[bjones2571]

Hi,
My fiance and I are moving to the New Haven area in August for work. We are looking to rent, and need some input on areas in which to look. My general feel is that we dont want to live in New Haven proper, but if there are specific neighborhoods which you recommend we'll definitely check them out!! So far we have focused on Milford, Branford and West Haven, but honestly this is based on just a day of driving around while there for interviews. We are both around 30 years old, and looking for a quite, safe neighborhood with single family homes. Ok, any suggestions would be appreciated. Also any comments on what we should look for in a house, especially those regarding heating, would be awesome. Many thaks!
Brendan

[nhctguy]

for single family homes in new haven you could try the city point/morris cove neighborhood, which is located East of the "Q" bridge but still in NH. The neighborhood appears nice and there are lots of single family homes. West Haven is supposed to have high property taxes so you may want to look at that issue. Milford is one of my favorite towns as it has a great town center, metro north railroad, shopping on the Post Road (including a mall) and great neighborhoods - both near the shore and inland. The only issue I can think of with Milford is that it can be very congested (Post Road and I-95). Anyone who has traveled on the Post Road on a Saturday can tell you that it can be a headache to do an errand.

[bjones2571]

Thanks for the reply, and keep em coming!! I'd heard that Morris Cove was not the best of neighborhoods, am I wrong? Also, we are looking to rent, are property taxes usually paid by renters? Here in Texas, granted a state of very few taxes, the property taxes are paid by the property owner. Btw, I know that there is a state income tax, what other taxes should I expect?

[nhctguy]

sorry about that, i didn't read that you were planning to rent. No, property taxes are only for owners. As a new haven resident, I can tell you that we get hammered on all ends - car taxes and insurance are outrageous. I pay about a thousand dollars in car taxes and forget about insurance cost. oy vez.

As far as Morris Cove, most of it is a nice neighborhood though I have never lived there so someone else on here may know better. In any event, there are usually a few homes for rent out there that I see when looking on Craigslist. I would suggest East Rock in New Haven but you will not find too many single family homes for rent and those that are will be expensive.

[tstetinin]

You can't go wrong with either Milford or Branford. There are annual rentals available, but given the proximity to Yale most of the rentals are academic (Sept to May). You might also want to look at hamden as an option. Good luck!

[bjones2571]

Thanks! I think we will be looking at the towns around New Haven rather than New Haven itself. Are there some on which we should focus our search? Any that we should steer clear of? Looking for a clean, safe, quiet neighborhood with a reasonable commute to New Haven. Also is Ive been mainly looking at Craigslist for rentals, is there another good place to look online for rental listings? Thanks again!

Oh, and what about heat, should I look for a place with oil or gas? My fiance gets cold very easily and since we are coming from south Texas, I imagine the furnace will be on continuously. Any suggestions on keeping the lil lady warm would really be a big help!!!

[skytrekker]

Also consider North Haven by the way

if this is your first winter in New England from South Texas- even a milder then normal winter will seem cold. Winters along the CT shoreline for the most part are considered mild however.

as for heating choices- the furnace will run much of the time by late November.
If you must pay for heat- do not rent a home with oil heat- the prices right now would send you to the poor house. Gas heat is far more economical-electric heat can be pricey as well.

[AmyBergquist]

If you're looking to rent a house, Realtor.com may also be a useful site.

With a house, you will also most likely be paying for all of the utilities, except maybe the water bill. As skytrekker said, try to avoid oil if at all possible, as prices right now are around $4.50+ a gallon and will probably continue to rise. If you can only find places with oil, see if you can work out some type of subsidy or rate lock promise from the owner.

[nico7]

Hi Brendan,

I am 30 and lived 25 years in New Haven county. Regarding the winters, they do have a few cold days, and the wind makes them seem a lot worse. But the real thing that gets to people is the LENGTH of the winter. It seems like November through mid-April are mostly gray days with not much warmth and plenty of rain -- amounts and frequency of snowfall vary year-to-year.

I really love Branford, and it has a lot to recommend it. There are plenty of young people there, and a wide range of activities (beach, boating, tennis, cinemas, good restaurants, proximity to Guilford, Madison, and New Haven). If you'll be commuting to New Haven, you should consider taking the train because the traffic can be intolerable and the price of gas adds to the economic benefit of using the rail service. The only disadvantage to Branford that I can think of is the traffic on Route 1 -- and you will need to use Route 1 if you live there.

I've got a friend who bought a condo in Branford at Riverview Crossing (or something like that) and that seems like a nice place. He got a little bit unlucky with his immediate neighbor (through the wall is a loud, crazy mother), but on the whole it seems like a good crowd.

Milford is a nice town, and similar to Branford in many ways. I would also recommend looking at rentals in North Haven and Orange.

The Morris Cove neighborhood, east of the Quinnipiac River, south of I-95, has some very nice areas and properties. The downside is that it connects north of I-95 to Fair Haven which is a crime hotspot; also, Tweed Airport is adjacent to the Morris Cove area, indirectly off of Townsend Ave. So you might get some noise from that.

The neighborhoods to check out in New Haven are the East Rock/Orange St. area (pretty much the areas on both sides of Whitney Ave), and maybe Westville or Beaver Hills. The rentals in Westville and Beaver Hills are not as nice as most of the single family homes there, though.

Landing in a bad neighborhood in New Haven means your life could be at risk. Landing in a bad neighborhood in Branford, Milford, and probably all of the other towns just means less desirable property with less desirable neighbors. But if you like the advantages of city life and a faster pace of things, then New Haven could be for you. There are plenty of desirable places to live in New Haven -- just take a drive down St. Ronan Ave. (although there probably aren't any rentals on that street). Finding a rental that suits you will mean competing with a very large student population; the same is true to a lesser degree in Hamden and West Haven.

If you have questions about specific streets in New Haven, ask away. There are lots of people here who know the area. Also search the Connecticut forum for previous discussions.

[HelloSam]

No, property taxes are only for owners.

Believe you me, one way or another, the tenant pays 'em.