[Wife of Grad Student]

There is a great chance that my small family and I will be moving to the New Haven area this summer to attend Yale this fall. I grew up in a small, mountainous town in Idaho and I find myself to be a bit nervous to be a stay at home mom of two small children and live here. Is this fear necessary?

Please give me some information and advice on the city and surrounding areas. What should we look for on a limited grad student income that will be safe and offer us opprotunites for day adventures for the preschool set?

We are also looking into other communities and schools around the country so what sets New Haven apart? (The other communities are Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul and South Bend, IN)

Your replys are appreciated. Thanks,
Jess

[skytrekker]

New Haven like any other American city over 100,000 has issues. The Yale community firstly is very supportive- and there areas in New Haven that are quiet safe.

New Haven, population 130,000 is an old New England city founded in 1638- Yale though founded in 1701, moved to the city a few years later. The city in recent years has seen much redevelopment, with growth in Biotechnology and health.

The city has much culture in the Peabody museum, The Yale art gallery and the British museum of art; great Theater in the Shubert, The Yale repertory, and Long wharf, plus wonderful restaurants of many cultures. Yale's status as a world renowned University is unsurpassed. The campus downtown on the New Haven Green has an iconic old world skyline.

There may be some cultural shock for you- coming from small town Idaho to Connecticut and New Haven- but it will be anything but boring here- and should be a great amount of fun.

Crime is an issue in parts of New Haven- make no mistake about that- but it will not be much worse then the other cities you mentioned.

Being in New Haven you will be 1.5 hours from New York, 2 plus hours to Boston, the beaches of Long Island sound and the Atlantic are close by- and the state capital in Hartford is 40 minutes to the north with its vast array of cultural offerings.

While Denver, South Bend and the Twin cities are great places- I feel that what Connecticut and New Haven offer is an experience you will carry with you the rest of your life.

[JayCT]

The major difference between New Haven and the other cities you mention is that New Haven is located half way between two of the world's greatest cities - New York and Boston. There is regular commuter train service to New York from New Haven every day and Amtrak has several trains to Boston. New Haven is an older city than the others and there is a great wealth of history in the northeast that you won't find in other parts of the country. Don't worry about it being a horrible place. Like most major cities New Haven has its issues but I do not think they are any worse than the other cities you mentioned. Good luck, Jay

[reason180]

If you are very opposed to living in an urban environment than you should check out these towns: Hamden, Wallingford, and Milford.

As long as you have a car it would be an easy commute to Yale.

New Haven is like any city in the northeast, there are nice parts and there are not so nice parts. Many empty nesters are moving to New Haven these days to be close to all the great cultural activities that can be found there.

[mallthus]

The advice to look at communities like Hamden or Milford is excellent advice if you have school age children. New Haven itself is an interesting city with great shops and restaurants, as well as great little neighborhoods, but the schools suffer the challenges of all urban districts and, IMHO, don't respond to them very well.

Unfortunately, the same can be said about all of the area's public high schools (even in Hamden and Milford), but it sounds like your children are much younger than that.


I'd like to especially champion the Spring Glen neighborhood in Hamden. It's home to a lot of similar families, it's pretty and it's safe.

Good luck!

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by mallthus

Unfortunately, the same can be said about all of the area's public high schools (even in Hamden and Milford), but it sounds like your children are much younger than that.

I agree with Mallthus' comments on New Haven schools but do not necessarily agree with the above comment on the suburban high schools. Both Hamden and Milford high schools (Milford has two, Hamden one) are considered to be good (Milford's are very good). Milford's two high schools perform above the state average on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test while Hamden performs just under the average. Both have reasonable class sizes (around 20 students per class) with Milford's being slightly less than Hamden's. I do find Hamden one high school to be a bit larger than I like (it has over 2200 students). Milford has two smaller schools which I believe is better. JMHO Jay

[tpitt]

New Haven has great restaurants, Yale University, the Shubert Theater and even a museum but I would not want to live there esp. with small children. And you're coming from a small town! The surrounding towns would be a better bet and the commute from them into New Haven is roughly about 20 minutes, parking can be an issue although Yale has it's own lot/garage, rate based on salary. Don't know anything about the other towns you mentioned.

[new_haven_fan]

Please, before you strand yourself in the suburbs and cheat your kids out of a great opportunity, consider living in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven. As has been pointed out New Haven has a lot to offer. One thing it has to offer residents of East Rock is a fantastic primary school in the Worthington Hooker School, which is rated higher than most of it's suburban counterparts. New Haven also has The Peabody Museum with the hall of dinosaurs which my kids can't get enough of. We live in East Rock, are museum members and walk there whenever our kids need a "dinosaur fix" there are of course other great exhibits too. New Haven also has a Childrens Museum, 2 major art museums (Yale Gallery of Art and Yale Museum of British Art) and the Eli Whitney Museum in Whitneyville (Hamden) which includes a very popular "waterworks" interactive exhibit that allows kids to experiment with fluid dynamics (that pretty much means splash around:-)

East Rock is full of young grad student families with lots of kids so you will have no problem finding friends and playmates for your kids. There are playgroups that meet at local playgrounds and the whole neighborhood is a very walkable, tree lined area that is relaxed, yet is convenient to amenities and all the city and Yale has to offer.

If you do let East Rock slip through your fingers ;-) the next best bet would be the Whitneyville section of Hamden which is still pretty convenient to Yale etc. The Westville section of New Haven and Spring Glen section of Hamden are both lovely and worth a look.

Good Luck.

[nhctguy]

I agree with New Haven Fan. IMO, East Rock is the best neighborhood in New Haven. You will find many young families, Yale Grad students, young professionals, and retired couples. There is a sense of community in East Rock and people take pride in keeping the neighborhood clean and safe. Many folks are often outside jogging, walking dogs, and you will find it to be family oriented and SAFE. I don't know the name of it, but there is a small cafe on Orange street that attracts many young families on Saturday and Sunday mornings (*note strollers parked along the sidewalk*) I often take my dog out for a walk before going to bed at 11pm and I have never feared for my safety (In fact, there are at least a handful of other people out doing the same thing at that time). The neighborhood has easy access to downtown, bus lines on Whitney, State, and Orange Streets, and alot of the local necessities like great deli's and markets including Nica's and R & C's.

[notjustamom]

You don't say what exactly your "fears" of New Haven are. If you like cities, you might like New Haven. But if you don't like cities, you might not like it. It has all the issues facing cities, and it doesn't pop into my mind as one of the best cities for families. But everyone is different, maybe you are looking for something like New Haven. We just need more info about what you are looking for. Myself, I prefer a more rural town for our family.