[naddle]

Hello everyone,

My husband, I and our two sons (1 and 3) will be moving to West Hartford next year (from Oakland, CA). We are trying to get a better feel for the neighborhoods and the general safety of the area. Ideally we are looking for the following in our new neighborhood:

- Lots of family and kids (kids being able to walk over to neighbors and knock on friends door to play when they are older)
- Social and communal neighbors
- Ideally some diversity (I am a native German) or at least people that are open minded
- Walking distance to coffee shops (even if it takes 15 min) or short bus ride - we like public transportation
- Safe place for kids (ideally when they are older, we'd love for them to be able to walk to places by themselves - not sure how realistic this is)

FYI - We'll be buying a house (~300 - 500k)

Any thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Monstersquad]

The roads in West Hartford are very narrow. That is one thing I hate about it.

[JayCT]

Pretty much every neighborhood is good in West Hartford. I think the only problem area is in the extreme southeast corner, where a small section abuts Hartford east of the railroad tracks. Otherwise you should not worry too much about it. There are a lot of shopping areas and small retail centers around town plus bus routes (check CT Transit maps) so finding something in your price range should not be too hard. Then again don't expect a new or fully remodeled home in that price range. Good luck, Jay

[MikefromCT]

You can easily find a house that meets your criteria for your budget. Most of the town is very walkable, with lots of families. As Jay pointed out, the town's housing stock is generally older, but most sellers these days intall modern appliances and have done structural upgrades of some sort (newer roofs, modern storm windows, finished basements, small add-ons, etc). You mentioned you're of German ancestry. The German School is located at 90 North Main Street, and this might be a good place to get acclamated with others. Check it out.

Good luck!

[NewJeffCT]

West Hartford has a lot of retail and shopping and is known for their sidewalks, so is also walkable. Agree with Jay above - it's a very safe town overall, but avoid the SE corner.

West Hartford is diverse for an upscale town in Connecticut - Conard HS is approaching a 50/50 balance between white and non white students, and Hall HS is about 65/35. You'll also find a pretty high Jewish population in town as well. It's also noted as being more liberal than surrounding upscale towns like Farmington, Avon and Simsbury.

[parentologist]

Conard is 59% white, 10% black, 19% Hispanic, and 10% Asian.

[parentologist]

There are many areas of West Hartford where you can find that neighborhood feel where kids play together outside, and are in and out of each others' houses on the street. There are a lot of areas with houses relatively close together, and sidewalks, and backyards that adjoin (as long as people don't fence them in). The areas where the houses are close together tend to be at the lower end of your price range, were built before 1970, and are smaller (under 2000 sq ft). Communities that have what you are looking for tend to be focused around the elementary schools. It sounds to me that you would also like to be within walking distance of shops and restaurants. There are three main areas that would fit your description - the area around the town center, which is near the intersection of N. Main and Farmington Ave (tons of restaurants, shops, the main library with a fantastic children's area, and a Whole Foods), the area around Bishops Corner, near N. Main and Albany Ave (a vibrant branch library, coffee shops, restaurants, supermarkets, including a Whole Foods and a Walmart neighborhood market and a few other stores), and the area called Elmwood, focused around New Britain Ave and S. Quaker Lane, which in addition to restaurants and shops, also has an active branch library. There is also a main mall with lots of satellite strip malls along New Britain Ave on the west side of town, but the area is not as walkable as the previous three mentioned. The town center is far more walkable than Bishops Corner and Elmwood, but they, too, are quite walkable, as long as you hold onto each kid!

You can find what you're looking for in all three of those areas. All the schools are good. The southeast side of town is more black and hispanic and new immigrant than the north side, but there are sprinklings of people of all races and economic statuses all through town, except for a few quite upscale areas on the western side of town and also very close to the Hartford golf club, where not everyone is white, but everyone is wealthy. Not many kids play outside there. If you want kids who play outside, the less expensive the houses, and smaller the lots, the more likely you are to find kids who play outside. Resist the temptation to buy the $500,000 house in the neighborhood with big lots, and go with the $300,000 3 bdrm house in the neighborhood with little lots, sidewalks, and houses close together.

Because you have a three year old, I think you will make friends easily through his nursery school. You might want to consider the Quaker Lane cooperative nursery school. Since it's a coop, a lot of parents get to know each other through this. In general, you will find the town to be liberal and accepting. There are gay couples and interracial couples and all races and nationalities raising their kids here. The town has a high percentage of highly educated people. For what you want, West Hartford is an excellent choice.

A good site to look at for information about the elementary schools (and hence, the neighborhoods) is greatschools.com. Here is a link to a map of the elementary schools' catchment areas.

West Hartford Public Schools: School Districts

Academic achievement closely mirrors socioeconomic status. Norfeldt, Bugbee, and Duffy are probably at the top, with Aiken, Braeburn, and Morley only a tiny step lower. Wolcott, Webster Hill, and Whiting Lane all include some poorer areas, and Charter Oak and Smith are the lowest socioeconomic status, and have the highest percentage of black, hispanic, and new immigrants. And still, they are good elementary schools.

If you look at the school map in the link above, you will see that areas of Braeburn, Duffy, Bugbee, Morley, and Webster Hill are all close to the town center. There are areas of Bugbee, Norfeldt, and Aiken that are all close to Bishops Corner. Walkable streets to Elmwood include areas of Wolcott and Webster Hill.

Good luck with your move.

[RunD1987]

There's about a 360,000 population difference and a 60% decrease in crime In West Hartford than Oakland. However, probably if population in Oakland was 65,000 be about maybe a 3.5% increase of current crime rate in WH. a difference of about 2 to 3 thousand more crimes a year.

Anywho WH is a really nice area, great shopping, and same as mentioned above.

[SunFlower33]

With children those ages, I'd target the Morley School neighborhood. Walkable to the library, Blue Back Square, shops, restaurants, etc.

My younger daughter went to preschool at First Congregational Church - was wonderful!

[ytlh]

I would look for something near the town center, the Park Road shopping district or (ideally) both! That way you should have lots of stuff to walk to. West Hartford is a kid-friendly town with an abundance of parks and playgrounds. Crime is drastically better than Oakland, as pointed out above (I've never lived in Oakland but several friends have). I think it is a good fit for what you are looking for.