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I have been looking at central Connecticut condos and townhouses where the HOA does yard maintenance for a situation I might have 7-12 years in the future.
Bloomfield caught my attention for a couple of reasons. It is a central point to where several relatives live. There are reasonably priced units in the mid $200,000 range. The property tax on these units would be bearable at $6000/yearly or under. There is indoor swimming nearby at the West Hartford JCC, and sufficient doctors and other services.
The crime rate is under the national average, and household incomes are decent. I enjoy diverse communities and am aware that Bloomfield has a 56% black majority, including many from the West Indies. I am white, and I have lived in a similar community before.
Are there any trends, such as drug use or increasing crime rates, which would deter a retiree from moving there? Are there job sources which might go away, worsening the local economy?
I have been looking at central Connecticut condos and townhouses where the HOA does yard maintenance for a situation I might have 7-12 years in the future.
Bloomfield caught my attention for a couple of reasons. It is a central point to where several relatives live. There are reasonably priced units in the mid $200,000 range. The property tax on these units would be bearable at $6000/yearly or under. There is indoor swimming nearby at the West Hartford JCC, and sufficient doctors and other services.
The crime rate is under the national average, and household incomes are decent. I enjoy diverse communities and am aware that Bloomfield has a 56% black majority, including many from the West Indies. I am white, and I have lived in a similar community before.
Are there any trends, such as drug use or increasing crime rates, which would deter a retiree from moving there? Are there job sources which might go away, worsening the local economy?
I am looking into retiring in the New Haven area. I don't know the area very well and worried about crime too. Here is something I am doing as I look at specific areas. Trulia has a crime section under the houses.
Here is a condo I picked in Bloomfield and it looks like the area has low crime as the color designation is very light around it. It kind of looks like all of Bloomfield has the light color. You can see how the lower right has the darker colors which appears to be in Hartford although I don't know the town borders very well without seeing an actual border line.
Bloomfield is a nice town. It does have many nice areas and is one of the most diverse suburban towns in greater Hartford, if not Connecticut. If you are fine with that diversity then you should be fine.
About the only problem I know of with the town is the performance of the schools. Bloomfield students are among the lowest performing in the state. I know a teacher in the system and she says that the schools suffer from many of the problems of inner city schools with a high percentage of kids from homes where English is the second language and/or where there is just a single parent. Since schools are not normally important to a retiree, these should not be a concern other than how they affect the community as a whole.
Bloomfield does have a couple well known and regarded 55+ communities. Some are pretty upscale and pricey. The town also has two very well regarded independent/assisted living centers, Duncaster and Seabury. There are also prestigious 55+ communities there like Gillette Ridge and the Long Estate. They are very nice. Good luck, Jay
Here is a condo I picked in Bloomfield and it looks like the area has low crime as the color designation is very light around it. It kind of looks like all of Bloomfield has the light color. You can see how the lower right has the darker colors which appears to be in Hartford although I don't know the town borders very well without seeing an actual border line.
Thanks for the Trulia map. That was one of the condos I spotted. It is surrounded by a wooded area and single-family homes, and it certainly looks like a safe area.
Bloomfield does have a couple well known and regarded 55+ communities. Some are pretty upscale and pricey. The town also has two very well regarded independent/assisted living centers, Duncaster and Seabury. There are also prestigious 55+ communities there like Gillette Ridge and the Long Estate. They are very nice. Good luck, Jay
Thanks, they are nice, but the property taxes on a house in Gillette Ridge are over $10K per year and that would break me.
I understand the poor school performance, but I hope it would not affect the resale value if there enough seniors who do not need the schools. Bloomfield's population is older than the state average, according to the C-D profile.
Last edited by goldenage1; 05-18-2020 at 06:24 AM..
I understand the poor school performance, but I hope it would not affect the resale value if there enough seniors who do not need the schools. Bloomfield's population is older than the state average, according to the C-D profile.
My mom is at the memory care building at the Seabury CCRC less than a mile from Glenwood Green. I'm within a few hundred feet of the entrance to that development at the 3-way stop sign for Wintonbury Ave and Filey Street all the time, or was before the pandemic shut things down. That's in the part of Bloomfield that was rural tobacco farm country not too long ago. I wouldn't be remotely concerned about violent crime. Property crime kind of depends on your immediate neighbors. You have a very large buffer from the high crime rate part of Hartford south of there. In any condo, you probably want to spend some hours on weekends and midweek in the early evening scoping out your immediate neighbors before deciding to buy. Maybe ring some doorbells and introduce yourself. Could be great. You could have a neighbor or two from hell.
There's a bus route that runs up Wintonbury Ave so you're not totally stranded if you find yourself without a car but that is an extremely car-centric place. An awful lot of things will be a 15 to 20 minute drive.
I'd want to be on town water. Anywhere that was tobacco country, I'd be worried about well water and pesticides.
....There's a bus route that runs up Wintonbury Ave so you're not totally stranded if you find yourself without a car but that is an extremely car-centric place. An awful lot of things will be a 15 to 20 minute drive.
I'd want to be on town water. Anywhere that was tobacco country, I'd be worried about well water and pesticides.
Thanks for your insights. I would not have thought about the water quality. I will check out the bus route.
I noted that Geissler's is the closest grocery store. They do deliver, but they are currently overwhelmed. I would want some alternatives if I could not drive.
Bloomfield is a nice town. It does have many nice areas and is one of the most diverse suburban towns in greater Hartford, if not Connecticut. If you are fine with that diversity then you should be fine.
About the only problem I know of with the town is the performance of the schools. Bloomfield students are among the lowest performing in the state. I know a teacher in the system and she says that the schools suffer from many of the problems of inner city schools with a high percentage of kids from homes where English is the second language and/or where there is just a single parent. Since schools are not normally important to a retiree, these should not be a concern other than how they affect the community as a whole.
Bloomfield does have a couple well known and regarded 55+ communities. Some are pretty upscale and pricey. The town also has two very well regarded independent/assisted living centers, Duncaster and Seabury. There are also prestigious 55+ communities there like Gillette Ridge and the Long Estate. They are very nice. Good luck, Jay
As long further away from Bloomfield/Hartford line there spillovers from North End It nice town anyways kinda like Ansonia/Stratford.
Thanks for your insights. I would not have thought about the water quality. I will check out the bus route.
I noted that Geissler's is the closest grocery store. They do deliver, but they are currently overwhelmed. I would want some alternatives if I could not drive.
I’m pretty sure much of Bloomfield has city water, especially where there are condos. Still it’s a good thing to note in case the plans change. Jay
As long further away from Bloomfield/Hartford line there spillovers from North End It nice town anyways kinda like Ansonia/Stratford.
Ansonia does not border Stratford. Could you mean Bridgeport? Or instead of Stratford are you talking about Derby or Seymour? Jay
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