[Divot30]

Hi, I'm thinking of taking a job with one of the insurance companies in Hartford. I'm single and 30 years old. I was wondering about places within 30 mins of Hartford for someone like me? The high end of my budget would be $500K although more likely in the $350-450K range. I'm thinking some type of condo would be ideal but Hartford doesn't seem to have much of in the way of condos in this price range. A house could work but I'd like something near/on some type of water (lake), golf course, and/or something with a nice view and relatively low maintenance. Any ideas?

[mcwsage]

Originally Posted by Divot30

Hi, I'm thinking of taking a job with one of the insurance companies in Hartford. I'm single and 30 years old. I was wondering about places within 30 mins of Hartford for someone like me? The high end of my budget would be $500K although more likely in the $350-450K range. I'm thinking some type of condo would be ideal but Hartford doesn't seem to have much of in the way of condos in this price range. A house could work but I'd like something near/on some type of water (lake), golf course, and/or something with a nice view and relatively low maintenance. Any ideas?

The first place I thought of is Farmington Woods in Farmington/Avon, CT. Definitely within 30 minutes to Hartford and the condos are within a private community with an 18 hole golf course, 7 tennis courts, 4 pools, recreation areas, gated community, etc. Most of the properties are under $350k, with the exception of one condo that is $525k b/c it is free standing w/ a 2 car garage. So you have options and shouldn't have to break to bank either.
Regards,
Michele P, Realtor

[AmyBergquist]

You might want to consider looking in West Hartford, which borders Hartford proper. Your commute to work would be about 20-30 minutes, depending on where you ended up in town. You would be able to find a fairly nice condo in that price range. There really aren't any condo developments I can think of in West Hartford that would be on a golf course. West Hartford does have golf courses though and nice restaurant/shopping options though, so that may make up for it.

You could also try Bloomfield, which is directly above Hartford. Again, the commute would be about 20-30 minutes. Gillette Ridge is the specific community I'm thinking of that is located on a golf course.

In Farmington, there is a community called Farmington Woods that is a golf community. There is also Tunxis Village. These are somewhat further from Hartford though and commute time would be more difficult, as there really is only one major road in and out of Farmington to Hartford, Route 4.

These are a few places to consider. Let us know what other questions you have.

[JayCT]

In Cromwell there is River Highlands which is located on the TPC golf course. These are upscale condos overlooking key holes along the course. The only problem is that once a year they have the Hartford Open there so the place is a bit of a zoo.

Another option may be a unit in the Riverpoint building in East Hartford. This is a luxury high rise located on the Connecticut River in East Hartford directly across the Founders Bridge from downtown Hartford. From this location you can walk across the bridge to downtown and places like the Wadsworth Atheneum, CT Science Center, the XL Center. Jay

[Scott R]

These are the luxury apartments along the Gillette Ridge golf course in Bloomfield:
www.hawthorne-apts.com

I'm not sure what they cost, and I don't know if this is an all-rental community or if any are available for sale as condos.

[Rich Cabeza]

Look at the Bushnell Towers. Friend of mine just sold his place there and there's lots of rentals. A short walk to Vito's which has free gourmet pizza in the bar. FYI the places go for half of what you're willing to spend. Save you're money. Even Warren Buffet lives modestly for what he has.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Divot30

Hi, I'm thinking of taking a job with one of the insurance companies in Hartford. I'm single and 30 years old. I was wondering about places within 30 mins of Hartford for someone like me? The high end of my budget would be $500K although more likely in the $350-450K range. I'm thinking some type of condo would be ideal but Hartford doesn't seem to have much of in the way of condos in this price range. A house could work but I'd like something near/on some type of water (lake), golf course, and/or something with a nice view and relatively low maintenance. Any ideas?

Governors Row Townhomes in West Hartford is about 15 minutes to DT off RT44 and pretty much what you described.



Riverpoint Tower across the river allows you to walk the river trails and to DT Hartford as well.

[Kreliroth]

So that's called Riverpoint Tower? Interesting, was never sure what that building was.

Anyway, while I was looking for a place, I found a lot of nice Condos. They were well above my price range, but they're a bit on the low side for your range. The most expensive I found was Newington Ridge, just off of (though basically on) the Berlin Turnpike, as they go from 300-350k. There's also Millpointe in Wethersfield. It's a single building of condos, and Zillow says they're in the upper 200s range, but think I've heard they go up too 400,000. That last figure was from quite a few years ago, though.

[tgrazor]

Hi There, I would recommend staying away from Bloomfield and parts of Newington. If you want to get a good idea of an area check out the schools and it will tell you the demographic of the neighborhood. Go to Stats about all US cities - real estate, relocation info, house prices, home value estimator, recent sales, cost of living, crime, race, income, photos, education, maps, weather, houses, schools, neighborhoods, and more and type in the city. Good neighborhoods tend to have schools rated from 10 to 7. You can also click on a school and then click "school environment" and then click "students" to who actually lives in that neighborhood. This is a great tool if you are looking for diversity. If I were a single woman looking to find a safe professional neighborhood then I would stick to Farmington, Avon and West Hartford. I have been living in W. Hartford for about a year and a half now and like that it is safe and that the school are good. There may not be many condos but you can get a nice house $200,000 to 250,000 and then just hire a landscaper to handle the yard maintenance. Hope this help! Best of Luck!

[JayCT]

I do not agree. Though the schools in Bloomfield are not the best performing I do not consider it to be an unsafe town. There are many really nice areas and quite frankly I know of none to really avoid. As for Newington, I do not know of any bad areas there either. It is a nice middle class town with many nice areas. The schools there perform above the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests so I don't know why anyone would stay away from it. Jay