[chionactis]

We are moving to Hebron and my husband will be working in Glastonbury. I will remain at home with 4 young children.
We were in Hebron last month for a very short time and did not get to view much of the community, only the homes as that was our main purpose. We found one, but did not have time afterward to drive around the "main street."
Can you tell us about Hebron? How far will we have to drive to go to the major grocery stores? I know there is a small grocer in Hebron, but for major shopping, who is best? I figure I am going to have to do a lot of driving to go anywhere for any kiind of shopping and entertainment, but Hebron is where we were able to buy and afford it. Although it is a done-deal, what are your pros and cons opinions of Hebron? I am originally from a small town in the Berkshires, MA but for the past 7 years have lived in a rapidly-developing suburb of Phoenix, AZ with ALL the ammenities within 2-5 miles. Thanks!

[uconn99]

Having grown up in Connecticut not to far from Hebron and now living in Phoenix, you are in for a big change but a change I am sure you will enjoy.

Hebron is nice with a good school system, they share a high school with Marlborough and Andover, the school is actually located in Hebron and is new, built about 2 years ago.

As for shopping, Hebron has a few places to dine, banks, and Ted's IGA which most locals go to for shopping. If you want a mall Buckland Hills in Manchester and West farms in W.Hartford/Farmington are about 25-35 minutes away. Downtown Hartford is about 25 minutes away and Glastonbury has shopping as well down Rt. 86?

Willimantic is about 15 minutes down Rt. 66 where there is larger supermarkets, Home Depot, Walmart and a smaller mall with a wide selection of places to eat as well.

The Casinos are a short 20-35 mintues down Rt. 2. If you havn't been to either I suggest you check them out, they are not the casinos you will find in Arizona, more like Vegas. You can actually enjoy yourself without losing money.


Overall I think you will enjoy Hebron. While the town does not have a lot of retail you are not far away from all the bustling stores in the Hartford area.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by chionactis

We are moving to Hebron and my husband will be working in Glastonbury. I will remain at home with 4 young children.
We were in Hebron last month for a very short time and did not get to view much of the community, only the homes as that was our main purpose. We found one, but did not have time afterward to drive around the "main street."
Can you tell us about Hebron? How far will we have to drive to go to the major grocery stores? I know there is a small grocer in Hebron, but for major shopping, who is best? I figure I am going to have to do a lot of driving to go anywhere for any kiind of shopping and entertainment, but Hebron is where we were able to buy and afford it. Although it is a done-deal, what are your pros and cons opinions of Hebron? I am originally from a small town in the Berkshires, MA but for the past 7 years have lived in a rapidly-developing suburb of Phoenix, AZ with ALL the ammenities within 2-5 miles. Thanks!

Welllll....Personally I think Hebron is the next up and coming "burb" like Glastonbury was 30 years ago.

Anyhow, Hebron has a wonderful main street area that is classic New England...kind of un-touched if you know what I mean. (Think Deerfield MA if you've been there at all, it's similar)

As for shopping and such - I don't know exactly what's in Hebron regarding grocery stores etc...but I do know that Colchester has a large Stop and Shop and it's 5 miles away with no traffic, Willimantic is 10 miles away with the same.

Glastonbury is about 12 miles away and has good shopping as well but it's more upscale, but not totally.

But the "mother" of all retail is in Manchester which is about 15 miles from you...again without traffic. I get to Hebron from Manchester on my "Cycle rides" just cruising along in about 15-20 minutes. Manchester in regards to retail is the mecca...period. Everything and anything you want is there from Country Curtains to Ann Talor Loft to Uno to DSW shoe to Texas Road House...it's just there.

Yes you will not be 5 minutes near the latest strip mall but you will be in a nice rural, safe town within a 10-20 minute drive from just about anything you want.

Welcome to CT.

[chionactis]

Thank you everyone who has responded to my original post.
I am delighted by what has been written. I was concerned somewhat because I have been spoiled by the overkill shopping and convenience that is my current town. However, I think I will adjust quickly to the more rural lifestyle once I get a feel for where things are and the routes to take.
ANOTHER QUESTION: this is about health clubs/gyms...where is the closest one to Hebron? I am currently a member of 24 Hour Fitness (3 years now) and I know they are not in the NorthEast. Health Trax was suggested to me (they are located in Glastonbury I think). Any other ones to consider?
Thanks

[mels]

Ditto the above. I live in Marlborough, right next to Hebron. For major chain store grocery shopping (i.e. not Ted's IGA) Glastonbury has 2 Stop & Shops, a Shaw's right on the East Hartford town line, and a Whole Foods is opening soon. Colchester has Stop & Shop as well. Everyone in the area goes to Buckland Hills in Manchester as mentioned already for all of your big box store needs. Seriously, every chain store known to man is located in Buckland Hills.

I am not too sure about gyms, Marlborough has a gym called Bodyworks Fitness Center, located a stones throw from Hebron right on Rt. 66. I am not sure what other towns have to offer. I am sure Colchester would have something too.

