[Maharg]

Thanks alot for youyr help u have talked me out of it. As a north jersey resident trying to get out I figures it might have been they way to go.

[mels]

If you are looking to get out of NJ, there are options for more affordable towns in CT that aren't dumpy. As long as you stay away from the shoreline and Fairfield County ($$), there are some good deals to be found. Parts of Litchfield County (not the affluent towns like Washington et al) are still affordable, as are some towns near the I-91 corridor, plenty of options east of the river (CT River)...If you have a certain commuting city in mind, chances are you can find some options out there.

[Magickly]

I don't even like driving by Bristol on the highway.
Ick
No offense

[floridaroyalpalm]

I was born in Bristol, CT in 1986, and lived there for a few years before moving up to Laconia, New Hampshire for 6 years, then moving back to Bristol for another 10 years where i grew up, and then finally just recently moving to Port Saint Lucie, Florida. In my opinion, living here so long and as a youngin thru high school there really isnt anything special about the town. Most of the time when we needed to go somewhere to shop, it was out of town....Plainville, Waterbury, Southington, West Hartford......almost none of the times did we shop in Bristol, until they put the Wal Mart in on Rt 6 near Farmington, but that was it. If you are looking to raise a family here tho, the schools are top notch. They may not look all pretty from the outside, but trust me, Bristol prides itself in its education system, and from my experiences in Elementary (Edgewood and Jennings), Middle (Chippens Hill), and High School (Bristol Eastern) the schools have a very strict curriculum that is both challenging and rewarding....and that is something that i didnt realize was soo great until i moved here to South Florida. To compare the school systems, they are so ass-backwards down here its not even funny, the school system sucks and the kids are dropping out left and right. They are very loose here and the schools are very very horrible. So to recap, if u are looking for a nice place to live if u are single with no kids, i would def NOT choose bristol, its more for the family type....

[ikuout]

Hi, Lived In Nh Near Bristol For 40 Years.why Is Bristol So Cheap-nothing To Do,few, Low Paying Jobs, And Subpar Schools!,fine If You Want To Retire There ,but Thats About It...

[debct]

Originally Posted by Maharg

I did a search on Bristol on Realtor.com and saw 188 houses under 200,000

I live in north Jersey and cant even sniff a house for that anymore. Can someone please tell me what Bristol is like?

Bristol has some nice areas. You need to be carefull. The trafic at rush hour timeis horrid,and there is no easy highway access.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Curious in CT

Yes, The downtown area (No. Main Street) has improved its looks with nice new side walks, brick-layed cross walks, new vintage looking street lamps. I just hope they continue what they've done downtown EVERYWHERE. It would be nice to see Rte 72 get extended to the center of town at some point in our lifetime. They keep talking about it but it would be a huge improvement to the city both aesthetically and functionally. If they're not going to go through with it at minimum they should put nice sidewalks down on Pine Street and making the street look more inviting to outsiders coming in. It's really crappy looking in my opinion! I'm sooooo glad they finally got hold of some of the property on South Street by knocking some of the shady looking buildings and replacing them with a brand new Walgreens (coming soon). This city could have a lot of potential. It just doesn't seem that way right now.

72 is going into Terryville as originally planned...it's already been cleared after X years of property battles so that should help a ton.

Bristol has a lot of potential, but they have to do something with it. I lived not to far from Cedar lake on another smaller lake way back with a housemate and it wasn't too bad up there. But IMHO the city just has as a once was depressed feel to it.

They can fix it, but it's going to take time.

I would pick Manchester over Bristol in a hearbeat for comparable towns...and not just because I live there.

[Lincolnian]

Bristol has potential but it is a city currently searching for an identity.

There is a growing poverty rate here in Bristol because of the large number of multi-families and and relatively inexpensive rents.

The Forestville section of Bristol is very accessible to the highway, and the shopping outside of Bristol. Development in the downtown is currently a hot topic and the city council just approved a non-profit corporation to oversee the development of the former mall site on North Main Street.

The city needs to move beyond petty political posturing and bickering and develop a cohesive plan for the future of the city.

I have been involved in trying to encourage people to think about our community and have launched unitebristol.org you can also read some opinion pieces about Bristol on newenglandopinion.com

[MimiS]

It's basically a blue collar town. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

[Happy in Forestville]

I've been quite happy living in the Forestville (East) section of Bristol which borders on Southington and Plainville. It's extremely residential and very nice with incredibly easy access to both I-84 and I-91. I've lived here for 5 years and paid $228K for my 3 bedroom home on .40 of an acre (corner lot). This particular community is extraordinarily safe and well-maintained. Very "old fashioned", very similar to the way I grew up. The elementary school is fine. You're a hop, skip and a jump to West Hartford's Blue Back Square and West Farms Mall, without the outrageously high taxes and house prices, if you want the upscale mode.

For us, the savings has been worth it. This house in West Hartford would've been $329, all day long, with no yard.

Sure, Bristol "proper" leaves something to be desired, but you really don't need to even head into Bristol when you live in Forestville. Also, there is a positive element of diversity in general, which you simply will not get in Southington or Farmington: those towns are very white-bred and cloistered. Too pretentious for my taste.

In addition, there are some very wealthy subdivisions that have been built in Forestville over the past 2-3 years, $500K+ homes, very beautiful!
Hope this helps.