[strongs99]

We are considering relocating from NH to Hartford area. My husband needs to be somewhat close to the airport as he travels frequently. When not traveling, he works from home, so commuting into Hartford is not an issue. We like Glastonbury, Farmington and Avon and know that all communities offer excellent schools (our biggest priority as we have an 8 yr old and a 5 yr old). We worry that Glastonbury is a little too big as we are currently in a town of about 15,000 people (and like the size of our community). I have also read that Avon is having some overcrowding issues at the elementary level. Any insight into these towns would be appreciated!

[DuaneM]

Here is a little info on the size and also of the populations in the towns that you mentioned.

Avon - area size 23 sq miles pop. 16,809
Farmington - area size 28 sq miles pop. 24,585
Glastonbury - area size 51 sq miles pop. 33,002

A few other towns to consider:

Simsbury - area size 34 sq miles pop. 23,867
Granby - area size 41 sq miles pop. 11,131

These are 2006 figures.

All of the above towns with the exception of Glastonbury are west / northwest of Hartford and Glastonbury is east of Hartford.

The Valley Book is a great source for information for most of the towns. The Valley Book 2007:: Avon, Farmington, Simsbury, Canton & Granby CT community listings, restaurant, business directory

Good luck with your decision making.

Duane

[JayCT]

strongs99 - Welcome to Connecticut. I am sure you will like it here. All three of the towns you mentioned (Avon, Glastonbury, Farmington) and the two towns DuaneM mentioned are excellent places to live with great schools. I think any of them would meet your needs. Based upon the informaiton DuaneM posted, Granby would be the least densely populated followed in order by Glastonbury, Simsbury, Avon and Farmington.

Since your husband does not need to commute into Hartford and will need good access to the airport (I assume you mean Bradley), I would suggest one of the towns in the Farmington River Valley. Farmington and Avon are the most densely populated and furtherest from the airport, so I would concentrate on Simsbury and Granby which are closer (yet not in the immediate flight paths).

Granby is the closest to the airport and is a fairly rural town with limited shopping, but I find the people there to be among the friendliest I have met. Simsbury has a more in the way of shopping with easy access to the store along Route 44 in Avon and Canton. Good luck, Jay