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My family and I will be moving back to the States (we're currently in Dubai and we're just downright sick of this place ...nothing is what it seems. You STILL have to pay taxes and you have to pay rent one year in ADVANCE! I mean, who has $30,000 laying around?? Anyhow, another tale for another day). I'm from Oregon and I have always lived on the West Coast so I thought I'd give the East Coast a try this time round .
I received an offer from a company in New Haven, CT and I have a couple of questions about the area:
1- Public transportation: What is it like? How often do the buses\trains run?
2- Crime rate: Being a college town, how safe is it for a family?
3- Good areas of New Haven (or nearby towns) to rent.
4- What's the unemployment rate at? My wife will be wanting a job. Her career is investor relations.
5- How cold does it get? How much snowfall?
I'm sure we'll have more questions but I will add them as I go along.
Hello!
1- Public transportation: What is it like? How often do the buses\trains run?
2- Crime rate: Being a college town, how safe is it for a family?
3- Good areas of New Haven (or nearby towns) to rent.
4- What's the unemployment rate at? My wife will be wanting a job. Her career is investor relations.
5- How cold does it get? How much snowfall?
1. There is no mass transit in New Haven. There's the CT Transit System, which consists of buses that run from morning until night, and don't run late-nights or early-mornings. The further away from downtown you want to go, the fewer buses that go there (there are dozens of buses that run down Whalley Avenue during the day, but only a few of them go as far as Amity, for example). There is also the train station, but that's a regular normal commuter train, not a subway system. It won't take you from one part of New Haven to the other, and only makes two other stops in the entire county. It's used primarily to get people to and from New York City (though its destinations are broad and varied).
2. Crime rate is not as bad as most major cities, but then, it's not a major city so you would expect it not to be as bad. It's probably around equal to other cities of its size. Which is to say, it does have a crime rate, it has its share of odd robberies, murders, drunken revelry, but it's not a crime-spree on steroids.
3. Rents: If you can find something anywhere between Westville Village and Amity, you'd be doing great. On the bus line, usually there's some sort of parking available if you have a car, bicycle-riding distance to the store for a quart of milk, etc. Distinctively Jewish area, because the Chassidic synagogue is in it, and Chassidic Jews have to walk to their services on the Sabbath.
4. Unemployment - bad. Miserable. There are jobs, but there are several hundred resumes for every job available, and employers are pickier than ever. If she's overeducated, underexperienced, has a mole on her cheek, walks pigeon-toed, prefers not to eat green vegetables in public, once worked for a Democrat for 2 weeks as a temp stuffing envelopes - she will be moved to the bottom of the pile.
5. People who live in Connecticut will argue about the cold and snowfall. If you completely discount the actual weather data, it breaks down like this:
The extreme highs of winter will hit 80. The extreme lows of winter will hit -45, with the wind-chill factor. The average range will be between -1 and +50. Snowfall will be either "barely a sprinkling" to "chest-deep," depending on who you're asking and whether or not they drive a 4-WD truck.
1. Public transportation is not terrific. There are buses but they are not always reliable - if you are planning to live in the suburbs they will not do you much good. The commuter trains are great, and I know people who commute to New Haven from other cities by train (from shoreline towns, Milford, Orange, etc.) - you still will have to walk, take a bus, or take a taxi to downtown from the train station anyway. If you are affiliated with Yale, you can use the Yale shuttle for free.
2. It's not terrible, but not the greatest. There are plenty of families in East Rock and Westville, but other areas are not great. Education will be an issue unless you are planning on private school.
Other posters will probably have more information on 3 and 4 - I live directly in New Haven. If you are renting within the city, again, East Rock and Westville are your best bets, or Hamden directly to the north. If you are looking for better public schools, Branford, Guilford, Madison, Milford, or Orange always seem to come up on these types of posts.
5. As I am originally from upstate NY, I wouldn't say it gets that cold and certainly does not get as much snow, but there are some freezing days in the heart of winter - I don't think it drops below zero all that often. If you're used to rainy but temperate weather, or hot weather from Dubai, you may be in for a shock - my husband, who comes from a city where it rains a lot but rarely drops below 32 F, was surprised at how cold it got during his first winter here.
