[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?

[jdhall1]

A dump. There is almost no culture, all chain stores and the taxes are high. I believe that Kieth Oberman, while on ESPN, referred to it as 'the armpit of America."

[mels]

I have to agree, a good portion of Bristol is dumpy. As a rule of thumb, if towns are dirt cheap in Connecticut, there is a reason for it.

[Dragondog]

Bristol is not a very attractive town-period.

[Curious in CT]

There is nothing redeeming about the city of Bristol.....I live here and am gettin out. It's sort of depressing driving in from a long day of work. I like the neighborhood I'm in and I think it's pretty where I live, however....that's about it. The sidewalks are made of asphalt and are filled with sand. And this is the kind of thing you have to look at upon entry to the city from Route 72. There's no good way in and certainly no good way out. It has no good restaurants or any good stores to shop in. High taxes...yadda yadda yadda. I can't stand it here.

[DogLady321]

anything under $200K in CT you must wonder what the area is like.
Bristol would not be tops on my list of places to live.

[habs29]

All the above posts pretty much say it all. There are very few nice areas in Bristol. It's pretty much a pain to get too during rush hours.It is filled with nothing but chain stores and restaurants. It doesn't seem to have it's own identity.
There are so many other towns I'd rather live in. If the housing is on the cheaper side, then keep looking. It's worth paying more for a home and having the comfort of knowing you are in a nice town.

[Rich Lee]

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?

Hi Maharg,

Bristol is your typical urbanized area of about 60,000 residents. It is home to ESPN on its southside. It also has an amusement park (Lake Compounce). The northside, with an increasing amount of retail, can be challenging during peak commuter hours.

As mentioned in other posts, Bristol does have high-end properties, namely near Cedar Lake where prices are over $500,000. I have friends and family in Bristol who are very happy there.

Lately, the city has implemented some beautification programs. The main drag, near the Bristol Centre Mall, is one.

Prices are higher for Southington, Bristol's neighbor to the south. However, they're about the same for Plainville (to the east) and Plymouth (to the west).

Rich
Moderator cut: realtor advertising

[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.

[Rich Lee]

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.

I think you'd agree that it was worse about 5 or 10 years ago. The public housing had its share of problems. As a real estate agent, I can think of a lot of other towns that concern me more although the shootings this summer one block away from the Police station were unsettling.