Bloomfield......what's It Like? (Hartford, West Hartford: insurance, apartments, condominium)

[deeds]

Was wondering about the Bloomfield area........thanks

[JayCT]

Bloomfield is an attractive small suburban commmunity north of Hartford. It has a nice but small downtown area and several large strip type shopping centers around town. There is a large suburban commercial/industrial area to the north and another to the south. It is also home to Cigna, a large insurance company that was originally Connecticut General Insurance. Their beautiful office campus, built in the early 60's on rolling farmland, is currently being redeveloped into a mixed use development of homes, apartments, offices and a golf course. Bloomfield has many nice well kept neighborhoods with modest to upscale suburban type homes. There are also a number of nice apartment and condo complexes.

In all Bloomfield is a nice town but there are few things you should know. Bloomfield is a diverse community that in recent years has seen an influx of urban problems spill over into it from neighboring Hartford.

Bloomfield school students do not perform well on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance tests, in fact their scores are among the lowest in the state. In a state like Connecticut where education is of the highest importance, this is not good. Home prices in Bloomfield suffer greatly because of this. You will see significant differences in the price of comparable homes between Bloomfield and neighboring West Hartford or Simsbury where the schools perform very well. I hope this helps. Jay

[Srib]

Ditto what Jay said. Just to correct though that CIGNA now shares its campus with MetLife and MetLife will be consolidating most of their CT offices into the South Building in Bloomfield during 2008.

[gtmo]

Are there any decent private schools nearby? My wife and I are looking to buy a house, and we would consider a town like this if we could send our (unborn at this point) children to private schools.

[Srib]

gtmo - I'm sure there are, perhaps another member can provide this info since I am not sure what private schools there are near bloomfield. Similar to you, my wife and I purchased a great home for much less in a "less desirable" town and plan to send our children to catholic school when the time comes. Bloomfield has some great attributes - convenience to shopping, highways and restaurants as well as some areas still maintaining their rural charms. Good luck!

[newyorkfan22]

It's OK. They actually just built some nicer condominium homes on a golf course. There are some "shadier areas" in the Blue Hills neighborhood near Hartford.

[Srib]

Originally Posted by newyorkfan22

It's OK. They actually just built some nicer condominium homes on a golf course. There are some "shadier areas" in the Blue Hills neighborhood near Hartford.

Thats a pretty limited view of Bloomfield. The condos referenced are nice, but i personally think the price point is a bit ridiculous for bloomfield. If you're going to pay that much for a condo - you might as well buy somewhere else where the schools would be better. The 'shadier areas' mentioned above are accurate, the rougher looking areas of bloomfield tend to border the hartford side along the blue hills ave area. However, neighborhoods bordering windsor, simsbury and west hartford are typical, mostly well-kept suburban neighborhoods. You will find areas of larger homes near the simsbury line and in other smaller pockets around bloomfield. Homes near the center of Bloomfiled are typically smaller capes, ranches and raised ranches/splits.

[BeeK]

Srib's suggestion is a good one. You'll get plenty of house and land for your money in Bloomfield. Most of Bloomfield is pretty rural and totally safe. It's the type of town where you could easily leave your door open and often don't see your neighbors unless you want to...you've got plenty of space. The schools aren't the best, but there are plenty of private schools available and within a quick commute. Try the West Hartford Catholic schools. Bloomfield is a great value for the money with a small town feel plus a good library and town services.

Originally Posted by Srib

gtmo - I'm sure there are, perhaps another member can provide this info since I am not sure what private schools there are near bloomfield. Similar to you, my wife and I purchased a great home for much less in a "less desirable" town and plan to send our children to catholic school when the time comes. Bloomfield has some great attributes - convenience to shopping, highways and restaurants as well as some areas still maintaining their rural charms. Good luck!

[TiZZ]

They don't call it Bumbafield for nothing...

[KH02]

Their are private schools in W Htfd and Simsbury/AVON which aren't too far from bloomfield, to answer your question