5. People who live in Connecticut will argue about the cold and snowfall. If you completely discount the actual weather data, it breaks down like this:
The extreme highs of winter will hit 80. The extreme lows of winter will hit -45, with the wind-chill factor. The average range will be between -1 and +50. Snowfall will be either "barely a sprinkling" to "chest-deep," depending on who you're asking and whether or not they drive a 4-WD truck.
Absolutely true - in addition, any time a few flakes of snow (or sometimes a few drops of rain) fall from the sky, people all over the state go crazy and completely forget how to drive.
You mention a family, do you have children? I could not in all honesty recommend New Haven for a family with children, the schools are among the worst in the state. There are numerous suburban towns surrounding New Haven that might better suit you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnonChick
The extreme highs of winter will hit 80. The extreme lows of winter will hit -45, with the wind-chill factor. The average range will be between -1 and +50. Snowfall will be either "barely a sprinkling" to "chest-deep," depending on who you're asking and whether or not they drive a 4-WD truck.
I can't recall it ever hitting 80 degrees in Ct. during the winter. But editing to say I found some links and New Haven did in fact hit 80 for three days in mid-March back in 1990. If winter is a concern of the OP's, New Haven is a great location as the winters are mildest there. You can look up other monthly averages for New Haven using these links, too.
Public transport - nothing there to get around town locally except some bus service. Keep in mind while a city, this is small city - pop. 120,000 or so. You will need a car.
Crime- many areas of the city are sketchy with typical urban problems
Good areas- look in East Rock, Westville. You might do better looking in adjacent towns of Hamden, North Haven to the north. Hamden in particular has lots of rents.
New Haven schools seriously underperform to state standards. It's either send your kids to private school or live in a town with a better school system.
Employment- terrible - expect a long job search and in a such specialized field there may not be much in the way of opportunities in New Haven itself.
Weather. The New haven area receives on an average 22" of snow a year, usually several storms of 3-5 inches. It seldom snows before the of December and by mid March, the snow season is mostly over. More often that not, it rains when inland CT is getting snow.
Cold is relative. This is southern New England. The winters are mild for New England- the coldest month is January when there can be stretches of sub 15- 20 degree days. They don't last long. Most of the winter ( mid December to mid March ) is 30-40 during the day.
My family and I will be moving back to the States (we're currently in Dubai and we're just downright sick of this place ...nothing is what it seems. You STILL have to pay taxes and you have to pay rent one year in ADVANCE! I mean, who has $30,000 laying around?? Anyhow, another tale for another day). I'm from Oregon and I have always lived on the West Coast so I thought I'd give the East Coast a try this time round .
I received an offer from a company in New Haven, CT and I have a couple of questions about the area:
1- Public transportation: What is it like? How often do the buses\trains run?
2- Crime rate: Being a college town, how safe is it for a family?
3- Good areas of New Haven (or nearby towns) to rent.
4- What's the unemployment rate at? My wife will be wanting a job. Her career is investor relations.
5- How cold does it get? How much snowfall?
I'm sure we'll have more questions but I will add them as I go along.
I know the New Haven area a little, as I've worked/lived their several times:
Public Transportation:Many of the people who take positions in New Haven ...live outside in the suburban communities (Branford, Guilford, Hamden, North Haven, Woodbridge, East Haven...etc). There is public transportation both inside and outside New Haven. The metro north train runs every hour from New Haven into NYC (Manhattan), about a 90 -min trip one way. The cities along the coast (West Haven, East Haven, Branford, Guilford, Madison..etc) are also fed by the Shoreline East Rail which feeds into the Metro North line. The are public buses in New Haven and most of the area cities.
Crime rate. New Haven has good/bad areas like most cities. The best places are around Yale University, the East Shore (other side of New Haven Harbor), Westville, Whitney Avenue, lower State Street...the places to avoid will be obvious. By day, New Haven is very safe downtown/around Yale Campus, there are students, office workers, Government workers (State/Federal Courthoues/FBI Field offices..etc). Late at night, like most cities crime increases, the area around Yale New Haven Hospital very late at night has had some crime issues for a long time. Like most cities you’ll quickly pick up the vivbe where is safe and where to avoid.
Rent: This depends on your budget of course. The shoreline areas are considered the most desirable areas to rent (Branford, Guilford (Strawberry Hill is nice), most of East Haven, Westville (in New Haven). The Mix Avenue area of Hamden is a huge apartment area with tens of thousands of apartments in a suburban area. Get a realtor, it seems so much easier.
