[cats234]

I am in my early 20's out of school and was wondering what is a good area to live in for an apartment. I prefer to not pay too much (maybe $1000/month max). I would like to share with a room mate also, but only have a couple weeks to find somewhere. Does anyone have any advice on what towns to consider? I also would like parking to be off-street or even a garage if possible

[KH02]

You could look into West Hartford if your job is in Hartford itself that would make for an easy commute. I am sure a garage would be hard to find however, off street parking is doable.

[cats234]

well the job is in Bloomfield around 5-10 miles from Hartford. I was told West Hartford is pretty expensive, is that true?

[JayCT]

Check craigslist.com or the Hartford Courant for rental listings. Also realtor.com has them too. That will give you an idea of rental costs and if there are roommate opportunities. West Hartford is expensive for the HArtford area but you should be able to find something in your price range there. Jay

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by cats234

well the job is in Bloomfield around 5-10 miles from Hartford. I was told West Hartford is pretty expensive, is that true?

Jay summed it up perfectly. Housing and rental prices are higher than average for the Hartford area, but for your budget you'd be able to find an apartment and perhaps even a duplex. It would be more expensive if you were looking to buy, because property taxes are high. If looking in WH, try to stay west of New Park and Oakwood Avenues - areas east of these streets aren't very desireable and they're furthest from everything (restaurants, bars, parks, malls, etc). Newington and Wethersfield are also nice and have apartments, probably at a more resonable price, but there isn't as much to do there and they're a bit further away. In WH you can get to Bloomfield without even having to ride the highway, which is really convenient (I do this every Saturday for my weekend job). There's a few apartments that include garages, but regardless of what town they're in, these will cost more this extra amenity. Good luck!

[parentologist]

Another possibility is renting a third floor apartment in one of the old, huge houses in Hartford's West End or West Hartford near Prospect between Albany and Park Road. West Hartford center has the most going on for young single people.

[sun]

New Britain is located in central Connecticut about 10 miles SW of Hartford on I-84 and CT Routes 9 & 72.
It has a large variety of affordable rental units, among the most in the region.
There's everything from large apartment buildings, rehabilitated former school apartments, to 6 family, 3 family, 2 family, duplexes and townhouses.
The traffic isn't anywhere near as bad as most other Connecticut cities and suburbs because of all of the large factory buildings that disappeared since the 60's & 70's when New Britain lost 20,000 in population.
There's a lot of discount food stores, a convenient post office, a new court house and police station, public busing, a wonderful general hospital, the oldest state university, an excellent public library, West Farms Mall is one of the nicest indoor malls in the state and is located right over the border, which along with Corbins Corner next door offers plenty of shopping. We have convenient medical offices with many specialists, churches of all kinds, both a YMCA and a YWCA, a new AA baseball stadium, a large art museum, local theater groups, public pools, a lot of public parks and a city owned 27 hole golf course with driving range.
And New Britain is the origination point for the new federal commuter busway that's being built right now that will provide convenient transportation to downtown Hartford via stops at the UConn Medical Center in Farmington, the West Hartford downtown shopping mecca along with its Blueback Square, and Newington center, all without any need to drive a car. These new buses will travel on a specially built private busway and will run every 15-20 minutes on a constant basis throughout the day and into the night.
There are more apartment units on the borders with the neighboring towns that may be somewhat more expensive. But there's a large variety of units in the immediate area to chose from.
Students come from all over Connecticut and New York to attend the local state University, and some do end up living here or nearby after graduating. They grow to like it here, and find that there's comfortable and affordable housing opportunities for everyone.
It has over 700 streets in about a 13 square mile area, and of course some neighborhoods are better than others. But New Britain has some very nice quiet neighborhoods where anyone would appreciate the quality of life and calling it home.
I live in what's mostly a two family neighborhood with a park at the end of the street, and it's very quiet. One apartment nearby has some college students that found it through the CCSU Housing Office.
For more roommate listings, check out Craig's List, or the Hartford Courant and New Britain Herald classifieds.
Feel free to send me a PM if you ever decide to visit New Britain.

[JayCT]

New Britain is about 15 miles from Bloomfield. It is a small city with many urban issues. There are a lot better towns closer to the OP's job IMHO. Jay

[Off-beat]

You should move to the north end of Hartford.

Just kidding. Windsor's the place for you to be.

[Leilani Vasquez]

Windsor has some rentals available. I'd stay away from New Britain. Not to mention, the commute would be horrendous. I work in the Windsor/Bloomfield area also. I stayed with a relative in Bristol for a week and it took me over an hour to get to work everyday, no matter which route I took (normally a half hour trip).