[groar]

so we came for a visit (cut a bit short by the storm!) and here is where we are now:

- i have a chance of getting a job at yale that pays way more than what i'd get if i transferred so we want to come back and look more closely at new haven in order to possibly take advantage of their homebuyer program. both my income and the program might bump up our budget a bit too if i get the job. as i mentioned earlier, we don't need to live in the fanciest neighborhoods as long as there's a sense of community and the area is relatively safe for people with street smarts. we'd also consider a condo in new haven, if it's somewhere we really want to be (walkability is key).

- we checked out new london and we kind of like it - beautiful architecture and a decent downtown, although it does feel like a very small city. i think we'll look there if we end up getting jobs that are in that area. commuting to new haven from there is out, i think. even if i don't get the yale job, i've gotten the most calls back from new haven jobs so it seems to make sense to concentrate the house search around there.

- middletown also seems decent, has a lot of neat places in our price range, and not a bad commute to new haven. does anyone take 17 from middletown to new haven on a regular basis?

- we found a place that we LOVE in thomaston but that's probably a haul to anywhere but waterbury and maybe hartford?

mostly i'd love to hear advice about neighborhoods to look at in new haven, keeping in mind that we don't need to be in a pristine, super fancy area or have a perfectly updated house in order to be comfortable.

[groar]

oh also, there is an extra incentive in the yale program to buy a house in "dixwell/winfield" - i know where dixwell is and i know it's not considered a good neighborhood, but are there areas that are ok? and what/where is winfield?

[RogerAnthony]

Originally Posted by groar

- we found a place that we LOVE in thomaston but that's probably a haul to anywhere but waterbury and maybe hartford?

I live in Thomaston and it would be a haul to go to New Haven each day, if that is what you are talking about. In terms of shopping you can fill all your daily needs within town and the cities of Waterbury, Torrington, and Bristol with big box stores for other items are all only 15 minutes away.

I used to live in New London and if you do plan to have kids you do not want to live there, unless you can afford to send them to private school. Yes it is a small city, but the schools are just as rough as those of any large city.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by groar

oh also, there is an extra incentive in the yale program to buy a house in "dixwell/winfield" - i know where dixwell is and i know it's not considered a good neighborhood, but are there areas that are ok? and what/where is winfield?

The Yale street listings for Dixwell show a few with "DX W" tags, and I'd assume that's Winfield. Like this:

DX W Compton St
DX W Hillside Pl
DX W Mansfield St (#1 to # 223)
DX W Tilton St
DX W Woodland St
DX W Winchester Ave (# 1 to # 271)

I hope someone local can confirm, or you can call the Yale program at (203) 432-5552.

Addendum: I found this Yale site https://ris-systech2.its.yale.edu/bl...nsfield&id=343
referring to the Winfield Block Watch (Winchester, Mansfield, Prospect).

[groar]

Originally Posted by RogerAnthony

I live in Thomaston and it would be a haul to go to New Haven each day, if that is what you are talking about. In terms of shopping you can fill all your daily needs within town and the cities of Waterbury, Torrington, and Bristol with big box stores for other items are all only 15 minutes away.

yeah, new haven or any place where there is a relatively high concentration of jobs. if i transfer, it would be to new haven or possibly hartford. but i am also looking for a new job. so far, every interview i've gotten has been in new haven.

goldenage, good catch, thanks!

[RockNRollRocks]

[tQUOTE=groar;26196525]my husband and i are moving back to the northeast from pittsburgh next year in order to be closer to our families. it seems like a perfect time since prices have dropped so much there and have been steadily rising here.

we have family in torrington, terryville and meriden and ideally we'd like to find something that is not too far from any of them - say an hour's drive or less. we are fairly familiar with the area around those towns but it's been a long time since we've lived in ct.

the kicker is, our budget is only around $75-90k. we do plan on having kids so we'd really like to find a place with decent public schools or at least magnet/charter schools or affordable private/parochial schools. we're not picky about living in the greatest neighborhood and we are willing to take on a serious fixer-upper, a very small place, or a nice piece of land with a trailer or cabin where we can build our own house in time. we're not interested in getting a condo.

we'd like to either find a place with a big lot (at least half an acre, up to 20 acres or so), or be somewhere very walkable. we're not that interested in being in between, although we'd be willing to compromise on that for the right house in the right town. we're generally, i dunno, bohemian type people - we're into art and music and stuff like that. so having cultural stuff, vegetarian restaurants, a good yarn shop, a music venue, a record store, a book shop is a bonus. proximity to bike trails and a nice place to walk our dog would also be nice.

anyway, any ideas of places to look? general thoughts about towns in that area? we know the general feel of most of the towns around there but we don't really know much about school districts, neighborhoods, etc. i was very surprised when i started looking at how many places there are in our price range now! that certainly wasn't the case a few years ago. thanks![/quote]


torrington near litchfield is nice hilly rural area. saw a lot if houses for
sale near the Volvo car dealership lately too....
litchfield is nice attractive historical looking town, think artists wud like that town myself.

heard some bad things about new britian, wudn't suggest it...
towns near torrington seem to have lots of rural areas...
try look on realtor site... good luck