Rocky Hill and Wethersfield (Hartford, Windsor: income, houses, crime)

[NatsMartin]

Hi there, can anybody tell me something about Rocky Hill and Wethersfield - I saw some nice houses there, but haven´t heard anything about those towns yet - schools, neighbourhood, income rate etc?
thanks

[skytrekker]

Both locations are very nice towns to reside- Wethersfield has perhaps more historic charm, especially in the 'Old Wethersfield' section. And the neighborhoods tend to be a bit more genteel with old Yankee veneer.

Rocky Hill is a pleasant enough suburban New England town. Both towns have very good schools.
Their crime rates can be considered very low, less then half the national average.

[JayCT]

I agree with Skytrekker. Both Wethersfield and Rocky Hill are wonderful towns with very good schools that perform above the state average on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Achievement Tests. I know families in both towns and they are very pleased with the schools there. Wethersfield is an older more mature town that has many beautilful older homes as well as some neighborhoods of newer homes.

Old Wethersfield is one of the most charming areas in central Connecticut and I always felt that it was overlooked by many people. The area was settled in colonial times and has a large number of historic homes. In the 1920's the area was futher developed as a trolley car suburb of Hartford. Homes there range from modest bungalows to stately mansions. It is one of the oldest communities in the state and has had an on-going battle with Windsor as the states oldest town. There are a couple of nice home museums there that are very interesting and some very good restaurants.

Rocky Hill is also very nice with a wide range of newer homes and neighborhoods. Developed mostly after World War II, rocky Hill has a number of nice neighborhoods and developments to choose from. It is slightly more suburban than Wethersfield. Hope this helps. Jay

[ctman1987]

A lot of Wethersfield neighborhoods are more established then Rocky Hill ones. Wethersfield is pretty much all built up except for a few farms. Much of this construction happened in the 70s-early 90's meaning that its harder and more expensive to find new construction homes in Wethersfield.

However even with the market Wethersfield homes that are well built, well updated do sell - people live Wethersfield, many people outgrow their houses and refuse to leave.
There are some new construction streets though from the mid 90s-early 2000s.

I will say I do love Wethersfield

[hfd]

I would go with Wethersfield. Rocky Hill doesn't seem to have a plan. They are attracting some new businesses to office parks and strip malls, but the town is basically a hodge podge of strip mall type of places. They have great potential on the riverfront, but the big attraction (or detraction) is an old boarded up factory, that some townspeople jokingly refer to as Asbestos Landing. There is no town center and the town is one of the least pedestrian friendly of all the Hartford suburbs. Sure, your kid can ride a bike in a neighborhood, but that is about it. Depends what you are looking for. Wethersfield has charm, and a historic identity. I'm not sure what Rocky Hill's identity is.

[JayCT]

I could never figure out why Rocky Hill never did something with the historic ferry area. Use to live near there. There are a number of beautiful old homes in that area that have either been neglected or knocked down. The old factory would make a great and interesting reuse yet the town wants to tear it down. Also surprised that the old Ames offices have sat so long. that site could become the center of town with a modified Blue Back Square type project but the town needs to push for it. Too bad I did like when I lived there. Jay