[1philliesfan]

My apologies for starting a new thread, but after having read a ton of other threads, I've come to the conclusion that each thread starter looking for advice on towns has unique needs (not surprisingly), and we're no different. Here are our details. Note that I fully recognize that combining all of these things is almost impossible!

Thank you in advance for any advice / background you can give on towns that match what we're looking for (as much as possible)

- Relocating to CT a.s.a.p. Office is in Windsor
- Will be house hunting within the next 2-3 weeks and would like to utilize our time as effectively as possible while we're there searching.
- Two kids (third & first grade) plus my wife and I (late thirties)
- Price range in the $400k - $600k range.
- Very good to great schools are a must, but we'd like to avoid mega-school districts with huge high schools (1,500+ students)
- Wife would LOVE to live within walking distance of a town, but it's not an absolute must if other factors are met.
- Living in an area with sidewalks, tons of kids and friendly, non-pretentious residents would be great. We're definitely looking for a good neighborhood feel (whether older homes or newer developments) We grew up on the Main Line outside Philly (Villanova and Radnor), but after living for the last seven years in IA, have no burning desire to be surrounded by the type of people we grew up with. Laid back and friendly is our style. Getting dressed to the nines to go to the grocery store isn't!
- <40 minute normal rush hour commute to work in Windsor. Obviously the closer the better.
- We are active, so proximity to trails, roads where I can go for long bike rides without getting killed, and a pool (like a YMCA) is a bonus but clearly not as important as the criteria above.

Any insight you can provide on towns that might meet our criteria would be great. The more details (including less tangible "feel of the area" type comments) the better!

[KH02]

Only places I can think of with a possible walkable downtown is West Hartford as most other towns are more rural. But West Hartford does have good schools.
For a SHORT commute check out Suffield, East Granby, South Windsor and Granby (all have good schools and great people). West Hartford is much larger then those towns and more commercialized but has just as good schools and a walkable center with shops and nightlife.
Other options within a 30 minute commute would be Avon, Simsbury and Farmington, also great schools!!
All of those would be able to get you a home in your budget.

[xyz affair]

West Hartford would be an ideal match for your family as the second post says- the town is larger then you may want (62,000) with renowned schools; its 2 High Schools have an excellent reputation- however, they are both on the large size for student body.

South Windsor is a pleasant town- and its HS and school system is of high quality- its also smaller in size; town has just under 30,000 inhabitants. Glastonbury, with 33,000 people is another great option for you with an excellent school system- the town lies east of Hartford across the Connecticut river, like South Windsor.

[JayCT]

I have to agree with the recomendation to consider West Hartford. It has a great walkable downtown area with homes nearby and the schools are considered to be excellent. Though the town is somewhat large in population, the two high schools only have around 1,500 to 1,600 students each.

If West Hartford is too big for your tastes, then I would suggest considering some of the Farmington River Valley towns. Farmington, Avon, Simsbury and Canton are all beautiful towns with very good to excellent schools. They each have small town centers and a lot of great activities for families.

For more information on the schools in Connecticut, see the links below. Jay

Strategic School Profiles by School

Strategic School Profiles by District

[AmyBergquist]

West Hartford would be a good fit. It's very walkable, has many different shopping areas and good restaurants, and is close to hiking points in the area. The commute would be less than 40 minutes to Windsor and there is fairly good access to I-84 from most parts of town.

You may also want to consider Glastonbury. It's more rural than West Hartford, but I think the towns are very similar given amenities and feel. Glastonbury just has a much larger geography than West Hartford, 40 square miles vs. 18 square miles, so it's more spread out. Your commute to Windsor would be less than 40 minutes from Glastonbury too.

The price range you mentioned will get you a nice sized house in either town.

[JViello]

West Hartford.

