Meriden (Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford: apartment complex, trip , rental)

[gbarney04]

What is the town of Meriden like? Is it a good town to live in and is it close to Metro North?

[jad2000]

Originally Posted by gbarney04

What is the town of Meriden like? Is it a good town to live in and is it close to Metro North?

The closest Metro North station is New Haven, about 25 minutes south of Meriden. To be honest, Meriden is my least favorite town in CT. I don't like how many residents don't care for their homes and I don't like the feel of the town. Schools aren't great for Connecticut, but OK when comparing them nationally.

On the plus side, it's centrally located, has a large mall and traffic around Meriden I've never found to be horrible.

This is just my opinion - different people like different things.

[JayCT]

jad2000 is correct that Meriden does not have a Metro-North station, but Amtrak serve the city with about 10 trains daily. Amtrak is pricey though with round trip service to New York costing about $80. When the state begins commuter rail service on the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield line, prices should be more reasonable.

Meriden is a small city with some urban issues. The schools perform below the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Cannecticut Academic Performance tests.

While I agree with jad2000 that there are a lot of poorly maintained homes in Meriden, there are also a lot of well maintained homes too. It really depends on the neighborhood, some of which can be very nice. Hope this helps, Jay

[Denise in Fla]

If you are thinking of locating to Meriden, the east side of town is more desirable. Also the schools are better there too, I used to live there.

[gbarney04]

thanks for all the information. i was asking for a friend of mine who has an apartment in brooklyn and wanted a nice inexpensive place in the country. some friends bought a home recently in meriden from craigslist (of all places) for around $99k so she wanted to see if she should check it out. seems like it did sound too good to be true. any other suggestions would be appreciated for my friend (preferably something on the metro north line for perhaps $150k?)

[Denise in Fla]

You might try checking into the on-line newspapers. The Record Journal and the New Haven Register to get an idea for the price of housing.

[jad2000]

Originally Posted by gbarney04

thanks for all the information. i was asking for a friend of mine who has an apartment in brooklyn and wanted a nice inexpensive place in the country. some friends bought a home recently in meriden from craigslist (of all places) for around $99k so she wanted to see if she should check it out. seems like it did sound too good to be true. any other suggestions would be appreciated for my friend (preferably something on the metro north line for perhaps $150k?)

You might want to check out the lower Naugatuck Valley - Ansonia, Derby, even further down in Stratford. They are located in the southwestern part of the state versus central Connecticut where Meriden is. The Valley is along the Waterbury line of Metro North, which means you would have to switch trains in Bridgeport to continue to Grand Central - so that would make your train trip a bit longer.

In these towns, most homes start in the $200s but you may get lucky in this current market and find a deal.

Bridgeport itself is inexpensive but does have major urban issues. Good luck and come back with more questions if you need to.

[ItalianGuy]

We lived in Meriden for a short time (rental) East side. New apartment complex
Meriden Apartments - Newbury Village Apartments - Meriden, CT - Gabe Alexander - nice club house and pool and grounds always kept terrific....Good Luck

[gbarney04]

Thanks Jad and everyone else for your input. I'm going to check out the other locations for my friend. You've all been a big help, as usual.