[Whaler0718]

Originally Posted by JViello

Perhaps you should actually go to Hartford instead of driving by on the highways. It's not as you decsribe.

Where are you from?

Seriously. These people drive me insane. There's a world beyond your bubble, newlysgl, and some pretty wonderful places exist in it--including ones in the City of Hartford.

[skytrekker]

The 'Evergreen Walk' in South Windsor- near the shopping complexes in Manchester offers outdoor walking in a 'Main Street' atmosphere- many upscale stores and shops from Pottery barn, Eddie Bauer to Adrienne Vatadinni - plus an upscale supermarket and restaurants.

Walkable Main street setting, with fountains, lamps, gardens and more. Very nice and unique- and a change from generic indoor malls.

[uconn99]

Originally Posted by newlysgl

I am not familiar with Avon myself.. perhaps someone else can shed some light on that town. There are plenty of nice ares around Hartford that are fine.. CT is funny like that, you can have pockets of not-so-good areas and right next door will be very upscale. West Hartford I don't know it that well but I have driven around there a few times and was surprised at how nice it looked. It is a separate town to the city of Hartford.
Hopefully someone more familiar with that area can make some more suggestions..

oh and re shopping, I think (not 100% sure) that there are outlets in Manchester which is close to Hartford??

Are you kidding me? You may actually want to step into downtown Hartford and see what West Hartford doesn't offer. Remember folks, if it wasn't for Hartford, these little charming towns around it wouldn't be around!


By the way, I believe there is one strip club and one adult book store in the Meadows. Does the adult industry stop cities like Montreal from attracting people?

[uconn99]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

The 'Evergreen Walk' in South Windsor- near the shopping complexes in Manchester offers outdoor walking in a 'Main Street' atmosphere- many upscale stores and shops from Pottery barn, Eddie Bauer to Adrienne Vatadinni - plus an upscale supermarket and restaurants.

Walkable Main street setting, with fountains, lamps, gardens and more. Very nice and unique- and a change from generic indoor malls.

If only they added residential to this it might have been done correctly, once again Connecticut dropping the ball on this one.

[westguy22]

Originally Posted by uconn99

If only they added residential to this it might have been done correctly, once again Connecticut dropping the ball on this one.

Being from southwestern CT, I've only been to Hartford a handful of times. That being said, I do know that the city has very high crime, a lower cost of living than most of CT, and is among the poorest cities in the United States. I hear they're trying to turn it around, and I hope they do. But for now, it's not any place I would want to even think about moving to.

The "without Hartford, the suburbs would be nothing" attitude is accurate, but still doesn't make Hartford any safer or nicer. I'd take West Hartford over Hartford anyday.

[skytrekker]

From Wikipedia

The area has major contrasts from the affluent suburbs like Avon and Farmington and the depressed inner-city of Hartford. While Hartford is one of the poorest cities of the country, its suburbs are some of the richest.

Hartford is one of the ten cities with the lowest per capita incomes in America (although, to be fair, the low number is due completely to the fact that the city, like other cities in the area, has an extremely small footprint relative to a typical American city and therefore does not have more middle-income areas included in its total to "balance out", statistically, inner areas with older housing stock and a poorer population—in reality, Hartford and its immediate surrounding suburbs is arguably the wealthiest city in the United States when personal incomes are compared with cost of living).

[JViello]

Originally Posted by westguy22

Being from southwestern CT, I've only been to Hartford a handful of times. That being said, I do know that the city has very high crime, a lower cost of living than most of CT, and is among the poorest cities in the United States. I hear they're trying to turn it around, and I hope they do. But for now, it's not any place I would want to even think about moving to.

The "without Hartford, the suburbs would be nothing" attitude is accurate, but still doesn't make Hartford any safer or nicer. I'd take West Hartford over Hartford anyday.

Your attitude towards the city is the problem that many of us from the area are doing our best to put into perspective.

The statistics do not tell the whole story. Not even close. I wish Hartford would annex all the bordering towns and it would show an intirely different picture.

Hartford itself has some very very nice neighborhoods, and cultural sites a lot of cities would kill for but they get overshadowed by some research study that says "The city has X amount of people to X amount of crimes. Hartford is Y." The reality is the central city population is less than 10% of the whole.

Its not perfect, but I do not regret relocating here from where I grew up in Western CT at all.

Just wanted to share a perspective you might not have seen. If you are bored someday, take a ride up and have a fantastic dinner downtown, stop by the Wadsworth, and head over to Elizabeth Park - you might change your perspective on the city.

[skytrekker]

If from SW CT have you seen the new science center along the CT river- in Hartford?
When done it will be a stunning and iconoclastic vision.

People from SW CT tend to look toward NYC- but Hartford in itself and its metro area have in my opinion much more to offer then Danbury.
More culture, more history, cheaper housing prices, more recreation, better arts- and much nicer house form and culture in local homes and local architecture.

Avon and Farmington are far superior then Danbury- while Glastonbury and now Willington and Tolland offer so much- with a commute to shopping in Manchester and culture in Hartford. Frankly Danbury is not all that aesthetically attractive.

People in SW CT look at metro Hartford as a stepchild- but I feel there is a better quality of life here.

[mels]

Really Hartford has one major problem area, which is the north end. Sure crime happens in other areas, but it is an urban city, this isn't Darien we are talking about. The crime is mostly concentrated in that one area, it isn't like you are likely to catch a stray bullet while walking through Bushnell Park.

People just hear the words "shooting" and "Hartford" on the news and deem the entire place to be a crime ridden hellhole.

[Whaler0718]

Originally Posted by westguy22

Being from southwestern CT, I've only been to Hartford a handful of times. That being said, I do know that the city has very high crime, a lower cost of living than most of CT, and is among the poorest cities in the United States. I hear they're trying to turn it around, and I hope they do. But for now, it's not any place I would want to even think about moving to.

The "without Hartford, the suburbs would be nothing" attitude is accurate, but still doesn't make Hartford any safer or nicer. I'd take West Hartford over Hartford anyday.

Being from SW CT, myself, I was pleasantly surprised by what a terrific city Hartford is, and what an unfair reputation it has acquired on the "Gold Coast." Crime within the city of Hartford has dropped significantly in the past decade. Moreover, most of the crime has been concentrated in a couple communities. Greater Hartford offers an extraordinary quality of life with a vibrant downtown with arts, entertainment, and fine dining as well as charming residential areas with a plethora of shopping. It costs less and there is less congestion than SW CT. It's also an easy 45 minutes from the beautiful eastern CT beaches. I enjoyed growing up near NYC, but I am even happier that I discovered Hartford, especially since I could pay for a mansion in Hartford what my friends pay for a starter home in Stamford.