[pet38]

hi everyone am relocating to ct, from MD. I like these areas, but am very confused, something these threads are good another will say something bad. can someone ,who know the area very well reply. I have a 16 yrs old son he likes football, and very shy. so school is important, my budget is 300-400,000 for a home, am also trying to open a cosignment store so that will play a major role in my decisions, I visited fairfield cty 2 week ago, in newtown, sandy hook, and still trying to figure out if I like the area, I place a deposit on a house but the bank accept another offer. so am trying to figure out where to live and open a retail store. a safe place.thank for all reply(PS, I like well groomed area) LAWN UPKEEP, ETC.

ALSO FAIRFIELD VS HARTFORD. LAUGH THE DIFFERENCE IN RETAIL AND THE AREA.

upper fishrock rd is it a nice area? well goomed

[skytrekker]

Originally Posted by pet38

hi everyone am relocating to ct, from MD. I like these areas, but am very confused, something these threads are good another will say something bad. can someone ,who know the area very well reply. I have a 16 yrs old son he likes football, and very shy. so school is important, my budget is 300-400,000 for a home, am also trying to open a cosignment store so that will play a major role in my decisions, I visited fairfield cty 2 week ago, in newtown, sandy hook, and still trying to figure out if I like the area, I place a deposit on a house but the bank accept another offer. so am trying to figure out where to live and open a retail store. a safe place.thank for all reply(PS, I like well groomed area) LAWN UPKEEP, ETC.

ALSO FAIRFIELD VS HARTFORD. LAUGH THE DIFFERENCE IN RETAIL AND THE AREA.

upper fishrock rd is it a nice area? well goomed

In a nutshell- Berlin is an average Connecticut residential community, with lots of retail along the Berlin Turnpike. Southington is a nice suburban community, where many middle class families reside. Simsbury is more upscale, with nearby shopping that caters to a more high end buyer.

Fairfield (the town) is a pleasant upscale community on LI Sound, population over 50,000. Fairfield county- for the most part has many fine upscale towns, and a nice small city in Stamford. It also includes A gritty city in Bridgeport, with some problems; and working class towns like Stratford and Norwalk.

Hartford, the city population 125,000 is the state capital. Metro population 1.20 million. Hartford is in the process of being 'rebuilt' and has improved greatly in the last decade- a new retail section is being planned downtown. Hartford still has issues with crime in some areas. Culture wise, Hartford ranks in the top 30 metro areas in the USA and Canada for visual and performing arts.

Greater Hartford itself sprawls west to the Farmington Valley, New Britain and Bristol, east into Tolland county, north to almost the Massachusetts border, and south to Middletown. There are several fine towns in the greater Hartford area-many quite upscale (West Hartford, Avon, Canton, Glastonbury, Simsbury) and others offering a nice quality lifestyle for a reasonable amount of money, (South Windsor, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield) with good to excellent schools, plus excellent shopping areas in all locations.

East of the Connecticut river, the Buckland Shoppes and Evergreen Walk in Manchester & South Windsor are the largest retail sections in the Hartford area, and perhaps the state. With 'Evergreen' being extremely attractive and expanding with upscale retailers. Glastonbury is another fine town to consider, east of the CT river. West Hartford center has perhaps the most attractive center, better IMO then Greenwich, with the new Blueback square. The West Hartford/Farmington line has the long established West Farms Mall-offering an upscale Mall experience.

The Hartford area will give you more bang for your buck in housing costs then Fairfield county. 300-400K in Fairfield county will buy a smaller starter home in An 'average' areas- while in the Hartford area something infinitely more attractive, in many towns. For example median priced home in the greater Hartford area is around 265K- in Fairfield county 445K.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

Hartford, the city population 125,000 is the state capital. Metro population 1.20 million.

FYI...For those visiting this thread from out of state, the Hartford Metro is comprised of the 57 towns in Hartford (29), Tolland (13), and Middlesex (15) Counties - with the extreme towns being as far as 45 miles away from Hartford (the city).

[JayCT]

Pet38 - Welcome to Connecticut. Your decision on where to live maybe should hinge on where you can open a successful store. There are a number of small successful consignment shops already in the state, so it might be wise to look for an area that does not have as much competition. Consignment is not an easy business. I know the owner of a very successful shop in Fairfield and they tell me it can be difficult and location is key.

All three of the towns you listed are nice. Simsbury is a bit more upscale than the others and is a bit more isolated. Its schools are considered excellent. As skytrekker indicated Berlin is an average residental community and so is Southington. Schools are considered very good in these towns. All three towns offer football, but it may be pretty competitive to get on the team in the larger schools like Southington. Hope this helps. Jay

[jad2000]

Originally Posted by Rich Lee

FYI...For those visiting this thread from out of state, the Hartford Metro is comprised of the 57 towns in Hartford (29), Tolland (13), and Middlesex (15) Counties - with the extreme towns being as far as 45 miles away from Hartford (the city).

Wow, interesting point. How can a small city such as Hartford have a suburb 45 miles away?

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by jad2000

Wow, interesting point. How can a small city such as Hartford have a suburb 45 miles away?

It (Old Saybrook) isn't a suburb in the truest sense of the word. The Hartford Metro was conceived as Hartford County plus Tolland and Middlesex Counties (each in its entirety). I don't know why.

I am sure there are areas closer to Hartford that are excluded because they fall into a non-included county (Plymouth, Cheshire), and areas that would be surprised to find that they are in the Hartford Metro (Killingworth, Durham).

[sun]

I think that would do well to find a house in Berlin. The Kensington section is also very nice, and the town has a lighter housing density than Southington.
Berlin made it to the state football championship game [again] this year, but is in a smaller high school size classification than Southington which also often has a very strong program (medium vs. extra large).

Berlin borders Meriden, Southington, New Britain & Cromwell which could provide you with potential business locations and customers, although the Southington area may already have a consignment shop or 2, and so might the Simsbury area.
There's also a larger hospital and a State University in New Britain.

East Berlin is considered to be the geographical center of CT and the town has excellent highway access and one of the few upstate Amtrack stations. Berlin annually hosts the well know 3 day Berlin Fair which includes the involvement of much of the town, including many school students. There always seems to be new development going on there, and it's also home to the CL&P/Northeast Utilities HQ's.

IMO, Berlin has much more than the average amount of CT town pride.