[SeaDoo342]

Originally Posted by richrf

Totally, 100% disagree, and I await breathlessly for the advice you provide to the OP on where she may retire on her budget and have the lifestyle she is seeking. Yep, in East Haven you can walk to the pharmacy. Come to think of it, here we can walk to Walgreens and McDonalds. How does one spell d-i-s-a-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t?

If you live near Main St in East Haven, you can walk to the pharmacy, restaurants, delis, bakeries, some big box retailers, a few clothing stores… not sure how much more you could want…

You done hijacking the OP's thread now?

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by richrf

Totally, 100% disagree, and I await breathlessly for the advice you provide to the OP on where she may retire on her budget and have the lifestyle she is seeking. Yep, in East Haven you can walk to the pharmacy. Come to think of it, here we can walk to Walgreens and McDonalds. How does one spell d-i-s-a-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t?

Again you are expecting big city amenities in small towns. The OP can live near the center of East Haven and be able to walk to a supermarket, pharmacy, shops and several restaurants. That is what you get in a small town. Most people accept that and have no problem with that. Heck there are many towns they can live in that offer walkable neighborhoods. These include Fairfield, Darien, Westport, Greenwich, West Hartford, Milford, Wallingford and others. There may not be the variety of places you find in big cities but you also don't have to deal with the throngs of people either. It is kind of nice to go to a good restaurant and not have to wait 2 hours to get a table. Who wants that. Not me. Jay

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by cathb

I will be moving from Boston to south central CT (New Haven county) in a few months to be near my son and his family. I am a retired, active, single female with middle class means (divorce is cutting my income by huge amount), interested in a vibrant, affordable, lovely, walkable community. Love city life so New Haven has an appeal, but would rather not be in student-predominant area, and being single female, safety is a high concern. Have lived near Portsmouth, NH and Newburyport, MA and love that kind of town. I want to be within a half hour of Wallingford area. Will rent first to get my bearings and determine exactly where I want to live, but would love input, especially as to affordable, $900 - $1200 rentals, which I know might be difficult given the areas I am looking at. I've been reading this forum and of course people are all over the place with advice. Hamden, Wallingford, Guilford, and Branford all look interesting, though I realize offer a wide range of affordability. I am a yoga, hiking, outdoor enthusiast if that helps give a picture. I've paid attention to the New Haven neighborhood suggestions, but they either are heavily student population, or not in my price range. Guess I should stop so people can weigh in! Many thanks!

Connecticut persistently comes out at or near the bottom of states for retirees. Those lists are reasonably accurate.

When I ran the numbers, retirement in Connecticut just didn't work.

[cathb]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I am not sure why you are adverse to being near students. It is not like they have taken over the entire city of New Haven. Your budget is limiting but not impossible. If you want a more urban area, then the East Rock section of New Haven would be good. It is not overrun by students but has a lot of faculty and administrators from Yale and Albertus Magnus there.

Branford would be good too but you also might want to look at East Haven as well. It is a nice working class community with beaches, a nice small downtown and a lot of apartments to consider. Plus it is more affordable than Branford and yet right next door. Good luck, Jay

Thanks to all who are responding.. So interesting how the discussions here can take on a life of their own! But anyway... JayCT, not sure either why the student thing except the party noise, and at my budget, the fear that I could only get a student-level rental meaning something I was content to live in when I was in college but not so much now!

I did an airbnb in West Hartford and had a niece who lived there. Like the feeling there but agree it might be too expensive. I wonder though how the drive from there to Wallingford compares to the reverse direction from the coastal towns north? Being closer to the water is also very appealing.

Someone said there are a lot of apartments in Branford. Not seeing that when I look at online rental sites especially my price range. But Branford and East Haven will be definitely to check out. It helps to have it narrowed down.

[cathb]

Originally Posted by richrf

Totally, 100% disagree, and I await breathlessly for the advice you provide to the OP on where she may retire on her budget and have the lifestyle she is seeking. Yep, in East Haven you can walk to the pharmacy. Come to think of it, here we can walk to Walgreens and McDonalds. How does one spell d-i-s-a-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t?

Richard, I appreciate your input, but I am going to dearly hope your observation proves incorrect for me. I'm single and only have this one little grandchild to get to know. CT is my only option for now. My intent is to create a life and for that I will hope to find groups (meet-ups?) that enjoy the same interests I have. I've moved enough in my lifetime to know that success in this depends as much on one's individual efforts as anything else. I understand that my financial situation will be an issue but I am prepared to work if need be, which can also be a source of connections.

