[EricCT]

In our price range there are a TON of houses in Middletown and New Britain.
I went to CCSU, so I have some idea of New Britain, but not great.
Middletown, I have no clue.

I know they both have really nice areas and really bad areas.

any thoughts on my search?

(I'm considering other towns too, but these are the two I am most worried about picking a good area)

[KH02]

In New Britain, I would avoid most of it.
The best area in my opinion tends to be south of 72 and west of 372...in that small area. Which borders Sunset Rock State Park.
There are also a few good parts near the Berlin border.

I'd recommend Middletown over New Britain, it's safer.. Most of middletown is okay, the further from downtown generally the better.

What is your budget? Where will you be working and who is moving with you, are you alone, married, kids?

[MikefromCT]

Most of Middletown is actually pretty nice. Avoid the area immeidately north of Main Street - although it's not quite a ghetto it's not nice either. That's the only area that comes to mind that I personally would avoid.

As for New Britain, there's actually quite a few areas here that are really nice. The southwest part of town along Corbin Avenue is filled with tree-lined streets and nice, older houses. The far SW area over by the reservoir is a nice, leafy area that most people don't even know about. Most of the streets here don't even have sidewalks. However, as you go further north on Corbin and you pass the Main St intersection it changes. Just up the road one of the side streets is Myrtle St, and down the street is Mount Pleasant, the city's most dangerous housing project. There's another one further up on Corbin by the Hospital for Special Care and it's not a good area. Overall I would not suggest the NW part of town - multiple housing projects here and even though the nearby houses are often well-kept it's not a good area. And the area known as the East side - South Main St in particular - is real nasty. However, the area over by Stanley Park /golf course and CCSU are nice again - nice, suburban prewar homes and this area is fine. Most of Stanley Street is really nice - until you cross Allen Street and suddenly it's not as nice. So the SW and NE parts of NB are nice, the others not so much.

[POAlover]

Actually, some parts of New Britain are beautiful with gorgeous older homes in the Shuttle Meadow area off of Corbin Ave. There are also very nice older established neighborhoods in other parts of the city.

The Walnut Hill Park area is very pretty too. Beautiful park surrounded by beautiful homes.

It is sad that people automatically say stay away from NB, because of the bad sections. Hey, most cities have these sections.

[MrGompers]

As others have said most of Middletown is actually pretty good. Stay away from downtown especially northern Main St (going towards the Middletown - Portland bridge)

Now for New Britain that can be tricky if your unfamiliar with the city. If you have kids that could be an issue too. IMO, the area bordering Berlin is the best part. This would include Shuttle Meadow Ave, parts of Corbin Ave, parts of Hart st, parts of Kensington Ave. Generally speaking any area that is within walking distance of Martha Hart Park\Pond should be good. If you have kids they would attend Vance Elementary school in this area. I don't know if that school is good or bad, but I'm sure you could look up performance numbers somewhere.

There are also houses around the reservoir (if you follow Shuttle Meadow Ave) that are very nice. Most people don't even know this is still New Britain. The reservoir is in New Britain, Berlin, and Southington I think.

Most of the areas around CCSU are good. The areas around Stanley Quarter Park (going towards Westfarms) is good. There are small sections bordering Walnut Hill Park that are good. Those houses are very expensive though (more like mansions) and if you can afford that - you can afford to live outside of New Britain.

From what I hear from people who live in New Britain the taxes are not exorbitant (like Hartford), but they will most likely rise in the future. New Britain has plans to build a new police station on Main St (downtown) similar to what Middletown did years ago. There is also something fishy going on with the fireman's union. (pending lawsuit I think against the city)

I grew up in New Britain so I have some affection for the city. During the last 35 yrs or so of knowing her very little has changed. I expect that to continue for the next 35 yrs or more unfortunately.

P.S. I forgot to mention one small detail that is often overlooked about New Britain is that it has an excellent public library.

