[lisakevin]

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with Dutch Point. I'm considering moving there with my husband but I'm unfamiliar with the area. Is it a safe place to live? My husband has a job offer there but we're debating on if he should take it or not. We're originally from NY and don't like Florida at all so we're excited to move back up to the northeast but I've heard that Hartford is a bad place to live? Is there a lot of crime there? Any help would be very appreciated.

[brandonfromseattle]

I moved to Hartford a few months ago and I like it. I don't know anything about Dutch Point but Hartford is a good little city and I've been able to visit New York and Boston a few times as well as go to cultural festivals downtown that were really fun. If you don't go to the north end you really don't need to worry about crime. I live in the nicest apartment I've ever lived in and it is totally affordable and I live right next door to a grocery store and near lots of ethnic restaurants and walking distance from downtown.

My advice about Hartford is to not listen too much to people from CT because people here are generally whiners and they think that cities are scary.

[lisakevin]

Originally Posted by brandonfromseattle

I moved to Hartford a few months ago and I like it. I don't know anything about Dutch Point but Hartford is a good little city and I've been able to visit New York and Boston a few times as well as go to cultural festivals downtown that were really fun. If you don't go to the north end you really don't need to worry about crime. I live in the nicest apartment I've ever lived in and it is totally affordable and I live right next door to a grocery store and near lots of ethnic restaurants and walking distance from downtown.

My advice about Hartford is to not listen too much to people from CT because people here are generally whiners and they think that cities are scary.

Thank you! The Dutch Point apartments are just north of Colt Park and south of Conlin-Whitehead Hwy. Is that area considered safe?

Also I noticed there are a lot of churches nearby the apartment I'm looking at. Is Hartford a very religious area?

[willow wind]

Dutch Point is a new housing project. It was built on the site of a notorious and dangerous public housing complex. It was crime ridden. The public complex was torn down and this new complex built in its place. But because the old housing complex was removed doesn't mean that the whole neighborhood has changed. I'd consider it a real sketchy area. There are far better places to live.

I'd suggest you look into the town of Wethersfield adjacent to the south of Hartford or to the western side of Hartford and to the town of West Hartford. The west side of Hartford and the town of West Hartford are two different things. Manchester , just across the river to the east of Hartford is another possibility. All four places have a range of housing options and prices.

I would really suggest you not take a job sight unseen of the area. Fly up for a long weekend, look around the area and drive through any potential neighborhood at 11 PM on a Saturday night. Then you'll get an idea of where you would be living. Is Hartford religious? People in CT keep their religion to themselves. No one will ask you if you go to church, no will ask what religion you are, it's unlikely that religion would be a topic of conversation in the work place, at the gym, etc. No one cares what you do.

One more thing- in your other post you asked where cheaper rents were, then you asked about CT's " high minimum wage". This is simple- you can't survive in CT on minimum wage jobs and expect to have any kind of life. Even two low paying jobs won't help. Please don't move unless you have looked at your total potential yearly income against an area cost calculator. Wages in FL are low; what salary is offered here may seem high compared to FL, but may be impossible to live on compared to CT 's high living costs.

Be careful. Good luck

[lisakevin]

Originally Posted by willow wind

Dutch Point is a new housing project. It was built on the site of a notorious and dangerous public housing complex. It was crime ridden. The public complex was torn down and this new complex built in its place. But because the old housing complex was removed doesn't mean that the whole neighborhood has changed. I'd consider it a real sketchy area. There are far better places to live.

I'd suggest you look into the town of Wethersfield adjacent to the south of Hartford or to the western side of Hartford and to the town of West Hartford. The west side of Hartford and the town of West Hartford are two different things. Manchester , just across the river to the east of Hartford is another possibility. All four places have a range of housing options and prices.

I would really suggest you not take a job sight unseen of the area. Fly up for a long weekend, look around the area and drive through any potential neighborhood at 11 PM on a Saturday night. Then you'll get an idea of where you would be living. Is Hartford religious? People in CT keep their religion to themselves. No one will ask you if you go to church, no will ask what religion you are, it's unlikely that religion would be a topic of conversation in the work place, at the gym, etc. No one cares what you do.

One more thing- in your other post you asked where cheaper rents were, then you asked about CT's " high minimum wage". This is simple- you can't survive in CT on minimum wage jobs and expect to have any kind of life. Even two low paying jobs won't help. Please don't move unless you have looked at your total potential yearly income against an area cost calculator. Wages in FL are low; what salary is offered here may seem high compared to FL, but may be impossible to live on compared to CT 's high living costs.

