[jms2007]

My wife and I are moving to Hartford area (will work at Hartford hospital), and are looking for a neighborhood with young folks (we are 33), nice town center, restaurants etc....but also some land...willing to drive for 20-25mins to work....does anybody have any sugestions...house price will be 500-600k...

[KH02]

Glastonbury comes to mind. It has a nice downtown area with shops etc. And you can get land. West Hartford has a GREAT downtown area though houses are not likely to come with much land at all.

[skytrekker]

Also consider West Hartford- 15 minutes from the Hospital on no interstates- great town center, shopping fine restaurants.

[vvolin]

Glastonbury (population of about 30,000) offers a nice town center, with some good restaurants, a few shopping opportunities and definitely the possibility to have some land. I moved to South Glastonbury almost a year ago from South Florida. We have acres of woods around our property, farms in every direction, natural areas for some easy hiking. Larger shopping mall areas are 20 minutes away in South Windsor. Hartford itself provides cultural opportunities through its conspicuous stage life. It is a little too quiet here for my like, but most people move here exactly for the peace and slower pace. I appreciate that I can go to NYC in 2hr50min.

[AmyBergquist]

Glastonbury is your best bet if you want land. Most lots are at least .5acres, many will have 1+ acres. However, the more land you get, typically the further you'll be from the shops and restaurants.

West Hartford would also work well, but the lots are typically much smaller, as it's more densely developed than Glastonbury. An average lot for your price range in West Hartford would be .25-.5acres. A diverse selection of shopping and restaurant opportunities exist though.

Each of these towns would offer lots of people around your age, although so would all of the towns in Greater Hartford.

[WILWRadio]

Simsbury. It also has a great town center, an ample number of decent restaurants along Route 10 and Route 44 and lots range from a quarter acre to several acres in size. A 25 minute commute to Hartford Hospital is doable if you live east of the Farmington River or in the central or south end of town. I used to commute from the NW side of town to East Hartford in about 30 minutes during the rush hour period.

[JayCT]

Glastonbury is a nice upscale town with a lot to offer a young couple. There are homes with some land in your price range, just do not expect there to be a lot. That is a popular range here in town. Mostly they will be older, in need of some work, not well located and/or small. Good luck, Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Mostly they will be older, in need of some work, not well located and/or small. Good luck, Jay

An older fixer-upper in a bad location in Glastonbury goes for 500-600k? I always thought Glastonbury was cheaper than Fairfield, Ridgefield, etc.

[skytrekker]

A home for 500-600K in Glastonbury will be very nice- throughout all of the Hartford area- in some of the best towns that dollar figure will buy far more then a fixer upper. It will allow the buyer a nice home- that is newer or updated 2000 square feet in a pleasant neighborhood.

[glxyman21]

500-600k will buy you a brand new large home in Glastonbury. Many nice homes can be had in the 300-400K range. The median price is $355,500 according to CERC profiles. You can also check out towns like Southington and Berlin which are in your price range and about 20 minutes from Hartford.