[Asy]

I am currently living in Eustis, Florida. I am originally from Yellow Springs, Ohio which is a small college town. I am interested in moving to Connecticut or somewhere in New England but I'm not sure how to go about finding the right area for me. I want to go back to more of a small town feel. I like places with a "downtown" of shops that locals and tourists alike frequent. I would like somewhere that has a lot to do in terms of family oriented activities and where the population is reasonably young. Any suggestions on where I might begin? Any input would be appreciated.

[JayCT]

We would need more information to help you. Do you need to live near major employment centers? Are schools important to you or not? How about shopping? The Hartford metro area is great because it has a lot of the big-city amenities but is still small enough to get around easy which allows you to live in a small town but have access to things to do.

[Whalehead]

My town of Ridgefield is everything you describe.

[Asy]

Thank you for your replies. To be more specific, I would need to live near enough to employment centers to not have too nasty of a commute. I would like to have the city, or at least convenient shopping, close enough as to be accessible. I know that many times very small town have a grocery store and things but depending on how small it is generally more expensive and not good for the "big" shopping trip. I find this to hold true with many types of local stores. Great for some shopping, but can get expensive. At least this was my experience in my hometown. Schools will be very important in the next few years. My child is not of school-age yet, but I surely want to consider moving where there is a good school district. I will check out Hartford and Ridgefield. Any other comments or suggestions are most appreciated.

[JayCT]

Asy - The Hartford area would be good. A lot of employment opportunities and a lot of towns with GREAT school systems. Hartford itself is a small densely populated city (about 130,000 people) that is surrounded by a lot of smaller suburban type towns each with their own character and history. The towns run the gament from upscale suburbs (Avon, Glastonbury, West Hartford, Farmington, Simsbury) to solid middle-class communities (Wethersfield, Newington, Bloomfield, Windsor, Rocky Hill, South Windsor). There are even a few small cities or mill towns (New Britain, Manchester). Depends what you are looking for and what you can or want to afford. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions. Jay

[Iska]

Whalehead, what's so great about Ridgefield? Are there desirable and undesirable sections of town or is the whole town of uniform quality? What's the ease of access to main highways?

[Whalehead]

Ridgefield is 15 minutes from Danbury, 35 minutes from Stamford.
We have a vibrant mainstreet, with boutiques, antiques, cafe and pizza
place to mention a few.
We have a Stop and Shop grocery store.
Several restaurants dot the side streets, and the town library is on Main Street.
The schools are well thought of. There are ample choices for daycare, and
we have a state of the art Recreation Center with the Senior Citizen center
right next to. it.
There is a playhouse that shows movies, hosts concerts and theater.
We have a HUGE Memorial Day parade down Main Street and virtually everyone attends. It is lead by the RHS band, our fire apparatus, others and finishes with our boy and girls scout troops.
Each Summer the town has free concerts on Thursday nights in the park for every musical taste(although there hasn't been any Rap yet).
The Town pond (swimming hole) hosts free movie nights on Tuesdays.

When I think of more things that make RIDGEFIELD unique, I'll post again.

[Whalehead]

10 minutes from I84...there isn't a bad area to live here. It's personal taste. You can live closer to town, up in the "lake" area or find a quiet part of town that was formerly a field or meadow. Or maybe you'd prefer a stream running through your property, or perhaps a pond. It's up to you.
Main Street gets congested between 730-800 and 430-500. Mostly caused by schoolbuses stopping and dropping.
There is a "town" bus that stops in the middle of town that runs from the hS to Main Street. Kids use it to go to the library, Planet Pizza, or Chez Lenard
(the local hot dog cart, a fixture for 25 yeas or so).

[JViello]

The one thing that you are failing to tell everyone about Ridgefield is that an average home costs about $700,000. Great town, if you have the money.

Having lived in the West Orland area for a while I know Useless ( ), Mt Dora, Tavares etc area pretty well as I used bomb around there trying to escape the madness of Orlando on weekends and a desparate attempt to find some form of a hill.

Anywho...What do you think of Mt Dora? Is that the kind of "village" main street you are talking about? Is an Apopka sized city what you are looking for? Have you ever been to Deland? Is that the kind of "historic" small city you are looking for? I know the areas are different but I know where you are and if I know what you like and dislike there I might be able to help you around here.

[Asy]

Originally Posted by JViello

Anywho...What do you think of Mt Dora? Is that the kind of "village" main street you are talking about? Is an Apopka sized city what you are looking for? Have you ever been to Deland? Is that the kind of "historic" small city you are looking for? I know the areas are different but I know where you are and if I know what you like and dislike there I might be able to help you around here.

JViello,
In response to your questions...I do really like Mount Dora. It has a variety of interesting shops and that pretty, walkable downtown feel to it. It actually reminds me of my hometown in a lot of ways, though my town was more liberal and "hippie". I have been through Deland and what I remember of it was nice with a different type of downtown feel. I have driven through Apopka, it seems that their main downtown area is also home to a very busy road, 429 is it? It seemed similar in Deland. I don't mind traffic, but I like it to be a little more limited than that. Heavy all-day traffic makes it harder to walk around or have that quieter feel to the town. I guess something a little more "country" is nice. If you have any more ideas or comments I'd really appreciate it. By the way, if you lived in Florida how do you like Connecticut? Is it very cloudy and gray there or do they get sunshine even with the cold weather?