[ctcoldplay11]

Poor New Britain! There's nothing wrong with it. Sure, there are bad areas, but everyone seems to avoid it like the plague! It's no worse than any other city its size. It's almost double the size of Middletown, so as could be expected, it has double the issues. I'd actually prefer it to Middletown. Middletown seems to be far away from everything besides itself. With New Britain, you've got the huge West Farms shopping area, easy access to Hartford and Waterbury, etc. Just know where to go in NB and you'd be set!

[MikefromCT]

Most people will think I'm nuts when I say this, but as bad as NB's reputation may be, the city's public amenities are surprisngly good IMO. The city actually has alot to appreciate - a very good public library, New Britain Stadium, the museum, Stanley Golf Course is a great bang for the buck, and Walnut Hill, Martha Hart and Stanley are all pretty, well-kept parks in good areas. And if you ever want to find a good Polish restaurant or store, just head down Broad Street. They don't call it New Bristki for nothin'!

[MrGompers]

This could turn into a New Britain vs Middletown thread jack easily. It should be pointed out that if you didn't know anything about Middletown and just picked an area at random to live, you would probably be OK about 90% of the time. If you did this in New Britain you would probably be OK about 40% of the time. There are some areas in NB that you absolutely need to avoid at all costs.

That said NB actually does have some decent city services & the library & public parks are stellar. NB has far more public transportation vs Middletown (if that is important to you) There is also the proposed NB -> Hartford busway that would expand public transportation options in the future. NB has a lot of potential, but for whatever reason they've always had a hard time reaching it. Except for population size Middletown & New Britain are very similar and Middletown has made vast improvements in the last 10-15 yrs, so why can't New Britain?

NB has so many public parks they actually used to have their own police force. They used to drive around in police cars painted green & white. I haven't seen one in years, so I assume they got rid of that division.

IMO, the continuing Polish immigration that continues to this day in NB is one of its best assets. All the Polish people I've ever known have been very hard working. (altho some of them like to hit the sauce a little too much on the weekends)

For fans of NB here's a little website with historic photos compared to photos of today.

New Britain RePhotographic Project Home Page

[JViello]

Good advice all around, but no one mentioned a key point. Taxes.

New Britain is much higher than Middletown. Insurance rates too.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

This could turn into a New Britain vs Middletown thread jack easily. It should be pointed out that if you didn't know anything about Middletown and just picked an area at random to live, you would probably be OK about 90% of the time. If you did this in New Britain you would probably be OK about 40% of the time. There are some areas in NB that you absolutely need to avoid at all costs.

That said NB actually does have some decent city services & the library & public parks are stellar. NB has far more public transportation vs Middletown (if that is important to you) There is also the proposed NB -> Hartford busway that would expand public transportation options in the future. NB has a lot of potential, but for whatever reason they've always had a hard time reaching it. Except for population size Middletown & New Britain are very similar and Middletown has made vast improvements in the last 10-15 yrs, so why can't New Britain?

3 people confirmed shot the other night in the east side, one of the nabes I suggested the OP avoid. There was also another shooting on Leo Street that same night which is just up the road from the Mount Pleasant housing projects. So I agree, certain areas it's best to stay away from. Like any city you have the good at the bad.

Maybe the ultimate reason that NB hasn't fully rebounded is because its employment base is still weak. Middletown started to decline in the 1960s, the same time as many other cities when they hastily pursued "urban renewal" projects that in the long run did nothing to help their municipalities or their citizens. There might not have been large amounts of public housing built, but there were other mistakes that were made. Now they've invested in Main Street and it's paid off tremendously. Add to that the fact that you have a prestigious college in town (Wesleyan) and it also has become somewhat of an intellectual hub. New Britain IMO is different. For many years it was a thriving industrial center that provided a ton of well-paying jobs for people with limited education. During WWII, they built short-term housing for factory workers who were drawn to the city's booming defense industries. But after the war many of these jobs either went elsewhere or went out of business. Eventually these short-term, barrack-style buildings were converted into public housing. When the jobs disappeared, the soul of the city went with it. Now there's just a handful of manufacturing centers, chiefly among them is Stanley Works. There has to be some sort of economic base for people who can't afford higher education or who want to work but in the blue-collar sector, and that's the problem - we don't make anything anymore. Except, of course, for Snuggies.