My wife will be wanting a job. Her career is investor relations: Hmm, that will be tough in the New Haven, area. Stamford (about 30 miles south of New Haven down I-95) might be a better choice (she could possible commute to Stamford on the train from the New Haven area). Of course there would be many positions like that in the city (Manhattan).
Weather: The coastal areas of the Tri-State area (NYC/NJ/CT) get about 25 inches of snow on average. Oregon (say Eugene, Portland…etc) gets about 3 to 5 inches of snow each winter for comparison. Most of the snow is from late December to early March in southern Connecticut. True severe winter weather conditions on the East Coast below Boston are only an occasional issue - a few times each winter. Temp wise, you know the deal between the upper West Coast and the upper East Coast – winters are colder on the upper East Coast and summers are hotter. Compared to the upper West Coast, summers will feel sultury and tropical and winters will seem colder and much drier. There is more severe weather on the upper East Coast compared to the upper West Coast where it is quite rare. The ocean is much warmer on the East Coast compared to the West Coast (in summer, the Atlantic off Long Island is as warm as the Pacific off Los Angeles - and places on the lower East Coast have much warmer than anywhere on the West Coast). The only other big difference might be sunshine – it’s far sunnier on the upper East Coast compared to the upper West Coast. Latitude wise - New Haven is about 300 miles further south than Portland for example.
Good Luck.
Last edited by wavehunter007; 09-21-2010 at 07:32 AM..
You mention a family, do you have children? I could not in all honesty recommend New Haven for a family with children, the schools are among the worst in the state. There are numerous suburban towns surrounding New Haven that might better suit you.
I can't recall it ever hitting 80 degrees in Ct. during the winter. But editing to say I found some links and New Haven did in fact hit 80 for three days in mid-March back in 1990. If winter is a concern of the OP's, New Haven is a great location as the winters are mildest there. You can look up other monthly averages for New Haven using these links, too.
If you completely discount the actual weather data
Connecticut people tend to exaggerate. That was the entire point of that section about weather. If someone thinks it was a warm winter, they might say "well jeez, it must've been EIGHTY last week!" and if someone thinks it was a cold winter, you're likely to hear "Yeah wind-chill, it's all about the wind-chill. We're talking minus forty, just yesterday morning!"
Everyone pretty much has it covered. I just wanted to second the suggestion to look at the suburbs if you have a family. Branford is great, and is affordable for the area. Other towns to check out in the area (listed most expensive to more affordable) are Woodbridge, Madison, Guilford, Orange, Milford, North Haven, Wallingford and Hamden. It all depends what you want to spend on a house or apartment.
For what it's worth, Branford, Madison, Guilford, Wallingford and Milford all have a nice, walkable little downtown area. One plus to Milford is that it's on the Metro North line should you want to go to NYC for a day or evening. That said, the other towns are not a far drive from the train.
Oh, and if you live in the suburbs, you'll need at least one car.
I must disagree with the comments on public transportation in New Haven. For a city of its size it has a lot of public transit options. First there is a system of buses that are run by Conecticut Transit. These connect the downtown and train station area to various parts of the city. Most run from early morning to well into the night. I am not sure what the other posters expect but tranist service is limited overnight in almost every major city in this country. There are also bus shuttles around the city that provide service from the train stations to downtown, Long Wharf, the Medical District and Yale University.
In addtion, New Haven has regular commuter rail service from Union Station. Trains to New York depart every 15 to 20 minutes in the morning and arrive back in the evening on a similar schedule. This line (Metro North's New Haven line) connects to towns and cities to the south and west including major cities like Bridgeport and Stamford. Stamford is a large employment center with a lot financial jobs. Many hedge funds have offices there so it would not be a problem to commute to job there from New Haven.
There is also commuter train service to the towns east of New Haven called Shoreline East. This includes towns like Branford, Guilford and Madison. Note that there is NOT a station in East Haven. I am not sure what cities the other posters are comparing New Haven to but for a city of 120,000 I know it has very good transit options. Jay
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...nothing is what it seems. You STILL have to pay taxes and you have to pay rent one year in ADVANCE! I mean, who has $30,000 laying around?? Anyhow, another tale for another day). I'm from Oregon and I have always lived on the West Coast so I thought I'd give the East Coast a try this time round 
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