[JimmyIsTheOne]

Hey gang, new guy here on these forums.

I'm presently being considered for a position at Coca-Cola Enterprises in East Hartford, Connecticut.

I presently live on Long Island, NY, in Nassau County. There are some who commute to Connecticut to work from here via the Port Jefferson to Bridgeport ferry, but I'm not sure how the drive/trip/ hoped-for-available-train-service is from Bridgeport to East Hartford.

I may end up having to move to Connecticut if I get this gig.

What's a good place for a bachelor in his mid-thirties to move to in that area?

Any advice, of course, is welcome.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by JimmyIsTheOne

Hey gang, new guy here on these forums.

I'm presently being considered for a position at Coca-Cola Enterprises in East Hartford, Connecticut.

I presently live on Long Island, NY, in Nassau County. There are some who commute to Connecticut to work from here via the Port Jefferson to Bridgeport ferry, but I'm not sure how the drive/trip/ hoped-for-available-train-service is from Bridgeport to East Hartford.

I may end up having to move to Connecticut if I get this gig.

What's a good place for a bachelor in his mid-thirties to move to in that area?

Any advice, of course, is welcome.

Commute? LOL No way brother...unless you're talking about staying here all week and going home on the weekends.

Towns around East Hartford? Depends on what you want. You have a lot of choices.

You have Manchester, East Hartford itself (Gotta be a little more selective on neighborhoods in E Hartford), Hartford if you're more into the "urban living" thing, West Hartford is a bit more "yuppieish" etc etc.

What do you want? What kind of person are you? What's your budget?

[dazzleman]

Don't do the commute. The ferry takes forever, and then you'd have close to an hour on top of that.

What type of area do you want to live in? I wouldn't live in East Hartford under any circumstances, but there are lots of towns around the Hartford area that are really nice. You have to define what you want.

[MikefromCT]

Hi Jimmy,

I personally WOULD NOT suggest commuting from LI to E Hartford. I know LI well because I have friends in both Nassau and Suffolk counties. I used to go down there alot to party with friends after we finished school. The quickest trip I had leaving LI was from Massapequa to the Middletown area when I lived there and that took exactly 2 hours. That's on a good day. On a bad day you'd end up spending almost as much time in the car as at the office.

If offered a job and it's the job you want, you'd be better off just moving up here. If you have a budget in mind and a more info as to whether you want to live in a city or town (and how large or small) it'll be easier to give suggestions.

By the way, where in Nassau are you now if you don't mind my asking?

[7 Wishes]

There is no way you can commute from LI to E. Hartford. I was up in the area temporarily during the summer (I live on the Westchester/Fairfield border area) and with NO traffic at all (very rare) it would've taken me an hour and a half so I certainly can't imagine it from LI and the ferry is probably long and expensive. At the time I rented a small room and came back down on weekends.

Others have given good ideas for towns. My temporary stay was on the Vernon/Manchester border, not only was it a pretty nice area, but the commute to East Hartford would be decent (only traffic I had going into Hartford itself was right on the bridge before Hartford city and you wouldn't even have to go to there). I know someone from my program who was a early 30s single woman from lower Fairfield County who relocated for a permanent job in the Hartford area after it and lives in Manchester and she thought it was perfect for her if that helps any. But JViello and Mike from CT know a lot more than I about the area so consider their advice "sage".

Good luck!

[mels]

Yes, you'd be insane to do that commute.

As for towns to consider, look into Middletown. Lots of great restaurants and nightlife downtown, many options for condos, apartments, and suburban-feeling areas. It really runs the gamut.

[JayCT]

Jimmy - Welcome to our forum. There is no train service to East HArtford. It is a suburb of Hartford (as its name suggests, it is east of the city). sorry about that. As others noted, the trip from Long Island will be long. You would defintely be better off moving here or nearby.

Where you live depends on what you like. If you want city, there is downtown Hartford but note that HArtford is a small somewhat quiet city so the nightlife will not be what you would find in New York. If you want a slightly less urban area, there is West Hartford or even Manchester. Middletown might be another option. Good luck with the job. JAy

[Lincolnian]

Originally Posted by dazzleman

Don't do the commute. The ferry takes forever, and then you'd have close to an hour on top of that.

What type of area do you want to live in? I wouldn't live in East Hartford under any circumstances, but there are lots of towns around the Hartford area that are really nice. You have to define what you want.

There are a number of nice, safe, and affordable neighborhoods in E. Htfd. I grew up there and still have a number of relatives that live there that I frequently visit.

It is far from a place that the average person wouldn't consider under any circumstances.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by mels

As for towns to consider, look into Middletown. Lots of great restaurants and nightlife downtown, many options for condos, apartments, and suburban-feeling areas. It really runs the gamut.

Definitely consider Middletown. I haven't been there in awhile but I know it well. It would be a bit longer drive to EH from here but it's not too bad. If you want some nightlife look to Main Street - there are plenty of housing options that are close to it and this is where things happen as far as nightlife goes. Whether you decide to own or rent you should be able to find a place within your budget here. Wesleyan gives it a young, liberal, college flavor but Middletown really isn't a college town, per se. And even though it's technically a city it feels more like a big town (population 50,000). Just don't go north of downtown - not a ghetto but not good either.

This is just one option. Manchester (next door to EH) might work, as would W. Hartford in terms of nightlife. Both towns have their own Main Street with many fine restaurants and bars - though WH is considered more upscale, whereas Manchester's Main Street seems to have more moderately priced, mom-and-pop places like Cory's Catsup &Mustard (sorry, I really like that place)

[JimmyIsTheOne]

Thanks for the suggestions everybody.

Mike(fromCT), funny enough, I'm right next door to Massapequa, in Seaford.

You guys are right, I forgot to mention what kind of environment I'd want to live in; considering that most of my friends and family are on Long Island or live all over NYC (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn), I'd likely want something a bit more in Southern CT, that way I'd get to shuttle back on the weekends and either crash at my brother's or my folk's house, and I'd get to be with friends as well.

Usually, I wouldn't have considered a job at that distance, but I was laid off by former company almost a year ago, and have since only been able to work a couple of part time gigs. Nothing in my field. It seems many large companies are bolting the Island. Anyway, if I'm offered something decent at a company like Coca-Cola (great resume builder!), I would have to take it.
Beggars can't be choosers in this economy/job market.

Also, I'd prefer something with a bit of nightlife during the week and weekends. I know I won't get remotely anything similar to New York City, but I'd at least like to frequent a few places with cool breweries, coffeehouses and places that (not to sound like a typical guy) single women tend to congregate. A cool sports bar or two for Sunday football wouldn't hurt either.

Don't get me wrong, I love kids, I'm an uncle and recent Godfather, but I wouldn't want to live in a town that's all about the baby strollers and the pot luck dinners. I'd go bananas.

Also, I'm not overly religious, but I'm Greek Orthodox, and a place that's within reasonable distance to a Greek Orthodox church/community would be cool; it would negate some of the home sickness and it'd remind me of home to bite into a lamb gyro or something. Besides Long Island, I did also grow up in Astoria, Queens, a predominantly Greek/Italian/Irish part of New York City.