[Jkal69]

Hi,

Our family is moving back home to New England after 15 years in Los Angeles. I guess we got tired of all that perfect sunny weather. Actually, it's for family reasons. But we could really use some help.

We're looking to settle down in our "forever house" in a quaint New England town, where we can raise our three kids in good schools with nice people and plenty of educational/recreational opportunities for kids/families. Our extended family stretches from Southwestern CT to central Western Mass. So, we've decided to look into areas somewhere in the middle. This seems to be the Farmington Valley, CT area. I'm in the TV/entertainment industry and my wife is in the Heath field. We'd like to keep our outlay for a home to under $400,000.

Our "wishes" (in no particular order of importance): we love historic homes; charming family-centric neighborhoods (we call them "trick-or-treat streets"); good size yards; pride of ownership; great library; quaint downtowns; not too bustling but not too boony. To give you an idea of what's in our head, one of our favorite towns ever is Sandwich, Mass. If you've ever been there, you'll know what I mean. If we could find a town like that in CT, we'd be in Heaven (inland, ideally).

In our preliminary research, we've been directed to Farmington, Simsbury, Avon, Canton, Harwinton and New Hartford. We've visited some of these towns and like much of what we see. But we're still on the fence. Would any of you have any more suggestions of towns that might fit our wishes? And even better -- perhaps some of the specific areas/neighborhoods in these towns that you love? We're willing to look in other parts of the state, but are leaning heavily toward the central CT area for extended family reasons.

Thank you all so much for your help. It's a dream for us to come back here, and we're really looking forward to returning to yankee soil!

[firengineer]

Hi, fellow West coaster! We moved to Madison, CT from Irvine, but are now leaving for New Hampshire because the cost of living here has skyrocketed since 2007. Still, CT is a very interesting state with lots of quirky corners.

If I were you, I'd probably look into West Hartford. We visited Blue Back Square last summer and fell in love with the town. I think it has everything you're looking for. I don't know anything about Farmington or Avon but they seem nice based on the comments on this forum. Stick to north central CT because you're priced out of southern and western CT..

Some things you want to keep in mine...the cost of living here should not appeal to the average SoCal transplant. Housing is about 15-20% less, but get ready to pay 10k in taxes annually. Don't be surprised to learn of the car tax (just paid 980 for 2 newer cars), this is also yearly. Thanks to the current governor, CT outdoes CA for taxes, so prepare for higher gas prices and smokes (friends in Irvine currently paying 30-40 cents less on gas than we pay in Madison (4.11 today).

Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to message me!

[JayCT]

I think you are on the right track. The Farmington Valley is beautiful and a great place to raise a family. I would also maybe add Granby and Burlington to your list.

Of the towns listed, Avon would be the pricest and most upscale. Harwinton and New Hartford are very small and quiet. I have family that live in the Collinsville section of Canton and they LOVE it. I also have family in Simsbury and they love it too.

As firengineer noted, West Hartford is a great town. It is more urban in character with most homes on smaller lots but West Hartford Center is one of the best downtowns in the state. It is up to you if it is too big.

Another town you might want to consider would be Glastonbury. It is located southeast of Hartford and has much of what you are looking for.

As for firengineer's comments on taxes here, keep in mind that while our state taxes are high, we do not have any county taxes. Also note that our gas taxes are high but we do not have any tolls on our roads. Also I think you will find home prices a lot lower than the 15 to 20% firengineer says particularly in the Hartford area. Good luck, Jay

[firengineer]

Jay, average prices:

California: $351,000
Connecticut: $295,000

Difference is 18%. And that's including uberexpensive Bay area.

Income in CT is 9% higher, so you can see where CA is having trouble!

[LuvNewEngland]

We love it way up here in the NW corner of the state. (when we are here that is) Seems every town is a quaint New England town. Might be a bit too rural however. From our travels through the Farmington Valley I think you will find a wonderful opportunity in one of the many towns mentioned!

[Stylo]

The area you're looking in is great. I'd also look east of Hartford. Glastonbury, Marlborough, Hebron, etc. Glastonbury is a great, well rounded town.

Also, directly south of there on the 91 corridor are some nice towns. Wethersfield, Wallingford, North Haven, Wallingford, Woodbridge. A little further south is Orange.

Orange and Woodbridge share a high school and are consistently ranked among the best in the state. Woodbridge has a great, quaint New England feel and a very educated population. It's a little pricier than some areas, but you should be fine on $400,000.

Check out Essex, too. Very charming town.

There are exceptional towns along the coast too, but it sounds like you are set to be further inland.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by firengineer

Jay, average prices:

California: $351,000
Connecticut: $295,000

Difference is 18%. And that's including uberexpensive Bay area.

Income in CT is 9% higher, so you can see where CA is having trouble!

The OP is comparing the Los Angeles area to the Hartford area. The median price of a home in LA is $360,000 while in Hartford County it is $224,000. That is a 38% difference. If they are coming from an affluent community in LA and comparing prices to the towns listed, the difference could be even more. Jay

[surfsnowgirl]

I lived in Southern California for 15 years; Orange County specifically and it was a breath of fresh air to come back here. Fireengineer, I am curious as to where you get your home price of California for $351,000. Where is this because most of what I saw was you can barely touch a condo for under $500k. I came back here to making the same money but have more money in my pocket. Taxes are lower and things generally seem to be cheaper. County taxes are non existent here and the state sales tax is only 6.5%. It just seems and feels cheaper here. I live in Fairfield County and from my friends that live up Hartford way it’s even cheaper up there. Living in Cali put things in perspective for me in a big way. Whenever people say its expensive here I say no, sure it’s all relative but Cali things are way more expensive, not to mention the traffic is atrocious

[firengineer]

Surf...we hailed from Irvine. I got my info from abcdiamond, which is right on par with what news networks reported when measuring gains and losses in real estate. Remember, if you want premium you will pay. Orange County is premium and there are dozens of cheaper metros. We lived in a luxury condo highrise (1800 sf) and sold in 2005 for just over 400. Seems to be similar here, high 3s. I'm not sure how long you've been away from CA but things crashed there much worse than here, entire neighborhoods in foreclosure. Taxes in CT are far more! We paid 1900 our last year there. Our house here is worth a little more but we pay around the 10 mark. What!? In all honesty, if CA wasn't so screwed up politically, give me a higher mortgage and less hidden fees.

[Jkal69]

Thank you all very much for your input -- your suggestions were extremely helpful. We're in the final leg of our "town search" before having to jet back to L.A. We will definitely stroll through Collinsville, Burlington and Granby this week, as well as some of those towns on the other end of Hartford & those coastal towns if we have time.

I was happy to hear from some of my West Coast compatriots about their own experiences moving to CT. I'd certainly welcome more personal tales! I'm just focused on finding a great town for my kids to thrive -- they mean the world to me, and I want to give them the best possible shot at life. This is a big move for us, so we're certainly feeling a little birth-by-fire-ish.

And yes, Cali homes are more expensive, but we do have a better handle on our property taxes back there. We can thank the forward-thinking folks who passed Prop 13 way back when (google it if you want a good cry). It basically restricted towns from re-assessing everyone's property whenever they felt like it in order to sponge more tax from you. New England certainly didn't follow that model. Hence, the $10,000 property taxes. That's going to be a tough one to swallow.

Thank you once again, and by all means post or PM me if you have any other helpful suggestions for our future move back East.

--J