[scedmathes]

Hi All,

My wife and I may be moving up to CT, where I will be working for XL Insurance (I'm an IT guy) in Hartford. I don't mind a commute of 45 mins or so as long as I'm moving and we'd love to live in a nice town (we are a a little familiar with Simsbury, an like it). Probably spend 350 - 400K on a home. We are professionals in our mid 40's, empty nester's.

Good shopping, good restaurants, some cultural activities near by, a town to walk around a bit, good gym w/pool for laps.

Any suggestions on any of these thoughts (including anything you may know about working for XL Insurance) would be greatly apppreciated.........Thanks everyone!

[JayCT]

Simsbury is very nice but it is a bit isolated and may be difficult to commute to and from. Many people do ti though.

XL Insurance is located on Constitution Plaza on the east side of downtown. You might want to consider Glastonbury which is about 5 miles from there. Route 2 would take you directly to the plaza. Glastonbury is a nice upscale suburban community with a nice small downtown. In your price range you can get a nice home here.

West Hartford has the nicest and most walkable downtown area in greater Hartford. It is not as convenient of a commute but still not bad. There are a lot of nice homes there too. Jay

[honestinsuranceguy]

South Windsor may be a good fit for you, there is a fitness center nearby and you can commute to Hartford by local roads (Tolland Turnpike) through E Hartford. Plenty of shopping and resturant are nearby. Welcome to CT and good luck on your search

[Slipperman]

do you mind if i ask what specific area of IT you work in (network admin, web developer, etc)? i'm asking because i was a contractor there for 9 months ending on 4/1 this year when they were really hurting financially. i've been wanting to get back in ever since but figured the chances were low since they had just gone through a series of layoffs. that seems to have changed.

as you might be able to tell, i liked it there. the culture/atmosphere there is a lot more layed back than you'd expect from a big corporation like XL. i know for a fact that Aetna and Travelers are much more 'corporate' in the way they do business - even in IT.
their location on the plaza is a plus as well when it comes to food options. i personally loved the Hartford Steamboiler cafeteria - at least for breakfast. they had an open grill where they served pretty much anything except pancakes, cereal, fresh fruit, orange and other juices. you'll have to check it out.
and oh yeah, as a full timer, you'll get to park in the garage just below the building. easy access to both 91 and 84 from there.

[scedmathes]

All,

Thanks for the suggestions. I will look into all of them. Is Simsbury a town that offers a lot even though it may be remote? We do like having some of the mega stores within driving distance (say, within 30 mins away). By mega, I mean Home Depot/Lowe's, Target, Grocery stores that offer some gourmet type choices like a Wegman's type store.......

Thanks again for the thoughts and keep 'em coming. Anymore thoughts on XL? Is there a local YMCA with a pool near Simsbury or any of the other suggestions?

Thanks..........

[KH02]

There is a YMCA with a pool in Granby, CT which is near Simsbury.
Simsbury is pretty remote and really only has mom and pop type shopping and small supermarkets the nearest Target is in Windsor which would take you about 30 minutes and the closest Home Depot is in Bloomfield which is about 25 minutes away or so. The closest mall would be WestFarms which is in West Harford/ Farmington line and that would take you a little over 30 minutes.

[7 Wishes]

The main problem with Simsbury (and neighboring Avon and Farmington as well) is the commute over the "mountain" on route 44, which is also under major construction (at least it was this summer when I was around there) and often has the worst traffic in the area.

Ellington is a similarly nice town EAST of Hartford that has a much better commute. Or another nice town is Rocky Hill south of XL and the commute north on I-91 isn't too bad (a little more traffic than I-84 west for Ellington, but a lot better than the commute from Simsbury), but it doesn't quite have the "country feel" of Ellington or Simsbury so not an exact comparison (i.e Ellington is "suburban" like Simsbury yet also remote like it....Stew Leonard's has their dairy farm there for example).

[DandJ]

I would think that West Hartford would fit the bill here, wouldn't it?

Shopping? Yup.
Restaurants? Absolutely.
A walkable downtown? Sure.
A pool to do laps? Yeah, at the JCC on Bloomfield Ave, for instance.

Speaking of the JCC on Bloomfield Ave., the closer you are to the Bloomfield line, the closer you are to a Home Depot, a Lowe's, a Stop & Shop, etc... (all IN the town of Bloomfield), although there are some (all?) of those stores on the flip side of West Hartford as well.

[AmyBergquist]

I agree with the West Hartford comments, it sounds like it might fit all of your criteria. There is also Cornerstone Aquatics, in addition to the JCC... Offical Home Page - Cornerstone Aquatics Center

[scedmathes]

Thanks everyone......I appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions. If you have any other advise please do not hesitate to post it here.....Thx!