[archimedic905]

My wife and I, along with my mother who lives with us, are considering relocating from Boston to the Hartford area.

We like New England and MA in general, but my commute, on train & subway is currently about 1:10. This along with high housing cost has gotten us looking around. Initially we plan on renting just to figure the area out a bit before we jump into buying. We looked at Windsor and really liked it but the rentals are thin. So we have been looking at Manchester, Wethersfield and Newington and finally West Hartford. Manchester seems to have the most rentals, but I hear the commute from the east sucks. West Hartford is attractive but then I read on this site that the commute form the west sucks. Finally we want a place where my mom can get a job close by, she's not much of a driver.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[mels]

I find the commute from the west to be just as rough as from the east into Hartford, that is if you are using I-84. Remember while Hartford traffic is bad, it isn’t as bad as the Boston traffic! The towns you listed are good choices, out of your list I would prefer West Hartford. Much to do within walking distance, particularly if you live near West Hartford Center (Farmington Ave/South Main Street intersection)

[metaljaybird]

This makes me wonder if they are ever going to have a better mass transit line in the hartford/springield metro.

[MEOWKATS4]

Originally Posted by archimedic905

My wife and I, along with my mother who lives with us, are considering relocating from Boston to the Hartford area.

We like New England and MA in general, but my commute, on train & subway is currently about 1:10. This along with high housing cost has gotten us looking around. Initially we plan on renting just to figure the area out a bit before we jump into buying. We looked at Windsor and really liked it but the rentals are thin. So we have been looking at Manchester, Wethersfield and Newington and finally West Hartford. Manchester seems to have the most rentals, but I hear the commute from the east sucks. West Hartford is attractive but then I read on this site that the commute form the west sucks. Finally we want a place where my mom can get a job close by, she's not much of a driver.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

If you move East of Hartford (Manchester, Vernon, Tolland, Ellington) We have commuter parking lots. You park your car (they are usually parking lots close to the Interstate I-84) Ride the bus into Downtown Hartford. You don't pay for parking, but you do pay for the bus ride.

Good Luck!

[Johnny CT]

There are a few mass transit projects in the works but unfortunately they won't be finished anytime soon.

The first one is a commuter train from New Haven to Hartford to Springfield. They are currently laying down the tracks. They are going to share train stations with Amtrak, so only a few new ones will need to be built. I'm not sure but I don't think it will be finished for another five years? Does anybody else know?

Also there is a rapid bus system that will use some old Amtrak right of way space between New Britain and Hartford. There are proposed stations for Newington and West Hartford. But, they aren't going to start construction until 2008.

I have a friend who lives in Wethersfield and works in Downtown Hartford. He drives in and he tells me it takes between 10 and 15 minutes.