[ktmac]

Looks like my husband is taking a job in Hartford, Ct. We are a young couple without kids (but plan on them in the next couple years). We live in Jersey now, as does most of our family, and have been working in NYC.
We have friends in Fairfield, and love the area--but its just too much of a commute to Hartford. Husband wants to be within 30 mile radius. I want to be in a cute town like Fairfield, that is on its way to NYC.
We can afford to spend around 700k on a house.
Coming from the city, we'd love a town with a cute downtown, restaurants, great schools, and I'd love some sort of social networking system so we can make friends.

[JayCT]

Are you planning to continue to keep working in NYC while your husband is working in Hartford? There are not a lot of towns like Fairfield between Hartford and Fairfield. You should look at towns along the I-91/Route 15 corridor. You might consider Wallingford, North Haven or Hamden but they are a little more middle-class than Fairfield. At $700k you will be buying probably the nicest homes in these towns. Cheshire is a bit more upscale but it does not have the nice concentrated downtown area. Middlefield and Durham are also a bit more upscale but also a bit more rural.

West Hartford is a lot like Fairfield. It is upscale with a great downtown area and it is very convenient to Hartford. It is just over an hour to Fairfield though. I hope this helps. Jay

[CTAngler481]

Definantly look into West Hartford, very nice, large town with a awesome downtown.

[ktmac]

Thanks! I won't be working in nyc by the time we move... too much of a commute for me. And while we can spend 700k if we have too - we'd much prefer to spend 500k--just looking for a 3 bed (maybe 4), 2 bath type place! (We can barely get that around nyc!)

[Rich Lee]

Within 30 miles of Hartford, there's very little need to spend $700,000 unless you need 3500 square feet! And if that's the case, that price per square foot would be towns like West Hartford, Farmington, Avon, Simsbury, or Glastonbury.

[AmyBergquist]

If you want a vibrant center/downtown community, I would also recommend West Hartford. If you're interested in being closer to Fairfield, I'd say Wallingford. Your housing budget and what you've stated for your needs would work well in either town.

[JayCT]

Since you are not going to be commuting to New York, I would strongly suggest looking at towns as close to your husbands job as possible. There are many great towns in the Hartford area and even $500k will buy you a really nice house in one of the better suburbs there. As I had noted, West Hartford is very similar to Fairfield. There is a wonderful downtown with great shops and restaurants. There are a lot of great family activities and the schools are excellent. I would highly recommend it.

FYI - The suburbs that Rich Lee mentioned (Avon, Simsbury, Farmington, West Hartford and Glastonbury) are considered the most desirable upscale suburbs in the Hartford region. Each one has a different feel so you should visit them to see which is more to your liking. Another consideration should be where in the HArtford area your husband is working. It is not a good idea to have to travel through downtown to get from one side of Hartford ot the other during rush. Good luck, Jay

[ktmac]

Thanks so much all--he actually will be working in Glastonbury... so perhaps that is our best bet. West Hartford sounds great though.... we'll have to take a drive soon enough and really get the lay of the land.
Seems like West Hartford might put his commute right through Hartford, which doesn't sound so great!

[AmyBergquist]

Depending on his work schedule, commuting from West Hartford to Glastonbury would be about 30 minutes each way, with traffic. No traffic would drop it down to about 15-20 minutes, depending on where you lived in WH and where the job is in Glastonbury. I used to commute from WH to East Hartford, which is essentially the same commute, and it wasn't altogether horrible. Leaving a little earlier in the morning or later in the evening helped things tremendously.

[ktmac]

Thanks - this forum is great and so helpful. So, West Hartford isn't necessarily out. I think I'll focus there, Glastonbury, and possibly... please chime in here... Wethersfield? Besides wanting good schools and a nice town, we'll also need to make some friends - and since we don't have kids yet, we're going to need some sort of social scene to help make that happen. I read someone's post that made me think Wethersfield is a more "mature?" town and not alot of young people were moving there?
If he takes this job, this is all going to happen fast! Fortunately, we are first time buyers so don't have to worry about selling a place. Just really good to have all this info ahead of time. If there is anything (or place) else I should consider, let me know!
I think I like Avon too...but think it might be getting too far from Glastonbury.