[Silli]

You might find Farmington, Avon, and Simsbury a bit snooty. Canton and Suffield might be good choices if you are looking for a more small-town feel.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by AmyBergquist

West Hartford would be a good fit. It's very walkable, has many different shopping areas and good restaurants, and is close to hiking points in the area. The commute would be less than 40 minutes to Windsor and there is fairly good access to I-84 from most parts of town.

He might not even have to get on the highway, depending on where in Windsor he's working. I commute from WH to Windsor in the Day Hill Road area, and I just take Route 218/Cottage Grove Rd to Route 189 - a smooth, scenic ride. I never thought I would enjoy driving TO work until I started using this route. You're in Bloomfield most of the way and it's an attractive area - especially now that the leaves are changing. Beautiful.

Glastonbury would be a nice fit, too. It's a nice town that meets all the criteria the OP is looking for, except doesn't really strike me as walkable and there's not really a downtown area, but that might not even be an issue.

[1philliesfan]

Great info! Sounds like West Hartford will have to be in the mix. I've spent some time (work dinners etc.) in West Hartford, Avon & Simsbury before, so I have at least passing familiarity with the areas (at least how they look). I've heard nothing but good things about Avon & Simsbury schools, although I've heard Simsbury described by a co-worker who lives there (as an out of state transplant) as "true New England...after 30 years living there they'll consider you one of them". In the towns' defense, she also mentioned that although the taxes are high, it's world class infrastructure that you get with that money. I have much less insight in general on Suffield, East Granby, South Windsor & Granby. I've also heard that Longmeadow in Mass is nice.

If close proximity to a town isn't feasible in most areas, we'll be looking for a good neighborhood feel. Do any of you know if any of the towns mentioned in any of the posts above have areas with established homes with a good neighborhood (i.e. sidewalks, not busy streets) feel? We're also not against living in a development of brand new or newer homes, as they often have that neighborhood vibe. Any suggestions on that front (especially if there are any that haven't clear cut all the trees around them!) would be great too.

Thanks again for the responses....you have no idea how nice it is to get feedback on this stuff!

[AmyBergquist]

Taxes are higher in general in West Hartford, Avon, Simsbury, and Glastonbury. Services are good as far as libraries, parks, snow removal, etc. in these towns. West Hartford includes trash pickup and 99.9% of the town is on public water and sewer. You'll pay extra for trash pickup in Avon, Simsbury, and Glastonbury. Additionally, you may have an additional sewer tax in Avon or Simsbury if you are on their "public" sewer system, as opposed to septic systems. Just minor stuff to keep in mind.

All of these towns have done a good job with development and there has not been much clear cutting- care has been taken for the most part to leave mature trees which give a sense of character.

A good portion of West Hartford is neighborhoods with sidewalks because much of the town is layed out in a grid format based on when it was developed. There is very little new construction in West Hartford, particularly below $800K, simply because most of the town was developed out well before the latest housing boom and there was not much available land left. What was left was so expensive that they had to build big McMansions on it to make it economically feasible. In the price range you would be looking in, most of the houses would be built between 1920-1940 or from 1950-1970.

Avon, Glastonbury, and Simsbury are similar from the standpoint that neighborhoods don't necessarily have sidewalks- although that doesn't make them unwalkable. As previously mentioned, these towns have a more rural feel, lots are larger, and I believe sidewalks weren't necessarily wanted simply because it would be a lot of extra work for homeowners to maintain. There are plenty of neighborhoods in all of these towns that are nice and walkable and not busy. For the most part these towns (except for a portion of Glastonbury) were developed out later because they are further from Hartford. You'll see lots of houses that were built from the 1950's onward in these towns.

A rule of thumb I always tell relocation clients that are looking, but don't know much about the area: Take a look at a map of the town. If you see roads that run almost all the way east to west or north to south in a town, those are most likely the busiest roads. You probably won't want to live on those streets if traffic is a concern for you. If you see the cul-de-sacs or small blocks of grided streets that don't go on for long distances, those are the neighborhoods that have less traffic.