[cheeky1178]

Hi All,

So finally the offer we were waiting for has come in and my husbands job will move from Simsbury to New Britain. Not the direction we thought it would go so I'm not really familiar with that area, we'd appreciate a little help deciding where to look for a house near New Britain, not necessarily in New Britain.

Wants:
-The shorter the commute the better, max of 25 minutes.
-3 bedroom, 1.5 bath on a 1/4+ acre lot in a nice suburb with decent schools, average or better. In past searches we seemed to be drawn more to high ranches with about 2000 square feet, so probably something like that.
-We'd like to pay about $250k but we could go up to $275-280k if the property tax isn't super high.

Any suggestions?

Thank you!!!

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by cheeky1178

Hi All,

So finally the offer we were waiting for has come in and my husbands job will move from Simsbury to New Britain. Not the direction we thought it would go so I'm not really familiar with that area, we'd appreciate a little help deciding where to look for a house.

Wants:
-The shorter the commute the better, max of 25 minutes.
-3 bedroom, 1.5 bath on a 1/4+ acre lot in a nice suburb with decent schools, average or better. In past searches we seemed to be drawn more to high ranches with about 2000 square feet, so probably something like that.
-We'd like to pay about $250k but we could go up to $275-280k if the property tax isn't super high.

Any suggestions?

Thank you!!!

Background: New Britain is very densely populated city, with many apartment buildings including 2, 3 & 6 family units, and a wide mix of single family houses from affordable to stately & historic with some scattered new construction. It located in central part of the state located in Hartford County. The city is 13 minute drive to Hartford, 36 to New Haven 25 to Waterbury. Arch Street is bad, especially at night, close to downtown. I wouldn't suggest Winter, North or Oak Streets behind the New Britain Shopping Plaza, Anything East of Arch St, Many of the neighborhoods North of East / West Main St and South of CCSU. The projects off of Myrtle Street and Corbin Avenue aren't too pleasant . Central Connecticut State University area is nice part of New Britain so as Little Poland. Pretty much further away from Downtown New Britain the outskirt of the city. New Britain has more than it's fair share of poverty & social problems, but they pale in comparison to the larger cities like Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven.



Where to Live in New Britain:

1) West of Corbin ave and South of route 72. This is almost an extension of Southington as you come from Southington along reservoir road. Great area, very quiet, large homes near a golf course and easy access to highways. IMO it's the gem of the city in terms of a place to live. It immediately borders both Southington and Kensington which are vastly superior towns. It's much like living near the border of Cheshire in Meriden.

2) Immedialy adjacent to Walnut hill park South of W. Main St. along Vine, Hart, and Lincoln St. There are some magnificent homes here, many large 3000sq ft+ craftsmans. The biggest issue is the proximity to the ghetto. W. Main is awful and the closer you get to it, it degrades rapidly. Also the East Side of the park near the hospital gets pretty shady. As nice as it is immediately around the park I would avoid living here.

3) Far North in New Britain near Westfarms mall and Farmington is a nice area and has good proximity to Stanley Park, which while not as nice as Walnut does have some nice tennis courts and a walking / running path around it. There is a newer condo community built called Bradford Walk that is built half on the Farmington line and half on the New Britain line. To show the disparity, the exact same units are on both sides and the ones in New Britain are going for over $100,000 less. If this doesn't say something I don't know what does. Up north you have good access to the Farmington reservoirs as well which is a really well developed path and running / biking system.

4) Close to Newington. there are some nicer areas as you get next to Newington's town line but not as nice as previous two.


Also checkout Plainville, Southington, Newington, Wethersfield, Berln

[NewJeffCT]

I'd recommend looking at Berlin, Newington, Wethersfield, Rocky Hill and maybe Cromwell.

Newington & Wethersfield have high mill rates, Berlin and Rocky Hill are average and Cromwell is above average.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

I'd recommend looking at Berlin, Newington, Wethersfield, Rocky Hill and maybe Cromwell.

Newington & Wethersfield have high mill rates, Berlin and Rocky Hill are average and Cromwell is above average.

These are very good suggestions but mill rates do not necessarily reflect taxes on a home. The OP should just look at the taxes on homes in their price range. A couple of other options would be Plainville and Southington. Jay

[hvexpatinct]

Berlin/Kensington?

[cheeky1178]

BPt111 thank you for all the info on New Britain! The schools are keeping us from considering New Britain itself but living close by it will be nice to know about the different areas in it.

Thank you everyone else too! That's a good list of towns to look into, I'm glad to see more then one or two

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by cheeky1178

BPt111 thank you for all the info on New Britain! The schools are keeping us from considering New Britain itself but living close by it will be nice to know about the different areas in it.

Thank you everyone else too! That's a good list of towns to look into, I'm glad to see more then one or two

Pick the surrounding suburbs of New Britain because of schools

Berlin, Rocky Hill, Plainville, Southington

[parentologist]

Farmington is great if you can find something In your price range. Southington, Newington, berlin OK too. Plainville maybe. Bristol not so much.

[EUPL]

Any surrounding towns are good, Berlin, Farmington, Plainville, Newington, Southington.


In that price range you would get the most house in Plainville & Newington.