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We may be relocating to Hartford county (from NYC) over the next few months (working in Berlin) and have gotten some feedback on several desirable towns within commuting distance. We have elementary school age children, so good elementary and middle schools are very important, we have some time before we think about high school (ages 6 & 1). We visited Southington and like the area. Can any one share any positives or negatives about the area? Are there any areas that are more desirable within the town? Better schools, less congestion etc...
Southington is a good choice, it does have good schools up until High School as the High School does have an overcrowding issue (the largest in the state I believe). But the town is nice and VERY family friendly, the library has alot of children's programs and it would be a good commute to Berlin. It has all the shopping you could want and the nearest malls are in Meriden, Waterbury and West Hartford.
The only elementary school I would personally avoid is Deryonowski which is the school that is downtown on main st which eventually turns into Queen st as it is in the district where most of the rentals and multi families tend to be. Southington also has some parochial schools to choose from as well if you want to go that route.
Other towns that may work for you are Berlin itself (which will be more exp), Cromwell and Plainville.
Southington schools generally perform above the state average on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests. While Southington High School is large by Connecticut standards it is not the largest (I believe Danbury High School is the largest). Information on the schools in Connecticut can be found here:
Manchester is not even close. It has 2077 students. But I am wrong too. Danbury has 2835 students, but New Britain has 3129 students. By the way Southington High School has 2164 students. Jay
All of Southington is pretty safe and the schools are good, but the high school does leave a lot to be desired. If it's an option for you, you may want to explore private HSs when the time comes. I know this from experience No matter what neighborhood you're in, you should have nice, respectable neighbors and generally provide a good quality of life for your children. If the house looks nice, it's generally a nice area. The only concern I have is a rise in delinquency; there has been a higher prevalence in petty crimes (theft, vandalism, mischief, etc.) in recent years and most people around here can attest to it, if not give you personal experience. But that might just be Connecticut as a whole. Best of luck to you!
Either way, Southington is a very nice place to live.
I think New Britain is the biggest in the state. There's over 70,000 people and only one public high school. I know there'sa few private, magnet and technical schools but I think it's the biggest. I could be wrong though.
Southington HS is definitely big, though. Overall a nice town. A few people have recommended Beriln and said it's nice, it's OK but it used to be alot nicer when it was rural and had actual open space a few years back. Personally I would pick Southington over Berlin hands down but that's just me $0.02.
I think New Britain is the biggest in the state. There's over 70,000 people and only one public high school. I know there'sa few private, magnet and technical schools but I think it's the biggest. I could be wrong though.
Southington HS is definitely big, though. Overall a nice town. A few people have recommended Beriln and said it's nice, it's OK but it used to be alot nicer when it was rural and had actual open space a few years back. Personally I would pick Southington over Berlin hands down but that's just me $0.02.
You are correct. New Britain High School is the biggest. As I noted above it has 3,129 students while Southington has a mere 2,164. that is still big but not that big. A lot though has to do with the facility and from what DW has said it feels very crowded. Of course that does not mean it is not a good school. Jay
You are correct. New Britain High School is the biggest. As I noted above it has 3,129 students while Southington has a mere 2,164. that is still big but not that big. A lot though has to do with the facility and from what DW has said it feels very crowded. Of course that does not mean it is not a good school. Jay
NB schools, though still underperforming, have still improved alot in the past 15 years. It's still considered a lower-income city, but it's still better now. A family member of mine teaches at one of the elementary schools and has said that the students, though still rambunctious, aren't as off-the-wall as they used to be. Alot of that has to do with the fact that attitudes have changed - there's more faculty and parental involvement which can only help.
Southington is ok, but its very large and dependant upon where you go. The Marion area is a lot different from the side bordering New Britain. Schools great, Southington High is overcrowded. Jay, does that number include students in the Vocational/Agricultural program there that come from other cities?
Easy commute to Berlin. I work in Berlin and pass through Southington daily, and it's about 15-25 depending upon where in southington you're at.
Positives: A few main drags with lots of restaurants and shopping (Queen st, Route 10), the YMCA is good, lots of public stuff for the young guns.
Cons: OK here one reason I discourage parents of young children or at least warn them of southington. Southington has one high school, and one major competitive organization for (in my case it was) baseball. If you're kids get into sports, they better be the best of the best to make the team. Sooo many kids to one organization (Southington South) and one high school. Granted, when the kids are young there is the Southington West organization, but after a certain age its just South that has teams. In Waterbury, we had 6 competitive teams, 3 public high schools, two catholic highs, 1 private, .... etc. So the chances of your kid having somewhere to play is greater. But don't move to waterbury, just using it as an example.
Look into Kensington, which you may also like, and is closer to Berlin as it is technically a subset of Berlin.
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No matter what neighborhood you're in, you should have nice, respectable neighbors and generally provide a good quality of life for your children. If the house looks nice, it's generally a nice area. The only concern I have is a rise in delinquency; there has been a higher prevalence in petty crimes (theft, vandalism, mischief, etc.) in recent years and most people around here can attest to it, if not give you personal experience. But that might just be Connecticut as a whole. Best of luck to you!
