[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by JayCT

To me, West Hartford is a very attractive mature, affluent suburban town. It’s similar to other similar communities like Newton, Massachusetts; Greenwich, Connecticut; Ridgewood, New Jersey; or Scarsdale, New York. You can’t get better than that. Jay

Closer to Ridgewood. Way off from the others. Not quite as attractive but on a positive note about 1/10th the price tag. Those are east coast heavy hitters, the big ticket items.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

Closer to Ridgewood. Way off from the others. Not quite as attractive but on a positive note about 1/10th the price tag. Those are east coast heavy hitters, the big ticket items.

I don’t know, I am comparing their business districts and age and character of surrounding housing and find them all kind of similar. I realize Greenwich and Scarsdale have more affluence but their centers are close. My in-laws family live in Newton and they specifically chose to live there because it reminded them of West Hartford, the town they grew up in. I’d even add Fairfield to the list. The point is these are all mature walkable towns initially developed before World War II through the 60’s. It’s not shiny new or contemporary. Jay

[parentologist]

Add Simsbury to your list, unless the drive to the highway is too long. But the Weatogue section of Simsbury is no more remote than many parts of Avon, and some parts of Farmington.

All 4 districts have excellent schools, but West Hartford is the only one with significant racial/ethnic/economic diversity, more reflective of where our nation is heading (in fact, where it already is), while maintaining high academic standards. If music is important to your family, you cannot beat West Hartford schools. If you want a neighborhood feel, where the houses are close enough together for kids to play in the streets or run through each others' backyards, you want West Hartford. If you want a vibrant town center, with lots of good restaurants, shops, town library all located together, you want West Hartford. And if you're Jewish, or of any ethnic minority, or immigrants, or feel that social justice is important to you and your family, you want West Hartford.

BUT... if what you want is a quiet, predominantly White, upper-middle class (the upper class is there, too, but their children don't go to the excellent public schools) suburb with large lots, and a lot of peace and quiet, you want Farmington, Avon, Simsbury. They have restaurants and shopping, too. And Simsbury's schools' scores are consistently the highest in central CT. Property taxes are a little lower in Farmington, because of the mall and other industrial/commercial entities in town, but that may change. I don't think that the mall can survive coronavirus - may become a dead space. And prices seem a little lower in Simsbury, overall. If I weren't part of a minority that needs West Hartford, I'd choose Simsbury.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by parentologist

Add Simsbury to your list, unless the drive to the highway is too long. But the Weatogue section of Simsbury is no more remote than many parts of Avon, and some parts of Farmington.

All 4 districts have excellent schools, but West Hartford is the only one with significant racial/ethnic/economic diversity, more reflective of where our nation is heading (in fact, where it already is), while maintaining high academic standards. If music is important to your family, you cannot beat West Hartford schools. If you want a neighborhood feel, where the houses are close enough together for kids to play in the streets or run through each others' backyards, you want West Hartford. If you want a vibrant town center, with lots of good restaurants, shops, town library all located together, you want West Hartford. And if you're Jewish, or of any ethnic minority, or immigrants, or feel that social justice is important to you and your family, you want West Hartford.

BUT... if what you want is a quiet, predominantly White, upper-middle class (the upper class is there, too, but their children don't go to the excellent public schools) suburb with large lots, and a lot of peace and quiet, you want Farmington, Avon, Simsbury. They have restaurants and shopping, too. And Simsbury's schools' scores are consistently the highest in central CT. Property taxes are a little lower in Farmington, because of the mall and other industrial/commercial entities in town, but that may change. I don't think that the mall can survive coronavirus - may become a dead space. And prices seem a little lower in Simsbury, overall. If I weren't part of a minority that needs West Hartford, I'd choose Simsbury.

I agree with most of what you say except for the part about taxes in Farmington. So you know, the tax base in Farmington is a LOT more than just the Westfarms Mall. The are a lot of office and commercial buildings in town that help keep taxes low.

The link below gives you the top ten taxpayers in town. While Westfarms and it’s major anchor tenants (J.C. Penney, Nordstrom, Tiffany, etc.) are clearly the leader, other major taxpayers include United Technologies, Trumpf, CL&P, a couple senior living complexes and various commercial property owners.

Despite the changes in retail in recent years and months, the Westfarms Mall is going to survive, if not thrive. It is by far the region’s, if not the state’s, most prominent and profitable shopping center. It will not fail unless the entire brick and mortar retail industry fails and despite all the current doom and gloom that is unlikely to ever happen. Jay

https://www.farmington-ct.org/home/showdocument?id=2301

[Danny K]

Originally Posted by JayCT

It is by far the region’s, if not the state’s, most prominent and profitable shopping center. It will not fail unless the entire brick and mortar retail industry fails and despite all the current doom and gloom that is unlikely to ever happen. Jay

https://www.farmington-ct.org/home/showdocument?id=2301

Isn't the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford and the Area likely a little more prominent and profitable?

[ryanthegoldengod]

I lived in WH for almost a decade and I have to kind of agree with the WH bashers. If a huge variety of restaurants is your top priority, you will be in heaven. If convenience to Hartford is a must, it easily beats Farmington and Avon.

But there's something oddly soulless about WH to me. It's not quite a city, not quite a true suburb. It lacks the skyscrapers and corporate footprint to be the former and it lacks the open space and natural beauty to be the latter. It's an overly developed almost city (which calls itself a town) that seems to lack the benefits of either the city or the country.

Blue Back is pretty nice....but hardly has any warm, cozy feeling to it. Evergreen Walk has much more of that---might just be the dogs. But not allowing dogs is a very West Hartford thing to do.

Plus........there's something to the snooty reputation. It's not that people are outwardly rude or unfriendly, it's just this reserve, this subtle, almost indetectable but always there coldness that's prevalent. I've also lived in Glastonbury which is also known for snootiness to some, but I felt like I noticed people being much more friendly, more down to earth. Not sure if it proves there really is something to east of the river vs. west of the river thing, or if it's just that WH is such a congested town it makes people think others are just annoyances that are in their way.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Danny K

Isn't the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford and the Area likely a little more prominent and profitable?

I don’t think so. If I remember correctly Westfarms has the highest sales per square foot of any mall in the state. Westfarms is more upscale than Connecticut Post with better anchors like Nordstroms and Lord & Taylor. Connecticut Post’s most upscale anchor is Macy’s.

Yes, Milford has a lot more shopping in the vicinity of the mall. It is likely the biggest retail district in the state. It too will likely survive the future of retail. My point is we are a long way from the closing of Westfarms. Jay