Be careful. Good luck

Thank you so much. I agree that we would need more than even two min. wage jobs to be able to afford housing, the same thing is true where we live currently. My husband actually has a job offer working for a lot more than min. wage and if he does take this job we could do without me having a job, however, I'd like to work so I can help contribute which is why I was talking about the minimum wage in CT.

I looked into Wethersfield and found a few places we'd be able to afford that look nice so I will check them out when we fly up for his interview. Thank you for your suggestions I will look into West Hartford as well.

[JayCT]

I would also agree that the Dutch Point area is a bit sketchy and that there are better locations in greater Hartford. In addition to Wethersfield, I would suggest Newington and Rocky Hill. Jay

[manzi36]

I disagree completely with the assessments on Dutchpoint. My fiance and I have lived in the brand new townhomes at Dutchpoint for the last two years and have had nothing but positive experiences. She purchased the home just before we met to have an affordable housing opportunity - that was less than rent, so that she could live near her job as a scientist in Farmington. The new townhomes included a two-car garage and all new customized appliances! She walked her Bichon every night after work if I was late arriving from my job and never had any incident.

[mikelizard860]

Originally Posted by willow wind

One more thing- in your other post you asked where cheaper rents were, then you asked about CT's " high minimum wage". This is simple- you can't survive in CT on minimum wage jobs and expect to have any kind of life. Even two low paying jobs won't help. Please don't move unless you have looked at your total potential yearly income against an area cost calculator. Wages in FL are low; what salary is offered here may seem high compared to FL, but may be impossible to live on compared to CT 's high living costs.

Be careful. Good luck

Exactly.

Oh and don't listen to the other poster saying that hartford is ok other than the north end. There is no area in Hartford that is safe other than the downtown core during the day. The extreme west end and EXTREME south end aren't horrible, but their not good either.

The north end is a complete war zone, but basically the entire city is a ghetto. Take a drive near pope park or hillside ave north of new britain ave. That's all you need to do and it will tell you the whole story.

[brandonfromseattle]

UGGH

Warzone=Afghanistan

Very urban city=Hartford

In my experience (and I know people are going to hate on me for saying this) people in CT are sometimes racist and will tell you to "never go there" when in fact it is totally fine. People online will say certain parts of town are "full of riff-raff" when it just means normal Puerto Rican people.

I do agree that the north end is sketchy but don't ever listen to suburban CT residents because they have a huge stigma against cities. My wife does not walk around alone at night but I really can't think of many big cities where that would be a good idea. I have been to 2 West Indian Cultural Festivals and I was one of the only white people there and it was an awesome experience, most people in CT would say that those type of places are too dangerous when it can be amazing.

If you want to live in an urban east coast city you should live in Hartford if you want to live in a suburb of Hartford you might as well live in a suburb in Florida or Ohio or California or wherever.

[mikelizard860]

Originally Posted by brandonfromseattle

UGGH

Warzone=Afghanistan

Very urban city=Hartford

In my experience (and I know people are going to hate on me for saying this) people in CT are sometimes racist and will tell you to "never go there" when in fact it is totally fine. People online will say certain parts of town are "full of riff-raff" when it just means normal Puerto Rican people.

I do agree that the north end is sketchy but don't ever listen to suburban CT residents because they have a huge stigma against cities. My wife does not walk around alone at night but I really can't think of many big cities where that would be a good idea. I have been to 2 West Indian Cultural Festivals and I was one of the only white people there and it was an awesome experience, most people in CT would say that those type of places are too dangerous when it can be amazing.

If you want to live in an urban east coast city you should live in Hartford if you want to live in a suburb of Hartford you might as well live in a suburb in Florida or Ohio or California or wherever.

It's not an agenda against cities. Just look at the crime rate. How about walking around a city in Canada like Calgary or 99% of Toronto. Safe as can be. Most American cities are dangerous!

Absolutely nothing to do with just because there are puerto rican or black people. Look at the FACTS! Look at the crime rate! Are you kidding me? You're blind to the problems that these cities are infested with. Would you send your kid to public school in Hartford?

Look at the bars on people's windows. That's the residents and it's not for show. Try parking your car with a nice radio and see how long it lasts. It would basically get broken into almost every night.

And finally, working the midnight shift at a quicky mart in the north end of hartford with no safety glass = WAY more chance of being killed than being your average soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq.