[TobinJ]

Honestly safety depends largely on your mental/physical character. If you like to run your mouth in bars and make racist comments then you'll have a problem anywhere. If you walk down the street clueless of your surrounding then you'll look vulnerable to creeps. Also understand what you want from your UConn experience, if you want quiet studying during the week and bars/dining out on weekends, hartford is as good as any. If you want a college town feel and college crowd bars/cafes, hartford isn't going to meet your needs.

That said...I've worked here for close to 15 years...I leave at night and unless I have tickets to something. I don't go out of my way to spend time here. I prefer a walkable Main Street and hartford doesn't have it.

[orangecrush1973]

I lived in Connecticut from 2001-2015; and I relocated to Colorado in January of 2015. I have lived in NH, RI, CT and Colorado. CT is by far the worst place I have lived. The cities are not safe: Hartford and New Haven are usually among the 10 most dangerous cities in the country:Crime in America 2015: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000 - Law Street (TM) . There is not a single vibrant city in CT. Sadly, everyone knows the best part of living in CT is it's proximity to nicer areas like Boston and NYC. I lived in Glastonbury, CT from 2004 to 2015. The overall quality of life in Glastonbury was good, but there was very little to do in any of the cities in CT. Glastonbury is a safe town with good schools, but Hartford has very little to offer. I have found the schools here in the Boulder Valley School District to be at least as good as the ones in Glastonbury. In fact, Boulder is often recognized as the most educated city in the US, and the schools reflect it. Forbes Welcome

Although the taxes are high in CT, I did not leave because of it's cost of living. The real estate market here was significantly more expensive than Glastonbury, CT for good reason. I left CT because there were much better places to make a living as a professional and raise a family. I have found Colorado have an excellent combination of climate, friendly people, outdoor activities and a thriving economy.

Downtown Hartford is not safe, don't believe the anecdotal opinions of people posting here. Look at the data and crime rates and visit the areas you are considering living in. There are many people
on these forums who will attempt to dismiss the awful statistical crime rates of cities in CT; but these are the same people who would eagerly refer to crime statistics if they were favorable.

[orangecrush1973]

Here are the 2015 Crime Rates for cities with less than 200,000 people. New Haven is the 3rd most dangerous city in the US, Hartford is the 4th, and Springfield is the 6th. There are much better places to live.

Crime in America 2015: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000 - Law Street (TM)

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by orangecrush1973

I lived in Connecticut from 2001-2015; and I relocated to Colorado in January of 2015. I have lived in NH, RI, CT and Colorado. CT is by far the worst place I have lived. The cities are not safe: Hartford and New Haven are usually among the 10 most dangerous cities in the country:Crime in America 2015: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000 - Law Street (TM) . There is not a single vibrant city in CT. Sadly, everyone knows the best part of living in CT is it's proximity to nicer areas like Boston and NYC. I lived in Glastonbury, CT from 2004 to 2015. The overall quality of life in Glastonbury was good, but there was very little to do in any of the cities in CT. Glastonbury is a safe town with good schools, but Hartford has very little to offer. I have found the schools here in the Boulder Valley School District to be at least as good as the ones in Glastonbury. In fact, Boulder is often recognized as the most educated city in the US, and the schools reflect it. Forbes Welcome

Although the taxes are high in CT, I did not leave because of it's cost of living. The real estate market here was significantly more expensive than Glastonbury, CT for good reason. I left CT because there were much better places to make a living as a professional and raise a family. I have found Colorado have an excellent combination of climate, friendly people, outdoor activities and a thriving economy.

Downtown Hartford is not safe, don't believe the anecdotal opinions of people posting here. Look at the data and crime rates and visit the areas you are considering living in. There are many people
on these forums who will attempt to dismiss the awful statistical crime rates of cities in CT; but these are the same people who would eagerly refer to crime statistics if they were favorable.

New Hampshire has more vibrant cities than Connecticut? I would like to know which ones because honestly I have been to all of them and have to disagree. They are all pretty quiet and small.

Also, the crime rates you are citing are based on the City of Hartford itself. As has been explained here many times these statistics are skewed because our cities represent just the core of a larger metropolitan area. Because that core is only 17 square miles and is just about the worst in the metropolitan area, of course our rates are higher. Look at the overall metro area and you will see greater Hartford is a very safe metropolitan area. Finally those crime rates do not mean downtown Hartford is unsafe. Most of the crime is concentrated in a few neighborhoods, most notably the North End. Downtown Hartford is certainly as safe as any other downtown in this country.

I am glad you like Boulder but correct me if I am not wrong, it is a very expensive city to live in and once you get away from the city itself, things change dramatically. Jay

[orangecrush1973]

Portsmouth, NH has a much more vibrant downtown than any city in CT. It is small, but safe with excellent restaurants, street musicians and festivals. The coast of NH and Maine have great beaches (not the dirty LI sound) and towns. You are wrong about Colorado, all of Boulder and Broomfield county are very nice. In fact Colorado has 5 of the best 25 counties in the US: https://local.niche.com/rankings/cou...best-counties/ . Douglas county (between Denver and Colorado Springs) is the wealthiest county in the US not near NYC or DC: The richest middle class ... that isn't near NY and DC - Sep. 15, 2014 . CT has the 2nd highest percentage of residents in the country who want to leave ( Half in Illinois and Connecticut Want to Move Elsewhere ). New Haven and Hartford are number three and five among the areas of the country with the greatest net migration away ( These Are the Top 20 Cities Americans Are Ditching - Bloomberg Business ). Although the net migration is a small percentage of the population the most recent CT budget shortfall says a lot about the people who are leaving. High income families are leaving at a rapid rate because there are much better places to live. Your opinions are obviously biased about CT; they just aren't supported by data.

[orangecrush1973]

I am glad you like Boulder but correct me if I am not wrong, it is a very expensive city to live in and once you get away from the city itself, things change dramatically

Have you spent a lot of time here? If not, what are your opinions based on? Do you realize Colorado is the 2nd most educated state in the US, 2 spots ahead of CT ( America’s Most and Least Educated States: A Survey of All 50 - 24/7 Wall St. ).

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by orangecrush1973

Portsmouth, NH has a much more vibrant downtown than any city in CT. It is small, but safe with excellent restaurants, street musicians and festivals. The coast of NH and Maine have great beaches (not the dirty LI sound) and towns. You are wrong about Colorado, all of Boulder and Broomfield county are very nice. In fact Colorado has 5 of the best 25 counties in the US: https://local.niche.com/rankings/cou...best-counties/ . Douglas county (between Denver and Colorado Springs) is the wealthiest county in the US not near NYC or DC: The richest middle class ... that isn't near NY and DC - Sep. 15, 2014 . CT has the 2nd highest percentage of residents in the country who want to leave ( Half in Illinois and Connecticut Want to Move Elsewhere ). New Haven and Hartford are number three and five among the areas of the country with the greatest net migration away ( These Are the Top 20 Cities Americans Are Ditching - Bloomberg Business ). Although the net migration is a small percentage of the population the most recent CT budget shortfall says a lot about the people who are leaving. High income families are leaving at a rapid rate because there are much better places to live. Your opinions are obviously biased about CT; they just aren't supported by data.

Ha! I knew you were going to say Portsmouth. It is just about the only town in New Hampshire that anyone could call "vibrant". I have been there many times and it is very nice but it is certainly not more "vibrant" than New Haven. I also could go back and forth with you on Boulder and Colorado but it is off topic to the thread so I will just say my opinions are supported by facts that have posted time and time again on this forum. You are citing a few subjective websites based on somewhat questionable sources that have been questioned here multiple times. And your opinions are also obviously biased so we can just agree to disagree. Jay

[JayCT]

Please return to the topic of the OP which is the question is "Downtown Hartford Safe?". JayCT, Moderator

[orangecrush1973]

Sticking to the original post, here are murders for New England Cities in 2015:

Hartford 31
Bridgeport 18
Springfield, MA 18
New Haven 15
Providence, RI 14
Brockton, MA 9
Worcester, MA 8
Lawrence, MA 4
Manchester, NH 4
Waterbury 4
New Bedford, MA 4
Fall River, MA 3
Reserve, MA 3
New Britain 3
New London 3
Taunton, MA 2
Stamford 2
Hamden 2
Lynn, MA 2
Holyoke, Ma 2
Torrington, CT 2
Meriden 1
Norwalk 0

By the way, Boston (population 646,000) has had 36 homicides this year. Hartford (population 125,000) has had 31. Again, just presenting information so individuals can come to their own conclusions. To say that Hartford is as safe as anywhere is not correct.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by orangecrush1973

Sticking to the original post, here are murders for New England Cities in 2015:

Hartford 31
Bridgeport 18
Springfield, MA 18
New Haven 15
Providence, RI 14
Brockton, MA 9
Worcester, MA 8
Lawrence, MA 4
Manchester, NH 4
Waterbury 4
New Bedford, MA 4
Fall River, MA 3
Reserve, MA 3
New Britain 3
New London 3
Taunton, MA 2
Stamford 2
Hamden 2
Lynn, MA 2
Holyoke, Ma 2
Torrington, CT 2
Meriden 1
Norwalk 0

By the way, Boston (population 646,000) has had 36 homicides this year. Hartford (population 125,000) has had 31. Again, just presenting information so individuals can come to their own conclusions. To say that Hartford is as safe as anywhere is not correct.

As has been pointed out before, most of the murders in Hartford occur in one or two particular neighborhoods. Downtown is not one of them. Murders happen in every city. Would you judge all of New York by the number of murders that occur in the Bronx? I wouldn't, nor would most people. Again, downtown Hartford is as safe an area as most other downtown areas in a large city in this country. Jay