[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by AKF

thank you!

waterbury is definitely off my list!


p.s.s. i am coming from a midwestern city...this place is "the" dump! do any of you have any idea if waterbury would be a proper comparison to a midwestern city? (and I am not talking about Chicago either!!!)...just curious.

If I had to equate two cities, they would be Bridgeport, Conn., to Gary, Ind. Waterbury isn't as bad as these two.

[AKF]

Yeah Gary is BAAAAAD!

I am in Lafayette, IN...is anyone familiar with this area? If you had to compare West Hartford to Lafayette, IN where would you rather live?

thanks.

[skytrekker]

I know a little about Lafayette/West Lafayette

If you are coming from that region, and considering West Hartford;

West Hartford, population around 62,000 is part of the greater Hartford metro area (population 1.2 million)
Housing costs are higher then Lafayette. Median home price around 300K

So compared to the Lafayette area it will be significantly larger.
The town of W. Hartford has a beautiful center, with upscale clothing and retail shops, very pleasant and upscale eateries and coffee shops.
Some are alfresco in the Summer-offering a very pleasing ambiance.

The center of town has some pleasing colonial architecture, and currently has the 'Blueback Square' project under construction- which will include more shopping, restaurants, Condo's and pedestrian friendly promenades, parks and fountains.

Shopping is really unsurpassed at West Farms Mall and Corbins Corner; with Macy's, Nordstrom's, Lord & Taylor, Brooks Bros and much more.

The town of West Hartford for years has had an 'Upscale' reputation, as the home of the greater Hartford's movers and shakers. Bishops corner has long been the home of the regions Jewish population.

In recent years,the town has become somewhat more diverse.

The town nonetheless has a vibrant arts sector and has excellent schools. Nearby colleges include; The University of Hartford, Trinity College,
University of Connecticut School of Law, Central Connecticut State University, Hartford College for Women, Greater Hartford Community College, Manchester Community College, Rensselaer at Hartford, Haart School of Music, Hartford Seminary and St. Joesph's College.

Being close to Hartford, it has quick and easy access to all the capital city has to offer in performing arts, Museums, restaurants, club life and more. West Hartford is 45 minutes or less from New Haven- a vibrant city with Yale and its thriving cultural amenities.

In addition, it is an hour or less from just about every artistic and cultural venue in the state. It is 100 miles from Boston. and 110 miles from NYC.
It is also less then an hour to long Island's beaches.

Politically, West Hartford is quite Liberal- but then again Connecticut is a liberal state. Democrats hold much of the local political power.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by AKF

thank you both for those stats. you mentioned other "areas". the reason i looked into waterbury is because of the comparable cost of living/property value to indiana. i actually like the new haven area, however, what other areas would you advice that are comparable to waterbury in terms of cost of living etc but not as "dumpy"?

thanks

I'm a Waterbury native, and can tell you - stay away. The city went to pot. The surrounding areas are gorgeous but with a very high price.

I searched the state over and over to find a decent place to live that doesn't involve a 500K mortgage and I ended moving Manchester because pricing isn't so different, it's a growing city, tons of new development, 10 minutes to downtown Hartford and decent working class neighborhoods. Sounds a lot like Waterbury USED to be.

I live on the East side of town backed up to woods, I have wild turkey and deer in my yard in a quite neighborhood yet I'm 10 minutes from CT's shopping Mecca and 5 minutes to the interstate and 5 minutes to DT Manchester.

In fact, my next door neighbor is from Indianapolis and the folks across the street who just moved were from South Indiana.

[AKF]

sky,

thank you for the great information. although i have to say the property value is extremely high...at least more so than what i am used to.
when i did a search online earlier today, it said the median price range for a home in w.hartford was $135K??? So, I am confused. do you know of any areas that offer as much but maybe in a lower price bracket??

j,
thank you about the info. on manchester...i will check it out.

can't wait to get out of here!

[JViello]

Originally Posted by AKF

j,
thank you about the info. on manchester...i will check it out.

can't wait to get out of here!

No problem.

To give you and idea this is a few miles from my house near the new developments and gives you a proximity to the city of Hartford:



And literally 2 miles down the road the other way this is what I was doing on a lazy Sunday.



That's why I love it here in Manchester. 10 miles one way you have a world class city with world class restaurants and cultural "things" and a few miles the other way I've got a family run dairy farm (Fresh milk and fresh icecream!), lakes, mountains, state parks etc.

If I can help and/or you want a local contact shoot me a pm and I'll give you my email and/or phone number. This way you can make a smart decision about where you want to be. There are a lot of contrasts in this state - good and bad and God knows I've done my homework about this state. (And lived in several other states to boot and traveled around a lot of this country.)

P.S. You can find homes in Manchester ranging from mid 100's to 1,000,000 but average homes are 175-275K which is very reasonable in this state. Wacht out for median prices here - there is a wide range and all it takes is a few multi million dollar homes to push things up from reality. A good site is realtor.com and just put in your criteria and search.

[MechX666]

dont bother moving to waterbury, its not the best of places. i really dont have a problem with the city being from a city myself but the main thing is the horrible way the town is run and the corruption are the top problems in the city. crime can be a problem but just dont choose a crappy neighborhood if you were to move in. bristol would be a better choice anyway. practically everyone who lives in waterbury ends up moving to bristol anyway.

[skytrekker]

AFK

West Hartford is a wee more expensive then some of the other towns in the greater Hartford area. According to the NAR -the medium price of a single family home in the Hartford area is 263K.

JVielo above is correct about Manchester- you can buy a starter Cape Cod or ranch starting around 185K-200K. New Homes here in my town of Vernon (just to the east of Vernon can be had for 235K (Colonial, 3 bedrooms 2 baths)

The greater Hartford area is a great area to live, with a thriving arts sector (much better then some cities 3-4 times its size) and excellent recreational options closeby, quick access to the shoreline, Vermont, Boston and NYC.
Plus the shopping here is incredible- with great restaurants (not chain).

[AKF]

thank you again guys.
manchester by far sounds like the place that would work best. i am going to do some more searches and see what i can come up with.

J,

if you have any more pictures or information about manchester that would be awesome!

rich, do you work in the manchester area?

thanks

[AKF]

from what you know of the lafayette/west area, would you say manchester is about the same in terms of appearance, diversity etc?

i like the idea that it seems to be closer to hartford than chicago or indianapolis is to lafayette.

thanks