[Shorty458]

My husband and I will be moving back to CT this year... hopefully. We are currently living outside of Tampa, FL and my husband has been applying to jobs, mainly in the Hartford area. I am currently looking at apartments just to get an idea w/ in 30 mins of Hartford, and I forgot how expensive rents are there!!

We currently pay $875 for a 2/2 with washer/dryer hookups (have our own) and a nice size patio and it's in a really nice area of town too. It's 1227 square feet, nice fitness center & pool. I wish I could bring my apartment there.

However, upon researching this past weekend... a lot of the rentals I am finding for a 2/2 is around $1400/month! I really don't want to spend more than $1100 on rent. Sure, jobs up there do get paid more than down here, but I just can't see dishing out $1400 a month on rent. We currently can not buy since we do not have nearly enough for a down payment.

For our requirements we want a 2/2, washer/dryer in unit or connections, allow dogs and has central air. Preferably under $1100. Obviously in FL it's more of a requirement for central air, however it's more of a personal thing since I feel it works WAY better.

I was thinking of maybe the Waterbury area since I found some decent price apartments there that meets our requirements. However, i do not know much about the Waterbury area. My husband grew up in Vernon, CT. I grew up in E.Longmeadow, MA and would go to Enfield often so we are much more familiar w/ that area of CT. Is it a safe area? I've noticed mostly CT bigger cities (Bridgeport & Harford) are places where a lot of people prefer not to live, but work instead.

I do actually stream 96.5 everyday going to/from work because well the morning shows/afternoon shows here are not good. Besides, I grew up listening to Gary Craig and Damon Scott - and I love listening to them when I drive. However... overall how is the traffic from Waterbury to Hartford? I hear Mark the Shark every morning, and it doesn't seem to be TOO bad, but then again I'm just going off what he reports.

I've been checking the Enfield area, Vernon, Middletown, Waterbury, Glastonbury etc. There is one beautiful place I found in Glastonbury, but no mention on the price of course. I did contact them, and I'm just waiting for their reply. (It's Addison Mill) It's Glastonbury after all so I'm not really sure if this place will be under $1100, but it's really close to Hartford so that is fine, since we would be spending a lot less in gas.

I've been looking a lot at the rental websites, but not every apartment is advertising on there, so I am probably missing a good amount.

Driving isn't too much of a factor.... a 30 min commute w/o traffic is fine. We just want to be back up north and with our families,.. anyone have any recommendations on an area where rent is a little lower or a complex that you know of that meets what I am looking for?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions for areas!

[KH02]

Am i right to assume that schools do not matter? Your money will go farther in towns with poor school systems.

Also, what kind of dog is it? That will matter, some places only allow small dogs. Also, finding a place that allows one dog is tricky so if you have more then one, it will be even harder.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

A cursory glance is only showing one place close to Hartford at your budget. This actually includes heat, so that doesn't seem bad at all. No in unit hookups though(common laundry).

[RogerAnthony]

The two bathrooms is going to be tricky to find. If you can deal with just one bathroom it will open up a lot more options for you.

[BPt111]

checkout Middletown, Manchester, Naugatuck, Windsor, South Windsor

Middletown http://www.trulia.com/for_rent/Middletown,CT


Middletown is 15-20 mins from Hartford

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by BPt111

checkout Middletown, Manchester, Naugatuck, Windsor, South Windsor

Middletown Middletown Apartments For Rent and other Middletown Rentals — Trulia.com


Middletown is 15-20 mins from Hartford

Naugatuck is an hour to Hartford without traffic.

[Stylo]

Manchester and Middletown would be good options. I would not want to do Waterbury area to Hartford with traffic.

[RogerAnthony]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Naugatuck is an hour to Hartford without traffic.

Are you kidding? Naugatuck is just about half an hour to Hartford without traffic.

[Shorty458]

Originally Posted by KH02

Am i right to assume that schools do not matter? Your money will go farther in towns with poor school systems.

Also, what kind of dog is it? That will matter, some places only allow small dogs. Also, finding a place that allows one dog is tricky so if you have more then one, it will be even harder.

Yes, currently no kids. I want to have kids w/ a year or two... so it would be a little ways until they are school aged. Once we have kids, I would want to stay home w/ them, since day care costs an arm and a leg now a days! I would join social mom groups so my kids could make friends, and they preschool when they were like 4 so they can get used to school before they were in kindergarten.

Our dog is a 50 lb golden retriever mix.. which I've noticed some will allow him and others he would have to go on a massive unsafe diet for us to live there. (obviously those are out of the question)

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

A cursory glance is only showing one place close to Hartford at your budget. This actually includes heat, so that doesn't seem bad at all. No in unit hookups though(common laundry).

Thanks for the link. Right now we have time since he is just applying to jobs and no offer yet. However, if the laundry room was at least in the same building it would be a consideration. We've had our own now for 4 years, so I've got so used to it.

Originally Posted by BPt111

checkout Middletown, Manchester, Naugatuck, Windsor, South Windsor

Middletown Middletown Apartments For Rent and other Middletown Rentals — Trulia.com


Middletown is 15-20 mins from Hartford

Thanks for the link! Manchester would be nice.. it's near a lot of stuff... and I've noticed rentals there really vary! By Buckland Hills, those apartments are so expensive! We actually rented a house in Manchester in 2005 near Buckland Hills.

Originally Posted by RogerAnthony

Are you kidding? Naugatuck is just about half an hour to Hartford without traffic.

I searched on google and it does seem it would be doable. My commute now is longer than that. I live 28 miles from my job (until I work from home!) and it takes me about an hour. Fun Tampa traffic! I really don't think my husband would care too much, he would just be happy to be back in CT.

[BPt111]

@Shorty458

I'm curious what made you want to come back to CT ?