I think I might understand the lifestyle you are referring to. I've been living it for the past ten plus years and don't mind saying it's been nice but there are other things important to me at this point. I also lived many years as a single mom on a teacher's salary, and quite happily so. I'm not happy that my son is living in the most expensive state in the country, and as you offerr, a place that is retiree -unfriendly, but it's where he is so I will make it work.

[cathb]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest

Connecticut persistently comes out at or near the bottom of states for retirees. Those lists are reasonably accurate.

When I ran the numbers, retirement in Connecticut just didn't work.

Sorry HeadedWest, but as I referred to in other responses, I'm not looking for the list of the best most affordable places to retire. I am looking to be closer to my only son and grandchild. It's my unfortunate luck that he is living in CT, the worst place for a retiree to live (especially on my income), according to you and other posters! So it will be more helpful to hear from those who can offer things to boost my decision rather that scare me! I am going to have to make the numbers work, so advice on how I can do that will be welcome. Good luck going west!

[newerabuzz]

The median price for a single family home in Silver Springs MD is $370,000-390,000- average rent $1455.00 a month

I am from the Washington DC area- the traffic is horrible, insurance costs for autos are far higher then in most of Connecticut. Crime rates in Maryland and DC are far higher then the towns mentioned in Connecticut. The Washington area is fine- if you seek 'big city' life with 'world class amenities' close to within walking distance of your home. But it does not come cheap. The cities of East Haven and Branford offer pleasant downtowns, and good services for older citizens, and a lifestyle that is less competitive and frenetic. Not everyone is looking for an 'address' with all the underpinnings of living an exclusive lifestyle 'above the social milieu'. I met a couple here 8 years ago, who had lived in the DC area for 30 years- and wanted out. They eventually stettled in Tolland Connecticut.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by cathb

Richard, I appreciate your input, but I am going to dearly hope your observation proves incorrect for me. I'm single and only have this one little grandchild to get to know. CT is my only option for now. My intent is to create a life and for that I will hope to find groups (meet-ups?) that enjoy the same interests I have. I've moved enough in my lifetime to know that success in this depends as much on one's individual efforts as anything else. I understand that my financial situation will be an issue but I am prepared to work if need be, which can also be a source of connections.

I think I might understand the lifestyle you are referring to. I've been living it for the past ten plus years and don't mind saying it's been nice but there are other things important to me at this point. I also lived many years as a single mom on a teacher's salary, and quite happily so. I'm not happy that my son is living in the most expensive state in the country, and as you offerr, a place that is retiree -unfriendly, but it's where he is so I will make it work.

I think you have to realize something, richrf is living in Stamford which is one of the most expensive parts of the country. Stamford is a small city while richrf is looking for big city amenities.

Connecticut is not the most cost-effective place to retire but it does offer retirees a lot. There is excellent healthcare extremely important as you age but often not looked at closely enough when retiring), a lot of cultural amenities (theater, lectures, senior citizen centers, educational opportunities, etc.), social services (most towns have a seniors or human resources department for residents) and much to do here and nearby. That comes at a cost.

One thing to know is that many towns offer tax assistance to those retirees living on a fixed income. I have a retired family member who gets a significant credit on their property taxes from the town they live in. You might want to check into that. Also note while Connecticut is not thought of as a retirement state, thousands of people retire here. There are some sizable retirement communities in Southbury (Heritage Village), Stratford (Oronoque Village) and Oxford (Oxford Greens), plus a number of others. You will also see that a lot of the shoreline towns do have sizeable senior populations.

Because you want to be closer to your grandchild, you are limited on how far you want to be from Wallingford. I am not sure West Hartford would be close enough for you. You might actually look in Wallingford itself. Either way I am sure you will like it here just like the thousands of other retirees living here. Jay

[dec38]

You might consider looking at over-55 active adult communities. Benefit is built-in community -- you'll probably find lots of similarly situated, like-minded people. Not sure if that would be budget friendly, but I do think that some have affordable housing units, aimed at single persons, within the communities. This one would be less than 1/2 hour from Wallingford, with lots of amenities (and I think they may offer affordable units that are not necessarily advertised): https://www.tollbrothers.com/CT/Regency_at_Prospect

[SeaDoo342]

You guys are all mentioning 55+ places that are crazy expensive… regency at prospect isn't less than 1300 a month, Oxford Greens houses sell for 500k…. come on….

The OP would do just fine in an affordable (less than 200k), small house in a quiet neighborhood….