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Old 09-27-2019, 08:50 AM
 
Location: Connecticut
2,496 posts, read 4,722,408 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CTlibrarian View Post
In West Hartford, staying west of South Quaker Lane would be safer, personally I would keep my house search to the west of Troutbrook. The main shopping/dining center is the area of South Main Street/Farmington Ave/LaSalle. Keep that in mind if you plan to walk to resataurants. A secondary hub for shopping is in the north end of town, where North Main Street and Rte. 44 intersect (known as Bishops Corner).
Do you feel less safe on the eastern side of town? I live west of Trout Brook but I'm on the east end of town all the time and I've always felt safe. I used to live off of Oakwood Ave when that area really had become undesirable and I had zero issues. The western half overall is probably more affluent, but there are some well-off streets closer to the city line (Arnoldale, Beverly, Lexington, South Highland, etc.) Maybe it's all about perspective; as someone who's lived just around the corner from WH Center for over a decade, I'm underwhelmed by it. I've been there long enough to remember when it was a more independent, diversified center of commerce, kind of what Park Road is today (which is also very walkable). Today it's just a giant food court with a smattering of chain stores. It's nice aesthetically, but the novelty wears thin real quick. I'm in the process of moving on to an area that's less preoccupied with being a "destination" and geared more toward small businesses whose main clientele is local residents.


To the OP: both towns have popular downtowns with lots to offer, it really all depends on your personal preference, if you haven't made a decision by now. Milford is a coastal suburb that's technically part of metro NYC, so it will probably seem a little bit faster-paced even though it's smaller and slightly less densely populated than WH. Property taxes in Milford will probably be less, but it's still not cheap. Along with Stratford, it's one of the last remaining suburbs in the NYC shadows that's affordable, and it probably won't be for much longer.

Last edited by MikefromCT; 09-27-2019 at 09:24 AM..
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Old 09-27-2019, 02:00 PM
 
Location: Coastal Connecticut
21,758 posts, read 28,086,032 times
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Just FYI on current property tax

West Hartford Mill Rate: 41.00
Milford Mill Rate: 27.71
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Old 09-27-2019, 02:02 PM
 
21,621 posts, read 31,207,908 times
Reputation: 9776
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stylo View Post
Just FYI on current property tax

West Hartford Mill Rate: 41.00
Milford Mill Rate: 27.71
This. WH’s property tax rates are insane and would effectively prevent me from ever purchasing property there.
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Old 09-27-2019, 03:58 PM
 
Location: Mount Pleasant
2,625 posts, read 4,010,055 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stylo View Post
Just FYI on current property tax

West Hartford Mill Rate: 41.00
Milford Mill Rate: 27.71
Yikes!!
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Old 09-27-2019, 04:14 PM
 
Location: Shoreline Connecticut
712 posts, read 542,637 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kidyankee764 View Post
This. WH’s property tax rates are insane and would effectively prevent me from ever purchasing property there.
Just checked out mil rate of Branford/Guilford/Madison, they all are significantly below WH. It is crazy that WH proper tax can go that high.
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Old 09-27-2019, 05:23 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,937 posts, read 56,945,109 times
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I wish people would stop comparing mill rates already. Once again, the mill rate is only part of the story. The other part is the assessment. Since assessments are not necessarily directly tied to home price, the best way to judge the taxes is to look at the taxes on actual homes in your price range.

Also since West Hartford is one of greater Hartford’s most desirable suburbs, there appear to be more than enough people willing to pay the premium on taxes to live there. Not everyone worries about paying a few pennies more in taxes and see the value in living in a town having some of the state’s best schools, parks, libraries and other amenities. Jay
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Old 09-27-2019, 05:46 PM
 
512 posts, read 442,715 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT View Post
I wish people would stop comparing mill rates already. Once again, the mill rate is only part of the story. The other part is the assessment. Since assessments are not necessarily directly tied to home price, the best way to judge the taxes is to look at the taxes on actual homes in your price range.

Also since West Hartford is one of greater Hartford’s most desirable suburbs, there appear to be more than enough people willing to pay the premium on taxes to live there. Not everyone worries about paying a few pennies more in taxes and see the value in living in a town having some of the state’s best schools, parks, libraries and other amenities. Jay
Sure, stop looking at the mill rates. Here’s a $400k house and taxes on this house are over $1,100! But don’t look! Imagine paying that much every month in your retirement; and that’s only for real estate taxes. That’s more than few pennies by my account.

https://www.redfin.com/CT/West-Hartf...m_content=link

I don’t know how desirable WH is now as there are so many homes for sale and they’re pretty cheap by CT
standards. So I’m sure many people are trying to get rid of their homes & move to lower tax area.

Last edited by EmiSky; 09-27-2019 at 05:47 PM.. Reason: Added link.
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Old 09-27-2019, 07:55 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
2,496 posts, read 4,722,408 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT View Post
Also since West Hartford is one of greater Hartford’s most desirable suburbs, there appear to be more than enough people willing to pay the premium on taxes to live there. Not everyone worries about paying a few pennies more in taxes and see the value in living in a town having some of the state’s best schools, parks, libraries and other amenities. Jay
Unfortunately, it's more than a few pennies more that one pays to live here. In all my years living here, it seems there are more For Sale signs on front lawns than ever before, and by and large, this is due to sky-high property taxes.
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Old 09-28-2019, 02:00 AM
 
21,621 posts, read 31,207,908 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikefromCT View Post
Unfortunately, it's more than a few pennies more that one pays to live here. In all my years living here, it seems there are more For Sale signs on front lawns than ever before, and by and large, this is due to sky-high property taxes.
This isn’t surprising.

I’m not sure where the OP’s price range falls; but for comparison purposes, a home in West Hartford that’s listed at 330-360 will have taxes between 8-10k, give or take. In Milford, similarly priced homes appear to run between 4500 and 6500. That’s a difference of 250 to 300 a month.

While I agree with Jay that mil rates can’t be the only thing considered when looking at taxes, there is no doubt that taxes in Milford are much less. And in Milford, you’re not sacrificing services, so IMO it’s hard to justify the extra thousands.
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Old 09-28-2019, 08:21 AM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,937 posts, read 56,945,109 times
Reputation: 11228
Quote:
Originally Posted by EmiSky View Post
Sure, stop looking at the mill rates. Here’s a $400k house and taxes on this house are over $1,100! But don’t look! Imagine paying that much every month in your retirement; and that’s only for real estate taxes. That’s more than few pennies by my account.

https://www.redfin.com/CT/West-Hartf...m_content=link

I don’t know how desirable WH is now as there are so many homes for sale and they’re pretty cheap by CT
standards. So I’m sure many people are trying to get rid of their homes & move to lower tax area.
These homes are only cheap when you look at it in comparison to Fairfield County or a town that is commuting distance to New York or Stamford. For greater Hartford however they are somewhat pricey compared to less expensive suburbs like Newington or Windsor. Jay
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