[Swede in CA]

Which is better to live in?

[KH02]

Are you comparing COUNTIES or the Cities themselves...

If you are debating between HAtford and New Haven COUNTIES then it would depend on what your looking for.

If you are debating between ACTUALLY living in Hartford or New Haven personally I'd say neither...

[JayCT]

Both have their own unique personalities. New Haven has a great cultural influence from Yale. Hartford is a more conservative independent city. Depends what you like. I prefer Hartford. Jay

[stevehawk]

Jay is right it is a personal decision. New Haven is by far my favorite "city" in Ct. I love the culture,diversity,and great unique restaurants. Being that food is one of my favorite things you can't beat New Haven. The best pizza in the world. Great falafel and baba ganoush. Amazing Italian restaurants. 6 Thai restaurants on 1 block! And an awesome unique Malaysian restaurant. Not to mention that it's on the water.

[jjbradleynyc]

Just like stevehawk and Jay mentioned, it's a definite personal choice. But I prefer New Haven over Hartford. There's a number of reasons why: New Haven is livelier and feels like a city much bigger than its true size. The bar scene, restaurant scene, and culture thrives in New Haven. There are only 2 neighborhoods I'd live in, within New Haven's city limits though: East Rock and Westville. NH is also right on the water, with beaches closeby.
Hartford does offer a lot, also. A good number of restaurants, a thriving cultural scene, a couple of really great districts, historic beautiful neighborhoods with great homes, and a large corporate presence in the insurance/healthcare/finance fields.

Both cities have suffered inner-city neglect, flight, and abandonment. There are really bad neighborhoods with much-bigger city problems in each city.

Take a look/tour of each and find out the pros/cons.

[nhctguy]

IMO of course

Skyline - Hartford
Location - New Haven
Schools - New Haven (barely)
Less Crime - Hartford
Shopping - New Haven by a landslide
Dining - tie
Nightlife - New Haven
Theater - New Haven
Museums - Hartford

My Pick - New Haven of course. I am a young professional and I don't think Hartford can match the New Haven lifestyle for urban pro. types. There seems to be too much of a stigma with Hartford. My friends who live up that way avoid rarely mention Hartford and tend to plan dining/entertainment around the malls in Manchester and West Hartford.

[7 Wishes]

While there are a lot of good points here about which is better to live in, keep in mind that both are close enough to each other that with a car it's really possible to enjoy the best of both. There are not many places that have 2 cities like this only 35-40 miles apart.

[Connecticut Pam]

Originally Posted by Swede in CA

Which is better to live in?

If you are talking about Hartford the city itself....not good to live in. If you are talking New Haven the city...all bombed out right now and a very tough area to live in.

Suggestion: Check out New Haven County which will give you a broader area as opposed to the city itself. There are a lof of nice smaller towns around New Haven but still in New Haven County..

I am a lifelong Connecticut resident with a brief 12 year stay in Maine and although I love my state, I can't think of one of the larger cities that I would live in but would consider most of the smaller towns surrounding them.

[Urban Peasant]

Originally Posted by nhctguy

IMO of course
Less Crime - Hartford
Shopping - New Haven by a landslide

Interesting. So New Haven actually has more crime than Hartford? Everybody keeps telling me that Hartford is the toughest city in Connecticut.

Where is the shopping in New Haven. I am curious to know so I can have more fun the next time I visit. You are right about Hartford's shopping though. It is barely existent.

[stevehawk]

Originally Posted by Urban Peasant

Interesting. So New Haven actually has more crime than Hartford? Everybody keeps telling me that Hartford is the toughest city in Connecticut.

Where is the shopping in New Haven. I am curious to know so I can have more fun the next time I visit. You are right about Hartford's shopping though. It is barely existent.

My last job in Ct was 2 years in home health care. I would have to go into the home in all kinds of neighborhoods to get patients set up in their homes.
From what I saw the bad neighborhoods in Hartford were definitely the scariest.

One sunday morning I had to go meet a patient that was being released from the hospital. There were over 25 gang bangers blocking off the street into the developement demanding money for safe entry.

Needless to say I didn't have my AK47 on me so we were unable to service that patient.

There were many such events on that side of Hartford.