I agree, it is dissatisfaction with our state government vs. everything else in the state. I also have lived in three New England states (as well as out west and down south). I chose CT as opposed to other states for many reasons, and there are obviously others like me. If everyone agreed with Chris, New Hampshire's housing prices would look more like Connecticut's.

If you are from New England, then you know how it is. We all like to have something to complain about.

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by kettlepot

I'm not a Connecticut resident but lived there in the past. In recent years I have visited many of the areas being described here.

First, I would recommend that you NOT live in Fairfield county - Darien, Weston, New Canann, Westport, etc. Not because these aren't nice towns, but because you don't need to live within, and pay for commuting distance to New York City. If you don't need to live within the New York City commute bubble, and pay the prices for it, then don't.

Also, because of the wealth in many of these Fairfield County Gold Coast towns, the difference in values might be an issue for your children coming from Missouri. Don't get me wrong, the people are kind and decent, but because so many of them have the money, there can be an expectation towards sparing no expense when it comes to the children. So there are the dance lessons, and the tennis lessons, the country club membership, and the senior year trip to Europe, etc. It can just be a bit much. And since everyone else has this, it's difficult for your own children to look around and not compare.

Like the others above, I would recommend the Farmington Valley towns of Avon, Simsbury, etc, though I have heard the traffic into Hartford can be a real bear. I have driven through West Hartford which looked quite nice, and have driven through Bloomfield which was not to the same standard. Check out Glastonbury. All of these will put your husband pretty close to Bradley Airport.

I've investigated Longmeadow, MA which is just south of Springfield, MA, but still close to Bradley Airport. It wasn't classic New England but it was definitely a town that held a lot of charm.

Totally agree that lower FFC doesn't give you much bang for the buck, and that if you don't need to be near NYC, then it doesn't make much sense to live there. Towns like Farmington, Avon, Simsbury and Glastonbury can offer an outstanding value, with excellent schools and more reasonable real estate prices (compared to FFC). West Hartford is also worth looking at. However, I disagree that the "values" in these towns will be that different from lower FFC. Wealthy suburbs in CT will have similar "values" regardless of location.

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by chris410

Not trying to Rank out the state, just trying to help the OP find the best place for themselves to call home, figured my history of living in 3 New England states may be useful to them. They are bringing a job with them, if they weren't, i probably would not recommend NH as there are not Tons of high paying job options. Lets be honest, not many CT residents have tons of state pride. When I hear a CT resident trying to tell me whats great about their state, their typical response is "well were in a good location in between NY and Boston"

Do any of the states in New England exhibit state pride? It doesn't seem to me that CT has any more or less than the other five states.

[chris410]

Originally Posted by Mike 75

Do any of the states in New England exhibit state pride? It doesn't seem to me that CT has any more or less than the other five states.

Cant speak for all of New England, but plenty of people in NH have a lot of state pride. I have seen a few license plates like the one below: (LOVE-NH)

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by chris410

Cant speak for all of New England, but plenty of people in NH have a lot of state pride. I have seen a few license plates like the one below: (LOVE-NH)

Connecticut has more town pride I think. Lots of people drive around sporting "My Dog Loves [town]" on their vehicles.

Anyway, I think we are getting off topic. The OP is not looking for which state has the most pride - they are looking for what state has good schools, not far from Amherst or a major airport. Connecticut is a very good option for them (especially because there are 7 major airports within a 2 hour drive from central Connecticut).

[bobtn]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Connecticut has more town pride I think. Lots of people drive around sporting "My Dog Loves [town]" on their vehicles.

Anyway, I think we are getting off topic. The OP is not looking for which state has the most pride - they are looking for what state has good schools, not far from Amherst or a major airport. Connecticut is a very good option for them (especially because there are 7 major airports within a 2 hour drive from central Connecticut).

I would doubt a frequent flyer would want a 2 hour , one way commute. Its a difficult question to answer which state, as the Rockwell imagery brings more of Ma to mind than Ct, and that's not a diss of Ct. Than again, towns like Simsbury, Ct are more in sync with Rockwell than say, Wilton, Ct. If one wants Rockwell, one does not want FFC or NHC, IMO. Upstate Ct-perhaps.

But most important, I think she needs to ask her husband how long of a commute to the airport he finds acceptable. Given the income level, and its most likely paid by employer, I doubt he is shopping for the best airfares.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by bobtn

I would doubt a frequent flyer would want a 2 hour , one way commute. Its a difficult question to answer which state, as the Rockwell imagery brings more of Ma to mind than Ct, and that's not a diss of Ct. Than again, towns like Simsbury, Ct are more in sync with Rockwell than say, Wilton, Ct. If one wants Rockwell, one does not want FFC or NHC, IMO. Upstate Ct-perhaps.

1. Bradley ensures that someone that needs east coast flights will never have a 2 hour commute.
2. MA and CT aren't that different aesthetically. The Rockwell-esque towns are ALL over Connecticut. I'm surprised you brought up Simsbury as there are so many better examples: Kent, Norfolk, New Preston, New Milford, Bethel, Branford, Guilford, Essex, Chester, Madison, Litchfield, etc. all exude that feeling in spades.