Hebron is a really nice town. When deciding to relocate to the area, Hebron and Marlborough were my top two choices. You are close enough to all of the amenities you need but you still get that small town feel.

[KirbyJRT]

I belong to Health Trax in Glastonbury. Overall it's a nice place. Could use some work on the free weight area, but they do have lots of classes from spinning to yoga. Also a wide assortment of treadmills, stairclimbers, etc... I think it is pretty pricey, but I guess that depends on how much you use it. There is WOW fitness in Glastonbury and I believe LA Fitness is in Manchester. Healthtrax is on Rte 85, so it may help depending on where you live in Hebron.

I agree Hebron is a nice town. I love the RHAM area, including Colchester.

[chionactis]

Great!
Thanks for the information.
Let me ask this: having 4 young daughters, we will want to be doing lots of fun things as a family. What do you suggest? What does nature have to offer? How's the fishing, hiking, swimming in the summer? How about winter? Ice skating on nearby ponds? I think Ocean Beach Park will not be too far from Hebron. As a child (mid-late 1970's), we would go there because my brother went to the Coast Guard Academy and I was there again for the 1st time in 2005. Any other things to do?
thanks!

[uconn99]

Winter you could skate on ponds around town or on Columbia lake, Andover lake, the lake in East Hampton. Ice fishing is also popular. Mt. Snow and Killington are about 3 to 3.5 hours away. Not too far from Stowe or Jay Peak if you want Northern Vermont skiing. Connecticut has skiing in Southington, New Hartford, Middlefield (might be closed) and 2 others in Litchfield county. Southington isn't bad to brush up from the long layover but nothing like Vt, NH, ME, or evan MA skiing.

You are about 2 1/2 hours from Cape Cod in the summer, and the beaches of Rhode Island are about 45 minutes away. New London is about 30 minutes down Rt. 2 and 395.

There is a L.A. fitness in South Windsor, but really that is quite a drive just for a club. There is a gym in Willimantic which is nice. It is a name brand, but Donny Marshall who was a former basketball player @ UConn opened it.

In terms of stuff to do, you are a lot better off in Conneticut than Phoenix. In Phoenix you have to either hop on a plane or drive 5 hours to the next big city. In Hebron you are within 5 hours of most of the countries major cities and people! Enjoy!

[mels]

The Airline Trail is an old converted railroad line that is now a hiking trail that runs through Hebron, Colchester, East Hampton and other towns. It is wide, flat packed gravel, great for hiking or bike riding with small kids. You can also cross country ski it in the winter. Gay City State Park (yes, that's the real name) is in Hebron on Rt. 85 and has many hiking trails as well as a lake for swimming. You will have to pay to get in on weekends or you can get a season pass to CT State Parks. Hurd State Park in East Hampton and Day Pond State Park in Colchester also has hiking trails. Glastonbury has Blackledge Falls for more hiking, Manchester has some hiking too...I think it is called Case Mountain? Maybe someone else can clarify that for you. Marlborough has Lake Terramuggus for swimming. If you park right at the lake you have to have a town resident sticker, but if you park 20 feet away from the parking lot, anyone can use it and many do. They have a roped off swimming area for the little kids and lifeguards are on duty seasonally.

There are many other state parks around, Mansfield Hollow (in Mansfield) is pretty close too. Go to the Connecticut DEP web page and there will be a link to all of the state parks.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by chionactis

Great!
Thanks for the information.
Let me ask this: having 4 young daughters, we will want to be doing lots of fun things as a family. What do you suggest? What does nature have to offer? How's the fishing, hiking, swimming in the summer? How about winter? Ice skating on nearby ponds?

The house you closed on wouldn't happen to be a gray cape on East Street would it? I just cruised by on the cycle this last weekend and saw the "sale pending" sign.

To answer your question, yes yes and YES there are tons of outdoor fun activities you can do with the kid. CT really shines bright with it's state park network.

http://www.nochildleftinside.org/pursuit

A few examples:

Salmon River Park in Colchester is awesome to let the kids splash around in a shallow lazy river discovering all the things kids do...

Gillette Castle State Park will make the kids feel like they are in some midevil castle and the grounds are a lot of fun..

http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a...epNav_GID=1650

The Essex Steam Train just down the river is a blast.

http://www.essexsteamtrain.com

Fishing in the CT River from the dock at the Goodspeed Opera House is really wonderful and Tom Sawyer like.



And that's just scratching the surface...You can head to the Ocean, go hiking small mountains etc Take a day trip into Boston and do the Freedom Trail etc.

Remember you are also less than 30 minutes to DT Hartford with all of it's cultural things so don't think you are stuck out in the woods by any means.

The new Science Center in Hartford is going to be wonderful.

http://ctsciencecenter.org

Here is a 98 page guide that will overwhelm you with "stuff". It's big but worth the download.

http://www.visitctriver.com/pdf/Visi...ervalleyct.pdf

Good luck!