[JayCT]

There are many great affordable places to live in Connecticut. A lot depneds on what you are looking for for your price. It sounds like you would like to be in the outer suburbs of Hartford. I would recommend Colchester. It is a great small town with a nice small downtown area. It is surrounded by communities that are rural in character. Other towns to consider might be Hebron, Andover, Columbia and Lebanon. For information on schools, check out the link below. Jay

Strategic School Profiles by District

Strategic School Profiles by School

[Cooler_King]

Thanks for the school info links JayCT. Very helpful. Yes, we want to stay somewhat near Hartford for future employment opportunities. My wife & I are both Finance majors and have backgrounds in Finance, Banking, & Insurance so it seems best suited for us to be near Hartford.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Cooler_King

We are family of three relocating to CT. Our daughter is 14. I will be working remotely so most of CT is open which is making out decision difficult where to live. We would like to stay within 30-45 min proximity to Hartford should I ever have to change jobs and would no longer be able to work from home.

We have visited Ellington, Somers, Stafford, Simsbury, Bolton, S Windsor, Vernon, Tolland, Enfield, Granby, W Hartford. We ran out of time to visit more towns. So far we like Ellington the best. Homes are bit more than our budget allows. We could go up to $360K for a home if we both work, but we are hoping to find something in the $250K-$300K range so my wife can stay home should we decide to have another child, which we are planning to do soon. With that said, do any CT natives have suggestions of towns for us to look into that doesn't cost a fortune and is safe too? We prefer rolling hills/farmland to thick wooded areas, we are not into big cities, we like towns that have an old fashion town center rather than strip malls, and good school system is top priority.

Somebody mention Norwich; the high school seems good and the homes affordable. Just not sure about crime there. The fact it is so close to the casinos worries me.

Thanks!

Given your preferences, I would suggest New Hartford. There is a nice little downtown, and the town is pretty rural. It's within commuting distance to Hartford and is pretty affordable.

Another town I'd suggest is West Hartford. There are some strip malls but there is a very nice downtown area. Many of the towns suggested here lack a downtown and are very woodsy.

[Tetto]

Originally Posted by Cooler_King

Yes, I guess my wife & I are on the fence if we want to choose a rural setting or something a little more urban such as Norwich. I do like the older homes in Norwich and more access to arts & culture. I'm planning on taking a trip back out there in the next week or two and I will have to explore. I am adding Colchester & Lebanon on my list of places to see. Lebanon seems really nice.

Hello,

I hope you know what you're doing moving from spectacular San Diego weather to ours here...! Seriously though, I can give you some insight into Lebanon. It's a great town, very rural and agricultural; lots of dirt roads in town! The schools a pretty good from what I can see and the taxes are reasonable. The center of town has the largest town green in New England, with the exception of the Boston Common. There is a nice walking/bikepath all the way around it, 1.8 mi in total.

One downside is that your kind of far from everything. By that I mean malls, Hartford, centers of shopping. Colchester, Willimantic,Norwich and Hebron are all border towns and have everything you'd need in the way of shopping, food, clothes, etc.

Norwich Does have some really nice looking older homes though. But it wouldn't be my choice to live in.

[CrissCT]

Originally Posted by Tetto

I hope you know what you're doing moving from spectacular San Diego weather to ours here...!

Good advice - for us it was moving back to the East Coast so no big shock to us, but if I were San Diego born & raised it would be a big adjustment. Something to keep in mind.

[JViello]

Rolling Farm Lands, "near" Hartford in 45 minutes..."affordable"?

I would say Coventry, Bolton, Mansfield, Ashford, Southern Stafford Springs, and perhaps further out Woodstock which is simply gorgeous.

[wavehunter007]

I just thought I would further the comment made by Tetto about the weather:

As a warm weather person myself (I hate cold/snow)…I would think about snow and cold coming from SD. While winter is not as bad in the Tri-State area as in the Midwest, Mountain West, and Northern New England…..the period from December to mid March can have snow and cold.

Look at a map of Connecticut. The further south and east you go….. the less snow you will get. Windsor Locks (far northern CT) gets about 48-inches of snow a winter on average…..while Bridgeport (coastal CT) gets 24- inches of snow on average in winter. The New Haven and Stamford areas get half as much snow as the Hartford area and the areas up near Massachusetts. The suburbs 20-miles northwest of Hartford will see more snow in winter than the surburbs 20- miles southeast of Hartford. So if you’re a snow hater keep this in mind. Also, remember that the area to the Northwest of Hartford and up in the NW hills of CT are hilly and mountainous…. so driving in snowy conditions are more difficult than in a place like New Haven or New London which is basically flat.

Although winters on the East Coast are not as severe as the Midwest, mountain West, and Northern New England….your coming from SOCAL. Some people from places California, Florida, South Carolina…etc sees so little real winter weather – that even a modest winter like CT can be a shock.

Good Luck.

[Cooler_King]

Thanks for the advice. Well, I think people make too much about the weather in San Diego. It does get old after a while. There's no seasons. And if your not along the coast it can get very hot for long periods of time. I personally don't care for it. Obviously I am not the norm here in San Diego. My wife & love the seasons. And I have lived in Montana & Wyoming so I've been through tough storms. And also people in San Diego work so much and so hard to pay their expensive mortgages & rent most don't get out a whole lot to enjoy the beautiful weather. And the quality of life in San Diego just isn't what it used to be. It's crowded, expensive, and it's hard to find many neighborhoods that have a sense of community. And the schools have really gone down hill. But there is some wonderful things to do & some nice people here & there. Like anywhere there's the good & bad.

[Cooler_King]

Originally Posted by Tetto

Norwich Does have some really nice looking older homes though. But it wouldn't be my choice to live in.

Yes, from what I've seen online it looks like Norwich has some nice old homes. My wife loves the old victorian houses. That's kind of how we took a second look at Norwich. The older homes.. and the school seemed really good there too; Norwich Free Academy. Mohegan Park looks nice too.

[davect1]

I can only vouch for having grown up in West Hartford (I live in Los Angeles now). West Hartford has a great school system. It's certainly not cheap, but the town great public facilities for residents, such as community centers, arts, adult education, numerous swimming pools (one indoor I believe), and an ice skating rink. It's very close to Hartford but is definitely suburban (check out the northwest portion of the town near Hall High School). There is also much more to do close by than in some of the outer suburbs. However, West Hartford is much more city-like and therefore not as quiet as it's neighbors. If you have a chance, walk around West Hartford Center and see if it's the kind of town you are looking for.