[ACUZ11]

Hello everyone!

I've read tons of posts on this forum and found it to be so helpful. I've collected a lot of information from the Best/Worst towns lists as well as a thread recommending towns within commuting distance of Sikorsky in Stratford. So I thought I would ask some more helpful advice of you guys.

My husband and I are preparing to move from Los Angeles and will be splitting a commute between Sikorsky in Stratford and Pratt&Whitney in East Hartford. Do you have any recommendations for which towns to consider? We are looking for a nice, somewhat upscale town where we can afford a house around $400,000. No kids yet, but family growth would be a good thing to consider in our future.

I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have! Thank you!

[Uconn97]

Would you want to be roughly in the middle of the two? Cheshire and Southington come to mind as a possibility....???

[kidyankee764]

I was also thinking Cheshire or Southington. I'll also add North Haven.

[JayCT]

It is about 48 miles between Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford and Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford. Half way between would be Wallingford, which is a nice middle-class community that does have some upscale neighborhoods. You could get a nice home there for $400k but certainly not a McMansion if that is what you are interested in.

Another area to consider is Middlefield and Durham which are somewhat rural communities located east of Wallingford. The schools are very good and the towns are somewhat charming.

Cheshire is nice and upscale. The schools are very good but depending where you live in town traveling to either Stratford or East Hartford could be difficult. Again, I am not sure what you will find in Cheshire for $400k.

North Haven is also very nice with very good schools and a lot to offer.

If you don't mind traveling longer to Stratford, many Pratt & Whitney people live in nearby Glastonbury. It is a great upscale suburb with excellent schools and a nice town center. You could get a nice home here for $400k.

If you want to live closer to Stratford, I would suggest Milford. It is a nice small city with a lot of nice neighborhoods and very good schools. You won't get as much for your money as you would living closer to East Hartford but you will still find a decent home there. I hope this helps. Jay

[kidyankee764]

You can also check out western NH County - Shelton, Oxford, Seymour, Bethany and Woodbridge. They are much closer to Stratford than to East Hartford though, but all are great towns to live. Woodbridge is most upscale of this list, and $400k will get you a very small home, with Seymour being the least upscale where $400k will get you a decent modest home.

[JayCT]

The commute from Seymour or Oxford to East Hartford would be difficult. Though great towns, I would not recommend them. Woodbridge is very nice and upscale but pricey. Shelton is in Fairfield County and is also pricey. Bethany is a nice rural town just north of Woodbridge. I am not sure how good the commute would be to East Hartford. Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

The commute from Seymour or Oxford to East Hartford would be difficult. Though great towns, I would not recommend them. Woodbridge is very nice and upscale but pricey. Shelton is in Fairfield County and is also pricey. Bethany is a nice rural town just north of Woodbridge. I am not sure how good the commute would be to East Hartford. Jay

Jay

Your suggestion of Glastonbury to commute to Stratford is longer in mileage than the commute from Oxford to East Hartford. I think the commute south on the parkway would be more difficult than 91 north to Hartford, so I might suggest the OP live a little closer to southern CT just because of traffic issues west/south of New Haven. Plus the towns I mentioned are a very easy commute to Stratford. Just making suggestions of towns the OP can check out. He/She can check mapquest and make their own decision. JMHO

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

If the start time for the Sikorsky position is after 7:00 a.m., then i would strongly consider locating closer to Sikorsky. Generally speaking, a.m. traffic in Ct. is predominently southbound/westbound. P.M. is northbound/eastbound flow.

[Rich Lee]

The old adage "The shortest distance between two points is a straight line" comes to mind. You would probably want to stay along I-91 or Route 15. Meriden looks to be the midpoint.

I am in Cheshire and pass Sikorsky every day on my way to Shelton. Even though Route 8 is shorter by 6 miles, the Commodore Hull Bridge results in traffic backing up to downtown Seymour (7 miles) during the morning commute. So, a consistent 45 minutes is better than 40 - 70 minutes.

[seymourct]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

You can also check out western NH County - .......Seymour being the least upscale ......

Kid-here we go again....LOL... Really.... What has the Entire town of Seymour ever done to YOU??? At least you included it this time Blah Blah ~ you love Oxford and all the other towns in the valley much more - - we've seen it posted many times...

The truth is that Seymour is lovely. Our waterfalls are beautiful if you stop to look at them. We've got great houses, safe streets, good schools, very low crime. What is not to love? Yes the other towns are nice too. I've got 2 people on my street working at Sikorsky. They have ways around Rt 8 that the locals pick up on that still get them to work in plenty of time.