[kendie]

My fiance and I are relocating to CT from Oregon so that I can attend grad school at CCSU in New Britain. From what I saw when visiting, and read here on the forum, New Britain itself isn't the nicest of places (don't berate me if you're from there- I didn't get a chance to see it all!). Are there any nice, relatively safe neighborhoods within 30 minutes or so of New Britain/Central CT State Univ.? We'll be moving to an apartment at first, so any additional recs in that department will be greatly appreciated. We have no children, so school districts aren't an issue. We just want recs on nice areas of town in central CT so that we know where to look when we visit to apartment hunt.

I suppose I should mention budget. Out here I have a beautiful 2 bdrm apt w/granite, stainless steel applicances, etc. That runs me about 1050 a month which is average for a nice apartment in the Portland, OR suburbs. I'm not sure what similar apartments cost in the above mentioned region (they seem comparable from what I see on the apartment hunting websites, but those can be misleading), so I suppose anything in the $900-1100 range (1 or 2 bdrm) is fine, but we can go a bit higher if need be. I don't mind so much about the granite/stainless steel extras, just a nice, safe area.

Thx in advance!

[Connecticut Pam]

Ahhhhh finally a post about moving to CT that I can answer. I have been here all my life and was kind of embarrassed at how little I know about the state in general but finally someone moving to my area..whoo hoo! My husband attended Central and I worked for 13 years not far from there. You are correct, New Britain proper isn't the best place although there are many, many apartments there to rent. Towns in the surrounding area to look into? Hmmmmm my first pick would be Newington. It is a nice town, has quite a few rental properties and I have family living there who really seem to like it. The downtown area of Newington is rather quaint...very New England with little shops stuff like that. You can also take a short drive and be on the "Berlin Turnpike" and have all the dining out and shopping you can handle. My next pick would be Kensington and then Berlin. Kensington is VERY country as is Berlin in places. I actually worked in Berlin and loved the drive in from Meriden where I live now. So other than living in New Britain proper, these places are your best bet.

[KH02]

For a young couple with no children, it would definitly be Middletown, it has a nice little downtown with shops etc. Their are plenty of rentals within town. The nicest area is Westville, but all the area would be fine if schools aren't an issue. You could get a 2 bedroom apt within your budget but i'd stay closer to the higher end of your budget to be in the nicest areas. Though you likely WONT find granite and all new appliances and that sort of thing. We dont have as much NEW out here on the east coast as they do out west.
Any other help..just let me know. But i'm pretty sure that would be the perfect place for you.

[heather121]

Also check out West Hartford, your budget could get you a fairly nice 1 bedroom, it's a short drive to New Britain, many apartments are available within "walking distance" to West Hartford Center (a nice newer downtown area with lots of restaurants/shopping/movie theater/etc).

[JayCT]

There are some nice areas of New Britain itself you could consider in addition to the towns mentioned above. The Brittany Farms area is very convenient to CCSU and reasonably priced. Jay

[kendie]

Thanks for your replies, everyone! These are towns/areas I thought about, but it's always nice to get insider info.

[watchoverme]

How about Farmington (Or Unionville- part of Farmington) or Burlington? I prefer the Farmington Valley area (where I grew up) over where I am now- Berlin(which also jus t so it makes sense to you- Kensington is part of Berlin).

Good luck!